Title: Tsunami: Maine's Geologic Hazards: Maine Geological Survey: Maine ACF
Headings: Tsunamis in the Atlantic Ocean
Tsunamis in the Atlantic Ocean
Background
What is a tsunami?
How big can tsunami get?
What was the most devastating recorded tsunami?
Tsunamis in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea
Large Historic Tsunamis in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea (abbreviated list)
Tsunamis in the Gulf of Maine
Tsunami Threat to the East Coast of the United States and New England
Caribbean Islands - Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions
North Carolina/Virginia Continental Shelf - Submarine Landslide
Volcanic Eruption and Landslide - La Palma, Canary Islands
Tsunami Monitoring Systems
So should we be worried in Maine?
Selected Bibliography
Originally published on the web as the January 2005 Site of the Month.

Content: Displaced water forms a tsunami. B) Tsunami separates into two distinct waves - local (to right) and distant (to deep water). C) As local wave encounters continental slope, it gains amplitude (height) and slows down. The trough of the wave, if it encounters the coast first, will cause a drop in water level (drawdown). Note the distant wave traveled much farther from the point of origin since it is moving faster in deep water (adapted from USGS). Note: Wave heights and slopes are exaggerated in comparison to water depths. Figure 3 summarizes how the characteristics of a tsunami change as the wave propagates through deep water towards the coastline. Figure 3. Image showing the characteristics of a tsunami as it passes through the mid-ocean and approaches a coastline.