The Tsunami was caused by the Aleutian Mega thrust fault. The tsunami was produced from the two plates that were stuck in place. The oceanic plate then sunk below the continental plate which released a lot of energy. After the oceanic plate sunk underneath, all the energy built up released and then produced the tsunami. The earthquake caused the seafloor to rumble like a rug which created a trans-ocean tsunami. The earthquake also caused undersea landslides to occur. The landslides are produced when the soil starts to act as a liquid. When a landslide occurs underwater, the water then starts to form waves since the water has no stability underneath. With both the landslides and the earthquake, it produced local tsunamis which had little to no warning time.
The tsunami was about 220 feet tall. This sent the deadly waves to the West Coast. The local tsunamis were worse and they were generated by the landslides underwater. This Earthquake caused rapid changes in the shoreline that normally happen over a period of centuries. About 10,000 miles of shoreline was affected by both the earthquake and tsunami. During this time, there were no warning systems in place to warn people of tsunamis. After this tsunami, most Alaska communities now have a siren system to be warned of tsunamis and to head to higher grounds. Both the earthquake and tsunami played a role in forming the West Coast and also the creation of the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
The tsunami was about 220 feet tall. This sent the deadly waves to the West Coast. The local tsunamis were worse and they were generated by the landslides underwater. This Earthquake caused rapid changes in the shoreline that normally happen over a period of centuries. About 10,000 miles of shoreline was affected by both the earthquake and tsunami. During this time, there were no warning systems in place to warn people of tsunamis. After this tsunami, most Alaska communities now have a siren system to be warned of tsunamis and to head to higher grounds. Both the earthquake and tsunami played a role in forming the West Coast and also the creation of the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.
Calculated travel time map.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Image Credit: Wikipedia