March 31, 1898 Tsunami: Oakland, N. California, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Oakland, N. California, United States on March 31, 1898 at 07:43 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.31 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
- March 31, 1898, 07:43 UTC
- Source
- Oakland, N. California, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6.2
- Maximum water height
- 0.31 m (1.0 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 38.200° N, 122.400° 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.
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occured in the east San Francisco Bay region. The Oakland mole (breakwater) extended east-west toward Yerba Buena Island. Jacks Point is probably Jack's Bend, a point over eight miles up the Napa River from Mare's Island. The origin of the waves is uncertain. The Rogers Fault is predominately strike slip but may have some vertical component. However, the path from the fault to Oakland is rather indirect having to pass through San Pablo Bay to get to the San Francisco Bay proper. Submarine landslides are problematic as there is little relief in the bay bottom. Subaerial landslides nearer Oakland are possible but there are no reports of any. The marigram for this event showed short period noise continuing for several days. Operators repeatedly noted "rough water." These were probably meterological waves and nothing resembling a tsunami was observed. (Reference #237)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland, CA, CA | United States | 46 | 0.31 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1898The 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 1248.