Lituya Bay tsunami evidence, tree lines. North shore of Lituya Bay, Alaska, USA, between Cenotaph Island and Gilbert Inlet, with tree lines showing forests of different ages in the zones denuded by giant waves in 1936, 1874 and 1853-54. Five years later, another tsunami occurred in Lituya Bay on 9 July 1958. The tsunami reached a height of 524 metres, and was the largest ever recorded. It was caused by a landslide of 30 million cubic metres of mountainside, loosened by an earthquake. This image is part of a series taken by D.J. Miller of the United States Geological Survey, showing the area before and after the 1958 tsunami.