The biggest tsunami ever recorded was so devastating the impact can still be seen from space
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Lloyd Cluff/Getty / NASA Earth Observatory
The Earth’s largest tsunami ever recorded would certainly leave an impression, so much so that NASA has confirmed its impact can be seen from space.
Seemingly out of a Sci-fi film, the largest tsunami ever recorded would have truly been a devastating sight.
Following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on July 10, 1958, a wave of biblical proportions occurred on the Fairweather Fault in southeast Alaska.
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This resulted in 90 tons of rock falling into Lituya Bay, generating a wave with a maximum height of a whopping 1,720 feet. This proceeded to completely decimate the forest’s vegetation and ripped millions of trees from its banks.
The Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) has detailed the details of the incident, and how it resulted in multiple deaths, as well as significant changes to the area’s landscape.
“A total of five people were killed in the event: three people died on Khantaak Island at the mouth of Yakutat Bay when the beach they were standing on subsided 100 feet below sea level; the other two died when their boat was sunk by the tsunami at Lituya Bay,” the council explained.
“Two other boats also were anchored in the bay that night; those four people managed to ride out the wave. Two were rescued from a dinghy after their boat sank, the others managed to pilot out of the bay on their own power, but at great risk, as the water continued to swirl unpredictably, and was littered with millions of tree trunks that had been ripped from the banks.”
65 years on, the impact in the area can still be seen. NASA’s Landsat program has shown that from space the damage that was done to the shoreline is still imprinted in the forest.
Initially, scientists were perplexed by the sheer size of the wave as it was not clear what could have caused such a massive reaction.
They eventually discovered the rock that plummeted into the water that caused the tsunuami, and estimated it to be 2,400 feet by 3,000 feet and 300 feet thick.
It had dislodged from the face of the northern wall of the inlet, and fallen 2,000 feet into the bay.
Unfortunately, there was not a lot anyone could have done to prevent the deaths that occurred, but it does put into perspective just how devastating nature can be.