Which Alaska lighthouse was obliterated by the 1946 Aleutian tsunami?

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The Alaska lighthouse obliterated by the 1946 Aleutian tsunami was Scotch Cap Lighthouse. It stood on Unimak Island, near the western end of the Aleutian chain.

On 1 April 1946, a powerful earthquake south of the Aleutian Islands generated a tsunami that struck coastlines around the Pacific. At Scotch Cap, the wave destroyed the Coast Guard light station and killed all five members of its crew. The disaster became one of the most severe tragedies ever to hit a U.S. land-based Coast Guard light station.

The event also reached Hawaii, where unusually destructive waves killed more than 150 people, prompting the creation of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. A frequent point of confusion is that Scotch Cap was not merely damaged: the station was destroyed by the tsunami, and the lighthouse site later received a temporary unwatched light.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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