Seward waterfront

The waterfront at Seward, looking south, before earthquake-generated underwater landslides, surge-waves, and tsunami waves devastated the water­ front. Note the small boat harbor, the railroad yards, the large docks, and other waterfront facilities which were removed by the underwater land­ slides. Many landslides generated by the 1964 earthquake originated beneath, or came to rest within, large bodies of water. The resultant displacement of water by many of these slides produced surge-waves that hit adjacent shorelines with great violence. Such slides and the waves that they generated brought considerable property damage and loss of life to communities and isolated buildings situated on the shores of Prince William Sound and Kenai Lake.