The remnants of a tsunami wave from Wednesday's massive 8.3-magnitude Chilean earthquake reached at least one Alaska port Thursday but got little notice from locals.
The Palmer-based National Tsunami Warning Center said King Cove, a community of about 900 people on the Alaska Peninsula in the Aleutians East Borough, reported water heights of six-tenths of a foot late Thursday morning.
King Cove harbormaster Charles Mack said staff have been following the Chilean alerts, but he couldn't say when on Thursday the minor wave arrived.
"There's no fluctuation in tides today," Mack said. "We heard (there was) a little bit of a current headed this way."
Tsunami advisories for Hawaii and California were dropped Thursday afternoon.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer first issued a more serious tsunami watch for Hawaii shortly after the earthquake. Officials later downgraded that to an advisory, saying no major tsunami was expected in the state.
But they warned that sea-level changes and dangerous currents could pose a threat to those in or near the water.
A 3-foot wave was recorded at Hilo Harbor on Hawaii's Big Island shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday, National Weather Service forecaster Tom Birchard said from his Honolulu office. He said he hadn't heard of any significant impacts.
Tsunami wave heights across Hawaii were below advisory levels and continued to diminish, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in canceling the advisory.
"Small sea level changes and strong or unusual currents may persist for several additional hours in some coastal areas and appropriate caution should (be) exercised by boaters and swimmers," the center said.
Tsunami effects also were felt along the coasts of California, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska.
In California, a slight ocean surge and powerful currents were reported at points along the entire coast, scientists and local officials said.
Swimmers and surfers were warned of strong currents and urged to stay out of the water.
Ventura Harbor in Southern California experienced a 1.1-foot tsunami, while 0.4 foot heights were reported in San Diego to the south, and 0.8 foot heights were seen at Crescent City near the Oregon border, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center. Los Angeles-area beaches and harbor saw water level heights around a half foot.
Boats were bobbing in Ventura Harbor, said harbormaster John Higgins.
"You'll see slow-moving streams coming in and going out, and at times the two converge upon each other and it creates turbulent water movement," he said.
The activity was "completely manageable" and not expected to have damaging effects, Higgins said.
The surge was expected to continue for several hours, with wave cycles every 20 minutes and heights topping out at around 1 foot, said Paul Whitmore, the tsunami center's director.
"It doesn't sound like much, but even a very small tsunami has a lot of power," he said.
Orange County beaches, harbors, piers and marinas were reopened at 6 a.m., but swimmers and boaters were warned that strong currents could continue.
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Alaska Dispatch News reporter Chris Klint contributed to this report. Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles, Bob Seavey in Phoenix and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage contributed to this report.