May 4, 1861 Tsunami: N. California, United States
A tsunami recorded as an astronomical tide began at N. California, United States on May 4, 1861. 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
- May 4, 1861
- Source
- N. California, United States
- Cause
- Astronomical tide
- Runups recorded
- 1
- 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.
1861, May 4. A light shock was felt near San
Francisco. "It was noticed that during this week
the ebb tide dropped 12-18 inches below the
lowest mark below which it had previously
stopped. The shoals in the bay between Chevres
Island and the Oakland River dried up twice so
that one could walk across without getting one's
feet wet" (Soloviev and Go, 1975, p. 205). No
wave action observed on Ft. Point marigram but
unusually low tides were observed. Chevres
Island is probably Goat Island (now called Yerba
Buena Island). No reference to the Oakland
River was found. Yerba Buena Island is in the middle of the San Francisco Bay between San
Francisco and Oakland. The water could not
have receded far enough to walk from Yerba
Buena to Oakland. The authors may have been
referring to another island in the Oakland Harbor
area. The low tides are astronomical tides and no
tsunami activity was involved. Validity 0. (reference #237)
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 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1861The 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 910.