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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Kate Ravilious

Terrawatch: Asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs triggered global mega-tsunami

Illustration of the Chicxulub asteroid hitting Earth.
Illustration of the Chicxulub asteroid hitting Earth. Within 48 hours of impact few coastlines remained untouched. Photograph: Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library

Any dinosaur that survived the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66m years ago then faced a mega-tsunami that washed around the entire world and began as a mile-high wave, a study shows.

It is no surprise that a 14km-wide asteroid slamming into the Gulf of Mexico would generate one hell of a tsunami but this is the first time anyone has worked out how big and how far-reaching it would have been.

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