December 21, 1884 Tsunami: New Haven, CT, United States
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at New Haven, CT, United States on December 21, 1884. The water rose as high as 2.4 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
- December 21, 1884
- Source
- New Haven, CT, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 2.4 m (7.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 41.310° N, 72.920° 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.
The complete article from the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern (Reference #1750) on the event of December 21:
"New Haven, Conn., Dec 23 - An earthquake shock was felt here about eleven o'clock Sunday night. Fifteen minutes later a tidal wave eight feet high rolled into the bay from the south, traversing the entire length of the harbor - four miles. It had a speed of about twelve miles an hour. There were 200 vessels in the harbor bound eastward. Several were torn away from their anchorage. One ship loaded with coal and four heavily loaded barges were sunk. A three-masted schooner, 800 tons, was swept by the wave nearly a quarter of a mile like a cork, and now lies stranded on Sandy Point. Many other vessels were badly shaken and strained by the wave, but there is no means of communicating with them. Up the harbor the wave overturned small boats, parted the fastening of small vessels, and did damage to the New Haven Yacht Club. An overturned yawl was found at Morris' Cove to-night, with a quantity of sailors' clothing, splintered spars and loose-rigging, and thirty two hatches swept from vessels' decks by the wave. It is now feared that other disasters have occurred."
The only event that the USGS (Reference #2043) lists in the eastern United States close to this date was near center Harbor, NH, on Dec. 17, 12 17 07 UTC, at 43.50 N, 71.50 W, with MMI intensity IV. Therefore the event is given a validity 1.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Haven, CT, CT | United States | 5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| New Haven Harbor, CT, CT | United States | 5 | 2.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Morris' Cove, CT, CT | United States | 6 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1884The 1800sTsunamis of United StatesThe 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 2707.