what is the worst tsunami near Lompoc, ca and how far inland did it go?

July 7, 2026

The worst documented tsunami near Lompoc was the November 4, 1927 Santa Barbara Channel tsunami, tied to the 1927 Lompoc earthquake. It was described as a small tsunami on the coast near Lompoc, with reports of about 5 feet at Port San Luis and 6 feet near Pismo, while official tide-gauge records show only minor wave heights in many places.

How far inland it went

Near Lompoc itself, the tsunami was not reported as a major inland flood event. The available account says the coast was hit by a small wave that washed along the beach and in one place stripped seaweed and debris, but it does not describe a large inland penetration around Lompoc.

For the earlier 1812 Santa Barbara-area tsunami, one historical account says the sea flowed inland a little more than half a mile in Santa Barbara and reached the lower part of town. That event is often cited as the larger historical tsunami in the broader Santa Barbara Channel region, but it is not a Lompoc-specific inundation report.

Practical read

So, if you mean closest major tsunami affecting the Lompoc area , the 1927 event is the best match, and it appears to have had limited inland reach near Lompoc. If you mean the largest historical tsunami in the wider region , the 1812 Santa Barbara tsunami is the bigger one on record, with inland flow of a little over half a mile in Santa Barbara.

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<table>
  <tr><th>Event</th><th>Area</th><th>Reported reach</th></tr>
  <tr><td>1927 Lompoc earthquake tsunami</td><td>Near Lompoc / Port San Luis / Pismo</td><td>Small coastal tsunami; no clear large inland flooding reported near Lompoc [web:4][web:6]</td></tr>
  <tr><td>1812 Santa Barbara tsunami</td><td>Santa Barbara</td><td>Sea flowed inland a little more than half a mile [web:2]</td></tr>
</table>

TL;DR: The worst nearby documented tsunami was the 1927 one, but it seems to have stayed mostly at the coast near Lompoc; the bigger regional historical tsunami was in 1812 and reached a little over half a mile inland in Santa Barbara.