1,578-Foot Wave: Unearthed Footage Shows Aftermath of Alaska Mega-Tsunami
Helicopter crews fly over Tracy Arm to reveal forests erased, rock walls scraped clean, and the haunting scars left behind by one of history’s tallest waves.
This is another reminder that nature still operates on a scale that's hard for us to comprehend. We build roads, bridges, and towns believing the landscape is fixed, but the mountains have been rearranging themselves for millions of years. Whether it's wildfire, flood, or a wave taller than a skyscraper, good stewardship begins with respecting the immense forces that shape the land—not assuming we've somehow mastered them.
NOTE: this article was originally published to Surfer.com on July 17, 2026. It was written by Dashel Pierson.
It’s tough to comprehend a wave taller than the Empire State Building.
Yet that’s exactly what scientists believe thundered through Alaska’s Tracy Arm in August of 2025.
Newly released helicopter footage offers one of the clearest looks yet at the aftermath of the massive landslide-triggered mega-tsunami, revealing a landscape permanently reshaped by one of the largest waves ever documented.
On August 10, 2025, more than two billion cubic feet of rock and earth collapsed into the steep-walled fjord, displacing an enormous volume of water. The resulting mega-tsunami is estimated to have reached an astonishing 1,578 feet (481 meters) in height, making it the second-largest tsunami ever recorded, behind only the 1958 Lituya Bay event in southeast Alaska.
The newly-published footage, captured three days after the disaster during a U.S. Geological Survey reconnaissance flight, shows helicopter crews surveying the scar left behind. Towering mountainsides appear freshly scraped clean, with entire forests ripped from the slopes.
In some places, the wave stripped vegetation more than 1,000 feet above sea level, leaving behind stark gray rock where dense evergreen forests had stood just days earlier.
From the air, the scale is almost impossible to grasp.
The freshly exposed landslide scar towers above the fjord, while the surrounding shoreline bears unmistakable signs of the wave’s incredible power. The helicopter crew circles the area, documenting the massive debris field and the enormous swath of trees erased by the surge.
Unlike earthquake-generated tsunamis that radiate across entire ocean basins, mega-tsunamis like this form when an immense volume of rock, ice, or sediment suddenly plunges into a confined body of water. The displaced water has nowhere to go but up, producing waves that can dwarf even the largest earthquake tsunamis.
Scientists say warming temperatures and the retreat of glaciers are increasing the likelihood of large landslides in Alaska’s steep coastal mountains, making continued monitoring of these remote fjords increasingly important.
The newly surfaced footage serves as a rare reminder of nature’s staggering power.
Long after the water receded, the mountainsides themselves still bear the unmistakable signature of one of the greatest waves in recorded history.