November 29, 1891 Tsunami: Washington, United States
A tsunami caused by an earthquake and a landslide began at Washington, United States on November 29, 1891 at 23:21 UTC. The water rose as high as 2.44 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
The tsunami
- Date
- November 29, 1891, 23:21 UTC
- Source
- Washington, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake and landslide
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Maximum water height
- 2.44 m (8.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 1.3
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 48.000° N, 123.500° 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.
Two shocks of an earthquake lasting about five seconds each were felt […] Water in Lake Washington surged onto the beach two feet above the mark of the highest water and eight feet above lake stage on that date. There were probably three separate events, one in Lake Washington, one on the Puget Sound side of Seattle, and a third in the vicinity of Tacoma […] These were probably subaerial or submarine landslide-generated tsunamis.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA, WA | United States | 99 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Lake Washington, WA, WA | United States | 101 | 2.44 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Tacoma, WA, WA | United States | 115 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1891The 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 1192.