What was the most powerful tsunami ever recorded, how fast was it and how high did the waves reach?

In 1958, a remote corner of Alaska witnessed a natural disaster so extreme, it still holds the record for the tallest tsunami wave in history. Known as a “megatsunami,” the event in Lituya Bay unleashed a wall of water that surged more than 1,700 feet - taller than the Empire State Building - above sea level, wiping out over four square miles of forest in seconds.

A tsunami unlike any other

While most tsunamis - about 80%, according to the U.S. Geological Survey - are triggered by undersea earthquakes, the Lituya Bay megatsunami was different. It wasn’t the quake itself that caused the wave, but rather a massive landslide it set off.

On July 9, 1958, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake shook the region, dislodging between 35 and 40 million cubic meters of rock and glacier ice from a mountainside towering over the bay. The debris plunged from a height of more than 1,600 feet, slamming into the narrow fjord and displacing an unimaginable volume of water.

The result wasn’t a typical tsunami that travels across oceans. Instead, it was a sudden, violent surge - a towering curtain of water that obliterated everything in its path. The wave reached speeds of over 125 mph, though it quickly lost momentum as it spread out.

A remote, rugged landscape

Despite the sheer scale of the disaster, the death toll was surprisingly low: just five people lost their lives. That’s largely because Lituya Bay is located in one of the most sparsely populated parts of the United States. Surrounded by steep cliffs, glaciers and dense wilderness, the area is as breathtaking as it is inhospitable.

Scientists estimate the energy released by the wave was equivalent to 5,000 atomic bombs - staggering figure that underscores the raw power of nature in this isolated Alaskan fjord.

Environmental wake-up call

Beyond the human toll, the megatsunami had a profound impact on the local environment. Entire swaths of forest were flattened and coastal ecosystems were torn apart. The wave disrupted habitats for countless species, some of which may never fully recover.

Today, the Lituya Bay event serves as a stark warning. As climate change accelerates glacier melt and destabilizes mountain slopes, the risk of similar events is growing - not just in Alaska, but in other glacial regions around the world. These aren’t just remote geological curiosities; they’re potential threats to communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

Even though Lituya Bay is far from civilization, its story is a powerful reminder of how quickly nature can turn violent - and how closely our fate is tied to the planet’s shifting balance.

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