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| The Orphan Tsunami of 1700—Japanese Clues to a Parent Earthquake in North America |
Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Japan (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), the University of Tokyo, and the University of Washington.
Published in association with University of Washington Press.
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A simulated tsunami reaches Japan ten hours after its start along the Pacific coast of North America |
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One winter's night in the year 1700, a mysterious tsunami flooded fields and washed away houses in Japan. It arrived without the warning that a nearby earthquake usually provides. Samurai, merchants, and villagers recorded the event, but nearly three centuries would pass before discoveries in North America revealed the tsunami's source.
The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 tells this scientific detective story through clues from both sides of the Pacific. The evidence uncovered tells of a catastrophe, a century before Lewis and Clark, that now helps guide preparations for future earthquakes and tsunamis in the United States and Canada. |
Download Professional Paper 1707 as a 144-page PDF file (116.8 MB)
Part 1, Unearthed earthquakes: •Earthquake potential •Tsunami potential •Flood stories •Alaskan analog •Sunken shores •Sand sheets •In harm's way •Currents and cracks •Magnitude 9?
Part 2, The orphan tsunami: •Literate hosts •Wetted places •Primary sources
Kuwagasaki: •Account in Morioka-han "Zassho" •Words for waves •Converting time •Samurai scribes •High ground •Tsunami size
Tsugaruishi: •Account in Moriai-ke "Nikki kakitome chō" •Human error •Social status •Foreign waves •Tsunami size
Otsuchi: •Account in Morioka-han "Zassho" •Report to Edo •Collected writings •Tsunami size
Nakaminato: •Account in Ōuchi-ke "Go-yōdome" •Certified loss •Fair-weather waves •Simulated waves
Miho: •Account in "Miho-mura yōji oboe" •Tidal waves •Tsunami size
Tanabe: •Account in "Tanabe-machi daichō" •Tsunami size near a storehouse •Tsunami size near Tanabe Bay •Sawtooth cycles
Part 3, The orphan's parent: •By elimination •Tree-ring tests •Magnitude 9 •Muddy forecast •High-enough ground •Seismic waves
Folder of Chapters PDFS. This folder contains the 12 PDFs that comprise this report (123.4 MB total)
For questions about the content of this report, contact Brian Atwater
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