Damage from 1958 Lituya Bay tsunami. Aerial photograph from August 1958 of tree-lined shoreline stripped bare by the tsunami that occurred in Lituya Bay, Alaska, USA, on 9 July 1958. This narrow bay is subject to tsunamis caused by landslides from the surrounding mountains. 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 rock, loosened from this mountainside 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.