California Tsunami Maps and Data

Tsunami Hazard Area Maps for California cover much of the state's populated coastal areas and will one day cover the entire California coast. Explore your area of interest in the map—zoom in, pan, and click (or tap) a coastal location to invoke a pop-up window that provides additional information and links. NOTE: there may be many results in the pop-up, depending on where you click. We recommend you zoom in to a specific area of interest before using the pop-up feature.

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Other Tsunami Map Products

MyHazards by Cal OES provides a website where you can find out if you live within an area at risk to hazards from tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, and fire.

Spatial Data for GIS users

For GIS users, we offer the following links to our tsunami map shapefiles and ArcGIS REST services. These are statewide data sets; however, the 2021 data cover only the counties updated in 2021. Similarly, the 2009 data cover only the counties not updated in 2021. Therefore, to get the most complete tsunami data coverage for California's coast, you must utilize the 2021 and 2009 data together.

• 2021 Tsunami Hazard Area (shapefiles) and 2009 Tsunami Inundation Area (shapefiles)
• 2021 Tsunami Hazard Area (feature service) and 2009 Tsunami Inundation Area (feature service)

About the Maps

California Tsunami Hazard Area Maps and data are prepared to assist cities and counties in identifying their tsunami hazard for tsunami response planning. The maps and data are compiled with the best currently available scientific information and represent areas that could be exposed to tsunami hazards during a tsunami event. They are primarily based on inundation limits corresponding to a 975-year average return period tsunami event model. These limits have been extended to reflect potential local tsunami sources not considered in probabilistic analysis and are also modified to reflect the practical need to define limits that coincide with geographic features or city streets. The following documents explain the methodology for determining inundation and evacuation areas.

• 2021 Map Methodology (PDF)
• 2009 Map Methodology (PDF)

Disclaimer

California Official Tsunami Hazard Area Maps are prepared to assist cities and counties in identifying their tsunami hazard. They are intended for local jurisdictional, coastal evacuation planning uses only. They are not legal documents and do not meet disclosure requirements for real estate transactions nor for any other regulatory purpose. The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the University of Southern California (USC), AECOM Technical Services, and the California Geological Survey (CGS) make no representation or warranties regarding the accuracy of the maps nor the data from which the maps were derived. The State of California shall not be liable under any circumstances for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages with respect to any claim by any user or any third party on account of or arising from the use of these maps.

Copyright 2009-2021 State of California

How to cite California Tsunami Maps

When citing the maps in your research, please use the following format (entering the specific map name, county name, and date on the map where indicated):

For 2021 maps:

State of California, 2021, Tsunami Hazard Area Map, County name County; produced by the California Geological Survey, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and AECOM; dated date on the map, mapped at multiple scales.

For 2009 maps:

State of California, 2009, Tsunami Inundation Map for Emergency Planning, Map name Quadrangle, County name County; produced by California Emergency Management Agency, California Geological Survey, and University of Southern California – Tsunami Research Center; dated date on the map, mapped at 1:24,000 scale.