How fast and far did the tsunami travel?
The one that made the Mississippi flow backwards..... this may be the wrong thread but I'll give it a shot
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/culturebox/2011/12/the_worst_earthquake_in_the_continental_u_s_why_missouri_still_hasn_t_gotten_over_the_1811_new_madrid_temblor_.html
Not much of a tsunami.
Good guess on the New Madrid fault earthquake in Missouri 206 years ago...........which would be the strongest earthquake in the continental US at 7.9(not sure how accurate that number is because we didn't have gadgets to measure back then).
However, Alaska has had 8 stronger quakes.
https://www.infoplease.com/world/earthquakes/largest-earthquakes-united-states
The most incredible fact regarding the New Madrid quakes is that 3 of the strongest ever occurred on that fault in less than 2 month! (9th, 17th, 20th)
| 9. | 7.9 | Feb. 7, 1812 | New Madrid, Missouri |
| 17. | 7.7 | Dec. 16, 1811 | New Madrid, Missouri area |
| 20. | 7.6 | Jan. 23, 1812 | New Madrid, Missouri |
The world strongest earthquake was not in the US:
https://geology.com/records/largest-earthquake/
World's Twelve Largest EarthquakesIncludes all measured earthquakes since 1900 | ||
| Magnitude | Location | Date |
| 9.5 | Chile | 05/22/1960 |
| 9.2 | Alaska | 03/28/1964 |
| 9.1 | Off the coast of Northern Sumatra | 12/26/2004 |
| 9.1 | Honshu, Japan | 03/11/2011 |
| 9.0 | Kamchatka | 11/04/1952 |
| 8.8 | Off the coast of Chile | 02/27/2010 |
| 8.8 | Off the coast of Ecuador | 01/31/1906 |
| 8.7 | Rat Islands, Alaska | 02/04/1965 |
| 8.6 | Tibet | 08/15/1950 |
| 8.6 | Off the coast of Northern Sumatra | 04/11/2012 |
| 8.6 | Northern Sumatra | 03/28/2005 |
| 8.6 | Andreanof Islands, Alaska | 03/09/19 |
The amount of energy released from the strongest 3 quakes was incredible!
Global seismic moment release: During the 100-year period between 1906 and 2005, three earthquakes accounted for nearly half of the world's total seismic release. The 1960 Valdivia Earthquake accounted for greater than 20% of the global seismic release. The width of thin black wedge at slightly past 3:00 on the chart represents the release of the deadly San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
https://geology.com/records/largest-earthquake/
World's largest earthquake - tsunami map: The Chilean earthquake produced a powerful tsunami that traveled at a speed of about 200 miles per hour across the Pacific Ocean. The wave killed 61 people in Hawaii, 138 in Japan, and 32 in the Philippines. The star marks the location of the epicenter, and the numbers on the contour lines are travel times in hours for the wave front. Image by NOAA. Enlarge map.
The world's largest earthquake with an instrumentally documented magnitude occurred on May 22, 1960 near Valdivia, in southern Chile. It was assigned a magnitude of 9.5 by the United States Geological Survey. It is referred to as the "Great Chilean Earthquake" and the "1960 Valdivia Earthquake."
The United States Geological Survey reports this event as the "largest earthquake of the 20th Century." Other earthquakes in recorded history may have been larger; however, this is the largest earthquake that has occurred since accurate estimates of magnitude became possible in the early 1900s.
This is one of the few earthquakes that has killed large numbers of people at distant locations. Tsunamis generated by the earthquake traveled across the Pacific Ocean at a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Changes in sea level were noticed all around the Pacific Ocean basin.
Fifteen hours after the earthquake, a tsunami with a runup of 35 feet swept over coastal areas of Hawaii. Many shoreline facilities and buildings near coastal areas were destroyed. Near Hilo, Hawaii, 61 people were reported killed by the waves.
In California, many small boats were damaged as the waves swept through marinas. At Crescent City, a wave had a runup of about 5 feet and caused damage to shoreline structures and small boats.
Waves up to 18 feet high hit the island of Honshu, Japan about 22 hours after the earthquake. There it destroyed more than 1600 homes and left 185 people dead or missing. Another 32 people were killed in the Philippines about 24 hours after the earthquake. Damage also occurred on Easter Island and Samoa.
