On August 6, 1788 CE, a tsunami struck the Shumagin Islands in Alaska, United States. According to the historical record from the NOAA/NCEI Global Historical Tsunami Database, the event was associated with an earthquake and produced an extreme recorded maximum water height of 88.0 meters.
Event Characteristics and Location
The event occurred at a latitude of 55.0 and a longitude of -161.0 in the Shumagin Islands region of Alaska. The associated earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 8.0. In tsunami science, the recorded maximum water height represents the highest measured runup or wave height at a specific observation point rather than a uniform height across the entire coastline.
Record Validity
In the global historical database classification system, this entry carries a validity code of 4, indicating a definite tsunami occurrence in the historical record.
Sources and further context
Official datasets support the event-specific facts.