It’s no surprise then that some of these chart recorders have had long service lives and have recorded events of historic value. One of those events is the 1960 tsunami that had it’s origins in Chile and caused damage up the northern California
It’s no surprise then that some of these chart recorders have had long service lives and have recorded events of historic value. One of those events is the 1960 tsunami that had it’s origins in Chile and caused damage up the northern California coast. These records, recently discovered, are now providing researchers with valuable knowledge on tsunami characteristics.
In order to monitor the effects of seiches on the harbor of Crescent City, California, the US Army Corps of Engineers had set up two gaging stations on the docks of the harbor utilizing the Stevens type A-35 water level recorder. This was a float operated system used in a stilling well 14 inches in diameter. The recorders were set to a speed of one yard per hour, giving maximum resolution of water level activity. This system was maintained by the Crescent City Harbor Master.
Orville Magoon, who worked for the Corps of Engineers at the time, was in charge of the seiche project and, because of past experiences with tsunamis, had designed the stilling wells to allow the recording of such an event if it were to happen. Unfortunately his planning paid off on May 22, 1960, when the Great Chilean Earthquake ca