December 11, 1913 Tsunami: Santa Barbara, S. California, United States
A tsunami of unknown cause began at Santa Barbara, S. California, United States on December 11, 1913. The water rose as high as 4.5 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
- December 11, 1913
- Source
- Santa Barbara, S. California, United States
- Cause
- Unknown
- Maximum water height
- 4.5 m (14.8 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Questionable tsunami
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.
SANTA BARBARA, Dec. 12.- The heaviest surf for many months was running yesterday and last night in the Santa Barbara channel, indicating submarine earthquakes or heavy storms at sea. The waves were about 15 feet high. Crowds were attracted to the Potter hotel and to the water front. (reference #10414)
SANTA BARBARA. Cal., Dec. 14.-For several days a submarine disturbance has kept the ocean along the
south coast in fury, during which time the weather has been fine and the water comparatively calm several miles from the shore. Today the wreckage of an old ship was cast up.
A few miles southward part of a mastodon's skeleton, which apparently had been brought up from a great depth, was washed ashore. The skeleton fragments included about thirty-five feet of vertebrae, and the skull, with eight-foot tuks intact. The ship's wreckage bore indications
that it had lain on the ocean bottom for perhaps 100 years. (reference #10415)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara, CA, CA | United States | 4.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1913The 1900sTsunamis of United StatesThis 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 5474.