January 14, 1878 Tsunami: California, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at California, United States on January 14, 1878. Its effects were recorded at 4 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
The tsunami
- Date
- January 14, 1878
- Source
- California, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Runups recorded
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Erroneous entry
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.
Heavy waves destroyed the outer 300 feet of the wharf at San Buenaventura (Ventura). Two wharves near Santa Barbara at Carpinteria and Moore's Landing were carried away. At Santa Barbara an old abandoned wharf was destroyed and its debris destroyed nearly 300 feet of the new wharf near the surf line. Five foot flooding of the "Lovenze" River (Lorenzo) at Santa Cruz was observed on January 25th. There is no doubt that these effects were caused by meteorological waves.
Several wharves along the California coast damaged or destroyed by a great storm.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpinteria, CA, CA | United States | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Mores Landing, CA, CA | United States | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Santa Barbara, CA, CA | United States | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||||
| Ventura, CA, CA | United States | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1878The 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 1087.