The wave that crossed the entire ocean

2004/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

In 1700 a giant tsunami reached the Japanese coast. It caused floods and destroyed villages. Of the documents of the time, scientists have come to the conclusion that it was created by a tsunami near the North American coast.

(Photo: ANDÉN).

The tsunami was created by a movement of the Cascadia fault and, according to experts, was the most violent tsunami in history. This fault is located near the Canadian and American coast, so if the tsunami that reached Japan arose there, the wave had to travel in total 8,000 kilometers. It is very difficult for the echo of a tsunami to affect so far.

For this reason, geologists have not previously confirmed that both are related. It seems that the year 1700 was the highest category in the classification of the tidal wave, so now this hypothesis is accepted.