Lituya Bay, Alaska (1958) - Tsunami 2

Lituya Bay (Alaska)

On July 9, 1958, a large earthquake along the Fairweather Fault struck Southeastern Alaska. Acombination of disturbances triggered by the earthquake generated a mega-tsunami wave that rose to a maximum height of
1,720 feet (516 m) at the head of Lituya Bay. The extreme height of the wave and the mechanism of its generation were puzzling. There were questions as to whether there was
sufficient water volume in the inlet at the head of the Bay for such an extreme wave to be generated and to reach such an enormous height.
Several mechanisms for the extreme wave generation were proposed but none could be supportedconclusively by the data on hand at the time. Suggested scenarios for the "mega-tsunami" included a combination of... LINK


Two survivors of a Mega Tsunami tell their stories of the day the 1/2km high wave hit Lituya Bay.