Presence of boulders associated with an extreme wave event in the western Mediterranean (Cape Cope, Murcia, Spain): possible evidence of a tsunami

The region of Murcia, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, experiences moderate tectonic activity, with earthquakes of up to 6.2–6.9 Mw recorded. Even with seismic activity of this scale there is no geological or instrumental record of tsunamis affecting the area. The presence at Cape Cope, Murcia of a ridge of metre-sized imbricated boulders (comprised of Upper Pleistocene sediments) reaching a height of up to 4 m above sea level, indicates that there has been an extreme wave event in the area during the Holocene. Through studying the wave conditions generated during large storms in this area, the boulder ridges appear to have been caused by extreme waves associated with a seismic event, as a tsunami.