October 6, 1909 Tsunami: Utah, United States
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 6 earthquake began at Utah, United States on October 6, 1909 at 02:41 UTC. The water rose as high as 3.6 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
- October 6, 1909, 02:41 UTC
- Source
- Utah, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 6
- Maximum water height
- 3.6 m (11.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- A lake or river, not the ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 41.800° N, 112.700° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
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.
Waves reportedly rolled over a bathhouse pier at Saltair, a few kilometers west of Salt Lake City. (reference #542)
Dishes rattled, water was sloshed from washbasins, and wall hangings were shaken […] At Saltair Resort on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, the resort building swayed and waves of water began rolling over the bathhouse pier. (reference #12600)
The account suggests to [Jim Pechmann, seismologist with the University of Utah] that the earthquake might have occurred beneath the lake, causing displacement of the lake bottom, in order to generate such a wave. A number of earthquake faults crisscross the lake. "Twelve feet (waves) seems pretty big for me for only a magnitude 6 or so earthquake.And so it's possible there was some exaggeration there." (reference #13787)
Reference #12345 lists this as a validity 3 or probable tsunami. (accessed April 2024)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saltair, UT, UT | United States | 124 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1909The 1900sTsunamis 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 5737.