January 22, 1923 Tsunami: N. California, United States
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake began at N. California, United States on January 22, 1923 at 09:04:21 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.1 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
- January 22, 1923, 09:04:21 UTC
- Source
- N. California, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.1, 15 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- -2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- An event that only caused a seiche
- Source location
- 40.482° N, 125.034° 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.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred offshore of Cape Mendocino, California. Chief of the Tides Section of the Coast and Geodetic Survey states, "I have examined the marigrams requested in your letter and the results are essentially negative.. There was no evidence at all of a tsunami on the records of 31 January 1922 for San Francisco and Humboldt Bay. The San Francisco marigram for 22 January 1923 showed a small seiche (about 0.1 foot) beginning about 01:30 (120oW time) with a maximum range of about 0.2 foot between nine and ten A.M. of the same day." The apparent travel time of twenty-six minutes is too short for a tsunami wave but right for seismic surface waves. The operator noted on the marigram, "Surface a little choppy. Strong S.E. wind with a steady light rain." This is probably a seismic or meterological seiche. (reference #237)
Note: Reference #542 states a small tsunami was recorded, yet cites reference #237 which states “probably a seismic or meterological seiche”. Reference #12345 lists as validity 1 (very doubtful)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 371 | 0.03 | Other | day 22, 09:30 |
More
Every tsunami in 1923The 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 1507.