From Kamchatka

 

Shown above are the water levels as recorded at the Point Reyes tide gauge on 30 July 2025.  The blue line represents the predicted tide levels.  The red line shows the recorded levels with marked fluctuations,  both higher and lower than the predicted levels, revealing the effects of the Kamchatka tsunami.

 

I posted about the Tonga tsunami back in 2022, so you might have seen a graph like this before.  The basic idea is that the tsunami is a series of water level fluctuations that can continue for hours or days.  The duration of the fluctuations surprised me during the Tohoku tsunami in 2011, but I was ready for them in 2022, and again this time.

 

You can see that most of these water level deviations are less than 1 foot (with an exception at ~3 a.m.).  But the water levels rise and fall very quickly (hence the steep, jagged line).

 

What does this look like in the field?  I've learned that it's easiest to see these tsunami-influenced water levels in Bodega Harbor because the elevation change is so gradual.  It's fairly straightforward to see the water levels rising and falling as the water flows across the mudflats.

 

I only had about an hour this morning, but I took a series of photos between 9-10 a.m. to document the tsunami.  This is a little tricky to describe, but here's the basic scenario of what I captured (below).  It's important to compare the water levels in each photo, especially along the left side of the image. 

 

First photo, 9:02 a.m.  Note the water level on the left side of the photo and where it is relative to the wooden post/sign.
 

 

 

Second photo, 9:25 a.m.  The water has flooded in from the left side and spread across the tidal flats to the right of the sign.  Importantly, low tide was at 9:28 a.m. this morning, so the tide should have been dropping, but the water was rising quickly:

 

 

Third photo, 9:30 a.m.  Only 5 minutes later, the water levels have now dropped back almost to the left of the sign again.  (They should have been rising after the low tide.)

 

 

 

Fourth photo, 9:52 a.m.  About 20 minutes later, the water starts to rise for a second time.  It's spreading to the right of the sign again:

 

 

 

Fifth and sixth photos, 9:58 a.m. and 10:08 a.m.  Although the tide should be coming in at this point, the water levels are dropping again.  They are receding to the left of the sign:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seventh and eighth photos, 10:12 a.m. and 10:16 a.m.  Only four minutes later, the water levels are rising for a third time within a 75-minute period:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the area in the green box below shows the period when I took these photos:

 

 

It'll be interesting to see how long the water level fluctuations continue.  You can check the Point Reyes tide gauge yourself here.

 

Amazing to see how these waves cross the entire Pacific Ocean basin!  

 

P.S.  I'm thankful to NOAA for maintaining these tide gauges and helping us understand this phenomenon.