November 7, 1837 Tsunami: Southern Chile

Reference #415:

1837, November 7, 8:05 [local time]. A strong earthquake (42.5 S, 74 W, magnitude 8.5) occurred at Valdivia, Castro and Ancud (San Carlos)... At Ancud, in the Pudeto River and in the strait separating Chiloe Island from the mainland (De Calbuco), unusual flood and ebb tides occurred, which were so strong that enormous amounts of seaweed and molluscs were thrown on shore, including some usually attached to the rocks... There is a report that the sea at Valdivia after rushing back, again rushed onshore, rising to an appreciable height...

Reference #236:

1837, November 7, 8:05 local time. A strong earthquake that destroyed Valdivia, Chile, generated a tsunami that caused widespread damage on the Hawaiian Islands and was observed in Samoa, the Tonga Islands, and Japan. The tsunami caused 14 fatalities at Hilo and and 2 fatalities at Kahului. Reports of 108 houses destroyed and 46 deaths [in the Kau district of Hawaii] due to the tsunami in Soloviev and Go and Iida et al. are erroneous and refer to the April 1868 tsunami.

Reference #150:

1837, November 7, 21:51 local time. 42.5 S, 74 W, magnitude 8-8.5, validity 4. Valdivia almost destroyed by quake. No reports of tsunami in Chile. Great landslide in Chiloe Is., large disturbance of ocean level. Tsunami hit Hawaiian Is., Samoa Is., Tonga Is., and Japan. Hawaii Hilo 6m, great damage. Motoyoshi, Kesennuma, Miyagi and Ojika counties tsunami.

Reference #252

1837, November 7, 7 or 8 a.m. Magnitude 8. Third Valdivia earthquake. This was undoubtedly another large South Chilean shock, like 1575, 1737, and 1960; damage was comparable at Castro and Valdivia, and tsunami effects were more noticeable near the coast of Chiloe Island. The small amount of damage was attributed to the prevalence of timber construction. Montessus de Ballore claims that no "maremoto" was generated; yet the reports of tsunami damage on Samoa, Hawaii, and the coast of Japan must be connected with this event. Three successive fluctuations of the sea were observed in Ancud, but no wave was generated along the east coast of the island. On some flat shores the flooding extended up to 1000 yards inland, but no damage was reported. These effects are not unlike those observed in 1960, except for Valdivia which was spared by the tsunami in 1837.

Reference #79:

1837, Nov. 7, 12:51 UC. S. Chile. According to Montessus de Ballore (1912a) there were no reports of wave observations in South America. Destruction in Valdivia was by quake not tsunami.

Reference #5324:

An earthquake in Chile at 8:05 A.M. caused a tsunami that was observed at Pago Pago, Tutuila Island, (now American Samoa). (Hitchcock, 1911; Pararas-Carayannis and Dong, 1980; Iida et al., 1967). Waves observed at Apia, Western Samoa, had a maximum amplitude of about 0.4 m (Soloviev and Go, 1974, p. 67). Little information seems to be known of the effects of the tsunami in Chile, but as a tsunami was observed in Japan and damage was done in the Hawaiian Islands, it may have been observable in New Zealand.

Reference #39

1837 Nov. 7, Chile. Earthquake near Concepcion. Violent waves reported along the Chile coast; Valdivia completely destroyed. Twenty-foot waves were reported in the South Pacific.