In 1958, a part of the mountain fell in Lithuya Bay, Alaska, after a powerful earthquake. The shock abruptly displaces the water from this narrow fjord. On the slope facing the landslide, it reaches an altitude of 524 meters and pulls out the vegetation. The figure is dizzying, but it describes a rise on the relief, not a wall of water of this height crossing the ocean.
The disaster leaves a clear boundary between the preserved trees and the stripped areas. Aerial photographs taken after the event show this clear border around the bay. Boats on site have different destinies: some survive, another disappears with its occupants.
Satellite images still distinguish the ancient forest from the one that has regrown. The water mark remains inscribed in the trees.
What we know
524 meters is a maximum ascent altitude of the water on a slope, not the height of a wave in the open sea.
To go to the source
References accessed October 11, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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