March 7, 1929 Tsunami: Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AK, United States
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake began at Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AK, United States on March 7, 1929 at 01:34:37 UTC. The water rose as high as 1 meters. Its effects were recorded at 7 places in at least 3 countries.
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
- March 7, 1929, 01:34:37 UTC
- Source
- Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, AK, United States
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 7.8, 50 km deep
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 7
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 50.880° N, 169.710° W
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Reference #542:
This magnitude 7.5 earthquake was felt onboard several ships at sea and severely at Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A small resultant tsunami was recorded in at Hilo, Honolulu, and San Francisco, but there are reports that Cherni Island, Alaska, was overrun by water and all cattle on the island were lost. The magnitudes reported for this event vary within the same source from 7.5 to 8.3.
Reference #414:
There was a strong earthquake with source near the Fox Islands. Dutch Harbor felt a severe tremor. A strong seaquake was felt for a minute on Japanese steamships and other ships between 165o and 171o W. ("Sihara Maru" at 51o 17' N., 171o 16' W.; "Yokohama Maru" at 51o 32' N., 169o 31' W.; "President Madison" at 49o 55' N., 165o 3' W.).
A tsunami arose and was recorded by instruments on the Hawaiian Islands.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherni Island, Fox Islands, AK, AK | United States | 647 | 1 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Tofino (Clayoquot),british Columbia, BC | Canada | 3,099 | 0.06 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 06:39 | ||
| Wailua River, Kauai, HI, HI | United States | 3,325 | 0.4 | Eyewitness observation of water height | |||
| Honolulu, Oahu, HI, HI | United States | 3,441 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 05:58 | ||
| Hilo, Hawaii, HI, HI | United States | 3,689 | 0.2 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 06:15 | ||
| San Francisco, CA, CA | United States | 3,958 | 0.02 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) | day 7, 07:34 | ||
| Kushimoto | Japan | 4,772 | 0.1 | Tide gauge (half the maximum wave height) |
More
Every tsunami in 1929The 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 1613.