Tsunamis in 1878

June 30, 1878 Tsunami: Northern Chile

June 30, 1878 · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami of unknown cause began at Northern Chile on June 30, 1878.

Where the waves reached

The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.

  • Under 1 m
  • 1 to 3 m
  • 3 to 10 m
  • 10 to 30 m
  • 30 m and more
  • Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
June 30, 1878
Source
Northern Chile
Cause
Unknown
Runups recorded
0
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
0
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Questionable tsunami
Source location
18.300° S, 70.500° 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.

Last days of June, 1878, border of Chile and Peru, event validity possible. In Southern Peru (Chilean) harbors, there were unusual "movements of the sea" so strong that the steamship "Riman" could not unload. (reference #415)

June 16, 1878, 23.6 S, 70.4 W, North Chile, earthquake cause. (reference #552)

More

Every tsunami in 1878The 1800sTsunamis of ChileThis 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 1106.