Skip to main content

Story: Tsunamis

Travel times, 1960 Chilean tsunami

Image
Travel times, 1960 Chilean tsunami

This map shows the travel time of the 1960 Chilean tsunami across the Pacific Ocean. It took 12 hours for the waves to reach New Zealand. The tsunami struck the New Zealand coastline without warning in the late evening and early hours of the morning on 23 and 24 May.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: NOAA – National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

Base map: NASA Visible Earth

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Willem de Lange and Eileen McSaveney, Tsunamis – Tsunamis – New Zealand’s underrated hazard, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/6213/travel-times-1960-chilean-tsunami (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Willem de Lange and Eileen McSaveney, published 2 March 2009.