March 2, 1869 Tsunami: New Zealand
A tsunami of unknown cause began at New Zealand on March 2, 1869. The water rose as high as 0.6 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 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
- March 2, 1869
- Source
- New Zealand
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 42.719° S, 170.961° E
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.
Reference #5324:
1869, March 2. Cause: earthquake? Source proximity to New Zealand: distant?
On 3 March 1869 (local time), an unusual surge, or wave was observed at three named locations along 120 km of the West Coast of the South Island. At about the time of half-flood (~5 am or 5 pm) a large wave broke on the shore at Westport, and there was a strong tidal current that went up the Buller River further than the usual tidal influence. According to marks on the banks, the water rose 0.6 m. The effects were noted to be similar to those experienced in the August 1868 tsunami from Peru (q.v.) At Charleston, a vessel was reportedly driven up onto the beach and at Hokitika, 120 km south of Westport, another boat was washed away. However, no report of exceptional currents or water levels has been found in the Hokitika newspaper (West Coast Times), although there is a report of a Harbour Board boat being found unsecured and floating some way offshore on the morning of 3 March. It was supposed that the boat had been untied deliberately. If the events at Westport and Hokitika are related the time is early morning on March 3. No other reference to effects in Charleston has been found. The West Coast Times reports a rough sea on March 3 and a light wind at Hokitika.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokitika | New Zealand | 0 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Charleston | New Zealand | 98 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Westport | New Zealand | 119 | 0.6 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1869The 1800sTsunamis of New ZealandThis 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 2026-10-01. NCEI tsunami event 5509.