Where have tsunamis occurred historically?
East Coast Historically, no tsunamis have been generated on the east coast, a consequence of the low level of seismic activity and the lack of vertical fault displacement. No tsunami occurred during the Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of 1886, one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. In addition, none of the tsunamis occurring in the Atlantic Ocean region has significantly affected the east coast of the United States. The only tsunami known to have been recorded on the Atlantic Coast of the United States was generated by an earthquake off the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland on November 18, 1929; it caused a wave height of 1 foot. West Coast Tsunamis generated byearthquakes in South America and the Aleutian-Alaskan region have posed a greater hazard to the west coast of the United States than locally generated tsunamis. For example, the 1946 Aleutian tsunami produced waves heights of 12 to 16 feet at Half Moon Bay, Muir Beach, Arena Cove, and Santa Cruz, California. T
