Finding ‘Good Friday’ An explorative study into the sedimentary structures left from the Good Friday tsunami

Abstract

[author abstract] In 1964 the small logging town of Port Alberni, Vancouver Island B.C., was struck by the tsunami generated by the Good Friday earthquake originating near Anchorage, Alaska. This is Canada’s most destructive tsunami to date, resulting in nearly $72,000,000 in damages (adjusted for inflation). The destructive nature of the tsunami is the result of tsunami ‘ringing’ inside of Alberni Inlet, a narrow 42 km long inlet on the west side of Vancouver Island. In attempts to find evidence left from this tsunami on the seabed of Alberni Inlet a tsunamite, any sedimentary structure deposited from a tsunami, was recovered in one of the inlets deep basins. This tsunamite was identified as being deposited close to the year 1964 through the use of core sampling, x-radiography, and Cesium (137Cs) dating. These findings help to fill a gap in what is known about tsunami sediment structures in the marine environment. This study will aide future researchers in determining likely locations where tsunamites could be preserved in the marine environment.