Distance
geographical
miles		Time of
transmission		Velocity in
feet per sec.		Depth of ocean
in fathoms
h.m.
Simoda to San Diego491712135452100
Simoda to San Francisco452712395282500 or 2230

The difference for the depths in the San Francisco path depends whether the length of the waves is reckoned at 210 or 217 miles. The length of the waves on the San Diego path were 186 or 192 miles.[82]

The wave of 1868.—On August 11, 1868, a sea wave ruined many cities on the South American coast, and 25,000 lives were lost. This wave, like all the others, travelled the length and breadth of the Pacific.

In Japan, at Hakodate, it was observed by Captain T. Blakiston, R.A., who very kindly gave me the following account:

On August 15, at 10.30 a.m., a series of bores or tidal waves commenced, and lasted until 3 p.m. In ten minutes there was a difference in the sea level of ten feet, the water rising above high water and falling below low water mark with great rapidity. The ordinary tide is only two and a half to three feet. The disturbance producing these waves originated between Iquique and Arica, in about lat. 18.28 S. at about 5 p.m. on August 13. In Greenwich time this would be about 13h. 9m. 40s. August 13. The arrival of the wave at Hakodate in Greenwich time would be about 14h. 7m. 6s. August 14: that is to say, the wave took about 24h. 57m. to travel about 8,700 miles, which gives us an average rate of about 511 feet per second. These waves were felt all over the Pacific. At the Chatham Islands they rushed in with such violence that whole settlements were destroyed. At the Sandwich Islands the sea oscillated at intervals of ten minutes for three days.

Comparing this wave with the one of 1877 we see that one reached Hakodate with a velocity of 511 feet per second, whilst the other travelled the same distance at 512 feet per second.

An account of this earthquake wave has been given by F. von Hochstetter (‘Über das Erdbeben in Peru am 13. August 1868 und die dadurch veranlassten Fluthwellen im Pacifischen Ocean,’ Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 58. Bd., 2. Abth. 1868). From an epitome of this paper given in ‘Petermann’s Geograph. Mittheil.’ 1869, p. 222, I have drawn up the following table of the more important results obtained by F. von Hochstetter.

The wave is assumed to have originated near Arica.

Distance
sea miles
from Arica		Time
taken by wave		Velocity
in feet per
second		Depth of
ocean in feet

h.

m.
Valdivia1,420

5

0

479

7,140

Chatham Islands5,520

15

19

608

11,472

Lyttleton6,120

19

18

533

8,838

Newcastle7,380

22

28

538

9,006

Apia (Samoa)5,760

16

2

604

11,346

Rapa4,057

11

11

611

11,598

Hilo5,400

14

25

555

9,568

Honolulu5,580

12

37

746

17,292

Calculations on the same disturbance are also given by J. E. Hilgard.[83]