February 12, 1839 Tsunami: Central Chile
A tsunami caused by a volcano and an earthquake began at Central Chile on February 12, 1839.
Where the waves reached
The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
The tsunami
- Date
- February 12, 1839
- Source
- Central Chile
- Cause
- Volcano and earthquake
- Volcano
- The eruption that caused it
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 33.620° S, 76.830° W
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
On February 12, 1839 at 9:10 [local time] between Valparaiso and the Juan Fernandez Islands, there was said to be an underwater eruption and a "maremoto"; a new islet was formed with coordinates: 33 deg 34 min - 33 deg 40 min S., 76 deg 49 min - 76 deg 50 min W. (reference #415)
More
Every tsunami in 1839The 1800sTsunamis of ChileThe eruptionThis day in weather historyAlerts in force
Sources
Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 711.