October 4, 1925 Tsunami: California, United States
A tsunami of meteorological origin began at California, United States on October 4, 1925 at 16:00 UTC. The water rose as high as 0.34 meters. Its effects were recorded at 2 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
- October 4, 1925, 16:00 UTC
- Source
- California, United States
- Cause
- Meteorological
- Maximum water height
- 0.34 m (1.1 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 2
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- -3.5
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite 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.
On October 4, a wave was recorded on the Long Beach marigram with an amplitude of 1.1 feet. The period was regular at 63 minutes and it continued for five days of the record examined. There was some short period activity at 4:15 A.M. on the 4th. There were no operator comments recorded and the weather was calm. It was not recorded at nearby La Jolla. There was no earthquake to provide a source. At Honolulu waves with a period of 37 minutes and amplitude of two inches were observed beginning on October 3 at 20:19 Hawaiian time and continued for the next three days with similar periods and amplitude. This is probably a seiche from a remote meteorological source. Validity 1 (Reference #236, #237)
The record of the tide gauge at Long Beach shows oscillations with an amplitude of 34 cm and a period of 43 minutes. The tide gauge at Honolulu registered waves with a period of 20 minutes and am amplitude of 10 cm. Apparently, of meteorological origin (Reference #415).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach, CA, CA | United States | 0.34 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | ||||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1925The 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 1558.