<p>The bolide depicted in the film seems to have been modeled upon the Chixculub meteor that impacted Yukatan, and created the K-T extinction event. Both the film and Chixculub were about 11 kilometers in diameter. This would result in a roughly $10^5$ Gtonne impact explosion - with some variation depending upon the density of the bolide, and the orientation with respect to the Earth's orbital vector, and hence the velocity of impact. The blast radius would be several thousand kilometers - actually about 7000 kilometers on a theoretical plane surface, but somewhat less due to the curvature of the Earth. So, sorry Atlanta, irrespective of whether the tsunami reaches your fine city, its curtains for you! :-) </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-15T15:47:25.567Z
The comet in the film splits into two fragments, one of which is Chixulub size and will impact Western Canada, one of which is about 1/4 that size and will impact the Atlantic ocean off of Cape Hatteras.
philosodad
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-15T16:10:26.563Z
Some simple napkin math suggests to me that 1/4 the diameter results in something like 1/74 the internal volume, suggesting a blast radius closer to 100km. That may be wrong, but it does suggest that the difference is significant.
philosodad
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-14T04:55:16.047Z
2017-05-17T17:18:36.250Z
2017-05-17T17:18:36.250Z
Gordon Stanger
<p>In "Deep Impact", the president says that "New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, all will be destroyed". New York and Boston are on the water and would be in danger from a tsunami of any size, Philadelphia is 39 feet above sea level and 50 miles inland. Atlanta is over 200 miles inland and between 750 and 1100 feet above sea level. Would an impact event of the size imagined in the movie actually send a wave that far inland and that far up? Would the natural topography of the region (lots of small hills) affect the wave?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-23T01:12:31.570Z
Yep I live up jasper ga we are over 65 mile north of Atlanta Georgia up north Georgia mt
Josh Goode
<tsunami>
Is Atlanta too far inland and too far above sea level to be affected by the comet in "Deep Impact"?
philosodad
# Is Atlanta too far inland and too far above sea level to be affected by the comet in "Deep Impact"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-10-02)

In "Deep Impact", the president says that "New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, all will be destroyed". New York and Boston are on the water and would be in danger from a tsunami of any size, Philadelphia is 39 feet above sea level and 50 miles inland. Atlanta is over 200 miles inland and between 750 and 1100 feet above sea level. Would an impact event of the size imagined in the movie actually send a wave that far inland and that far up? Would the natural topography of the region (lots of small hills) affect the wave?

**Tags:** tsunami

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Yep I live up jasper ga we are over 65 mile north of Atlanta Georgia up north Georgia mt  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-10-14. Score: 1

The bolide depicted in the film seems to have been modeled upon the Chixculub meteor that impacted Yukatan, and created the K-T extinction event. Both the film and Chixculub were about 11 kilometers in diameter. This would result in a roughly $10^5$ Gtonne impact explosion - with some variation depending upon the density of the bolide, and the orientation with respect to the Earth's orbital vector, and hence the velocity of impact. The blast radius would be several thousand kilometers - actually about 7000 kilometers on a theoretical plane surface, but somewhat less due to the curvature of the Earth. So, sorry Atlanta, irrespective of whether the tsunami reaches your fine city, its curtains for you! :-)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The comet in the film splits into two fragments, one of which is Chixulub size and will impact Western Canada, one of which is about 1/4 that size and will impact the Atlantic ocean off of Cape Hatteras.  
> **username_0**: Some simple napkin math suggests to me that 1/4 the diameter results in something like 1/74 the internal volume, suggesting a blast radius closer to 100km. That may be wrong, but it does suggest that the difference is significant.  

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