August 23, 1877 Tsunami: Northern Chile
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Northern Chile on August 23, 1877. The water rose as high as 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
- August 23, 1877
- Source
- Northern Chile
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 20.200° S, 70.100° 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.
August 23, 1877, 16:55 [local time. A strong short tremor occurred like a shock at Iquique; three large sea waves fell on the coast 10 minutes later and reached the esplanade. (reference #415)
August 23, 1877, 20.2 S, 70.1 W, runup height 1 m. (reference #552)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iquique | Chile | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1877The 1800sTsunamis of ChileThe 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 1081.