Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
inhabitants and stranding bodies in the tops of coconut trees. Survivors of the 1907 dis-
aster made up a new word for “the ocean coming onto the land.” Interviews after the 2004
tsunami revealed that the story did its job. When the ground shook the locals knew to flee
their low-lying coastal villages and head for the hills. There were numerous casualties on
the mainland, where the population had no such oral history of a previous tsunami.
Native American stories of a flood coming from the sea are common along the Cascadia
subduction zone, from Northern California to the Oregon and Washington coasts and north
to Vancouver Island. Tremendous earthquakes shake this region each time the oceanic crust
beneath the Pacific gets shoved a little farther under North America. We know the last ma-
jor subduction zone earthquake occurred on January 26, 1700 because Japanese temple re-
cords tell of a mysterious tsunami arriving without any ground shaking. The wave gener-
ated on the west coast of North America traveled all the way to Japan.
Early accounts from the Pacific Northwest record that flood traditions were common
among coastal tribes. Missionaries were puzzled that some stories recounted floods just
three or four generations back. One old man of the Clallam tribe said his grandfather had
even met a survivor of the great flood. Missionaries wondered how native peoples could
have been so confused about the timing of Noah's Flood. They weren't. Such stories read
like eyewitness accounts because tsunamis devastated their ancestors' coastal communit-
ies. Archaeological evidence documents that villages along the British Columbia, Wash-
ington, and Oregon coasts were inundated by tsunamis and abandoned after the 1700 earth-
quake. After the ground shook violently for more than three minutes, a thirty-foot wave
smashed into the coast. The dramatic tale was sure to be retold by survivors.
Older traditional stories from throughout the region tell of ancient struggles between
Thunderbird and Whale, graphically describing ground shaking and accompanying flood-
ing from the sea. These stories depict Whale as a monster terrorizing animals and depriving
people of food. Seeing that the people were starving, benevolent Thunderbird flew from his
mountain home and dove into the ocean to battle Whale. During their struggle the sea fell
and rose again, sending canoes into treetops and killing many people.
Even Western mythology has direct links to tsunami stories. An unusual Mediterranean
tsunami may explain both the Greek story of Deucalion's flood and the myth of Atlantis,
the fabled city that sank into the sea. In 1960, Greek seismologist Angelos Galanopoulos
