May 26, 1929 Tsunami: British Columbia, Canada
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at British Columbia, Canada on May 26, 1929 at 22:39:54 UTC. The water rose as high as 1.5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 3 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
Travel times
How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.
The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.
- 1 to 4 hours
- 5 to 6 hours
- 7 to 14 hours
- 15 hours and more
Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.
The tsunami
- Date
- May 26, 1929, 22:39:54 UTC
- Source
- British Columbia, Canada
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7, 33 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1.5 m (4.9 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 3
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 0
- Tsunami magnitude (Iida)
- 0.6
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Probable tsunami
- Source location
- 51.000° N, 131.000° 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.
May 26, 1929, 14:42 [local time]. There was an earthquake, felt most strongly along the eastern shore of the Queen Charlotte Islands. At Masset, the water splashed out of reservoirs, trees and homes rocked crazily and people found it difficult to remain standing. At Sandspit, a low-lying stretch of coast 150 m (500 feet) long sank into the water. The top of a hill was moved at Lockeport, and flues collapsed near Rose Harbor. A tidal wave 1 1/2 m (4 feet) [high] was reported at Queen Charlotte. The tsunami was also observed near Skidegate. Gutenberg, Richter (1954) : 26.V; 22h39m54s; 51 deg N., 131 deg W.; M=7.0. (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skidegate, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 260 | Eyewitness observation of water height | ||||
| Queen Charlotte, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 261 | 1.5 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Masset, British Columbia, BC | Canada | 343 | Other |
More
Every tsunami in 1929The 1900sTsunamis of CanadaThe 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 1616.