October 11, 1877 Tsunami: Buenaventura, Colombia
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Buenaventura, Colombia on October 11, 1877. Its effects were recorded at 2 places in at least 2 countries.
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
- October 11, 1877
- Source
- Buenaventura, Colombia
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
- Source location
- 3.880° N, 77.080° W
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.
1877, October 11, 9:00 (local time). The steamship "Paita" in Esmeraldas Port was torn from its anchors by a sudden storm and was almost lost. Simultaneously, a similar phenomenon was observed at Buenaventura Port, where it was accompanied by an earthquake (Reference #415).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buenaventura | Colombia | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Esmeraldas | Ecuador | 433 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1877The 1800sTsunamis of ColombiaThe 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 5493.