Ancient tsunami devastated Lake Geneva shoreline | Hacker News Reader

Ancient tsunami devastated Lake Geneva shoreline

nature.com

21 pointspwg9 comments

> His model predicted that a 13-metre-high wave would have hit Lausanne 15 minutes after the rock fall,

not much you can do about that, I'm afraid

You can run pretty far in fifteen minutes if you have to.

Yes, and depending on local terrain even just a 5-minute walk may offer a 15M rise in elevation. Or, simply being on top of a 3-4 story structure, with something sure to float, makes you far more likely to survive (even if the structure is swept away) than being on the ground/ground-floor.

Wave damage from arriving wave(s) occurs approximately along the line of the (sea or lake) shore, with focusing by any underwater landforms, but when water on or above land begins to flow back down to the shore, its free flow is moderated by surface landforms, buildings and other structures, and entrained debris, and damage tends to become localized at choke-points in the flow.

So, if possible, get out of the paths of backflow.

Please stop calling it "Lake Geneva", its name is "Lake Léman".

Why? Both seem to be used, with Lake Geneva being used more commonly. Are there good reasons for preferring one over the other?

I think there are good reasons to prefer "Lake Léman".

The lake is split between France and French-speaking part of Switzerland. In French, the name is Léman. I do think using the local name is better, even more when this local name is acknowledged (en.wikipedia shows both Geneva and Léman).

To me, born and raised in Romandy, "Lake Geneva" feels like "Tokyo Country" for Japan or "California Ocean" for the Pacific.

As is true of many place names in Switzerland, it doesn't have one single name.

Lake Léman = Lac Léman = Genfersee = Lake Geneva

There is nothing wrong with the title of the Nature paper: Giant Lake Geneva tsunami in AD 563

Curiously, I can't get Google maps to show a name for the lake, unlike several other Swiss and Italian lakes in that zone.

May be the reason.

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