December 1, 1854 Tsunami: N. California, United States
A tsunami of unknown cause began at N. California, United States on December 1, 1854.
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
- December 1, 1854
- Source
- N. California, United States
- Cause
- Unknown
- Runups recorded
- 0
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
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.
Erroneous date for 1854, Nov. 1, but that date possibly erroneous for 1854 October 22.
1854, November 1 or 10, or December 1? 10:00 local time. On Angel Island (San Francisco region), in the absence of the slightest wind and with a calm surface of the sea, the water suddenly rose a metre (several feet) with enormous waves, lasting about a half hour. No one could remember the like here (Reference #415).
More
Every tsunami in 1854The 1800sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 833.