August 25, 1859 Tsunami: El Salvador
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake began at El Salvador on August 25, 1859. 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
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
- August 25, 1859
- Source
- El Salvador
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.2
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 1.5
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 13.330° N, 87.810° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1859, August 25. 13 N 87.5 W, magnitude 6.25, tsunami intensity 1.5, validity possible. A strong earthquake in El Salvador [and Honduras] caused some damage at La Union and Amapala ports, on Tigre Island, at San Diego and La Brea settlements. A roar was heard. The shocks continued almost without interruption on the 26th and 27th. The shocks ceased on the 28th, but several more shocks were felt on September 1-3. At La Union, the earthquake was accompanied by tsunami waves, which did some damage. In particular, two dug-out canoes and one brigantine were lost. (reference #415)
1859, August 25. El Salvador source area, La Union, El Salvador observation area. (reference #79)
1859, August 26. 13 N, 87.5 W, magnitude 6-6.5. Amapala, Fonseca Gulf, Honduras, tsunami magnitude 1.5. (reference #273)
1859, August 26. The tsunami generated by the earthquake caused severe damage to houses and boats. As a consequence of the furious waves, two vessels and a brigantine sank at La Union, Gulf of Fonseca, El Salvador. In addition, two canoes were damaged. Reports indicate that the situation in the sea was horrible. (reference #2652)
1859, August 26. 13 N, 87.5 W, magnitude 6.2. Fonseca Gulf, Honduras. (reference #1402)
1859, August 23. Honduras, El Salvador. On 25 August, a heavy shock caused some damage to the Port of Amapala in the Pacific coast of Honduras. Two ships sank due to the tsunami and there was slight damage at the port of La Union (El Salvador). (reference #82)
1859, August 23 or September 3. E1 Salvador, La Union. (Dates are of earthquakes; it is not known on which date the sea wave occurred.) (reference #132)
1859, August 25-September 3. “Series of earthquakes at La Union. On August 25, one heavy shock caused some damage to the port of A.rnapala on the island of Tigre and to the villages of San Diego and La Brea. Two vessels and a brigantine sank from the tsunami following the shock, and there was slight damage to the port of La Union. On August 26 and 27, the earthquakes continued to tremble at each moment. They ceased on the 28th. On September 1, six shocks were felt, the heavier ones at 10:30 and 14:00 hours, all from the direction of S to N. The series of shocks ended with three light shocks on September 2, and two more on September 3. From the direction of Volcano Conseguina came constant deafening sounds. Therefore, the source of the shocks was thought to be the volcano”. "At 23:00 a heavy shock at La Union, El Salvador. The houses suffered a great deal. Two canoes and one brigantine were lost. At 12 midnight, another earthquake at La Union, not as heavy as the former one ... August 26- Continuation of the shakes at La Union. August 21-at 10:00 several light tremors in La Union. August 30-the last one this month was felt as a heavy tremor in various localities in El Salvador. September 1-the earthquakes continued in La Union. On this day were felt two very heavy and four light ones, from the direction of S to N," (reference #11626)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Union | El Salvador | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1859The 1800sTsunamis of El SalvadorThe 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 884.