July 24, 1854 Tsunami: S. California, United States
A tsunami of unknown cause began at S. California, United States on July 24, 1854. The water rose as high as 0.1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.
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
The tsunami
- Date
- July 24, 1854
- Source
- S. California, United States
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -1.7
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
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.
Tide rises and falls suddenly, nearly a foot in 10 minutes, within a calm harbor. The longer duration of the activity and the long period indicates a remote but unknown source but it could be a seiche as the beginning is unclear and it was not observed at Fort Point which would have been expected from a large remote source.
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 Diego, CA, CA | United States | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
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 823.