National Tsunami Warning Center, NOAA/NWS

Tsunami of 23 December 2004

A great earthquake with a moment magnitude of 8.1 occurred at 1459 UTC 23 December 2004 and was located near Macquarie Island, Australia (50.145°S, 160.365°E, 10km depth - USGS location).

The earthquake produced a small tsunami that was recorded at a single tide gage operated by the Australian National Tidal Facility. Click on the site name to see a graph of the tsunami. Wave heights are maximum peak-to-trough height in cm. Arrival time is the actual tsunami arrival time in UTC on gages where it could be determined. The ETA is the estimated time of arrival computed at the National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) based on the origin time and location. The Sample Interval column shows the time between samples. Click on the Data File column to get the raw data for NTF tide gages which have a 6 minute real-time output to the NTWC.  Data can be saved using text mode with your browser.  Water level values are given in m.

Tide gage site Wave height (cm p-t) Arrival time (UTC) ETA (UTC) Initial motion Sample Interval (min) Data File
Jackson Bay, New Zealand 25 1630   12/23 1621  12/23   ? 6 Data (m) starting at 0000 UTC 12-23-04

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