Tsunamis are a fact of life in seismic California, as mission history reminds us. Dr. Dan Krieger is Professor Emeritus of History at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a leading expert on the California missions. He relates the story of  a tsunami that occurred off California’s central coast while Father Luis Gil y Taboada was stationed at Mission Santa Barbara. The padre experienced the effects of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake centered offshore, one which swiftly took its toll on vulnerable structures. Missions up and down the central and coast of California were damaged, some beyond repair. According to Krieger, Within several minutes, it leveled Mission La Purisima to “rubble and ruin, presenting the picture…