May 15, 1851 Tsunami: N. California, United States
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at N. California, United States on May 15, 1851 at 16:10 UTC. Its effects were recorded at 2 places.
Where the waves reached
The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.
- Under 1 m
- 1 to 3 m
- 3 to 10 m
- 10 to 30 m
- 30 m and more
- Height not recorded
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- May 15, 1851, 16:10 UTC
- Source
- N. California, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 37.800° N, 122.400° 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.
Soloviev and Go (1975) quoting Perrey (1872) state that there were mild earthquakes in March, April, and on May 15th, 17th and 28th at San Francsico and Salinas accompanied by marine flooding. Other sources only mention the May 15th event and do not mention flooding. Perrey account is 21 years after the fact and local accounts of the event are numerous and consistent enough to effectively eliminate the existence of a tsunami.
Every runup
Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.
| Where | Country | Km from source | Water height, m | Inland, m | Measured by | First wave, UTC | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Salinas, CA, CA | United States | 141 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1851The 1800sTsunamis of United StatesThe earthquakeThis 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 781.