Fig. 1

Map of the study area. a Location of the modeled rupture areas for the tsunamigenic earthquakes of the seventeenth century, 1611, 1896, 1933, 1968, and 2011. (Hatori 1975; Tanioka and Satake 1996; Nagai et al. 2001; Ozawa et al. 2011; Ioki and Tanioka 2016; Uchida et al. 2016); To-a and To-Cu correspond to the isopachs of the respective tephra layers (Machida and Arai 2003). b Digital elevation model of the study area – 5 m grid size provided by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. c Topographic map of the study area. Colored areas evidenced the levels of uplifted marine terraces. d Cross-section of the elevation model along the study area, from the A to A’. e Paleotsunami studies developed along the Sanriku Coast and the Shimokita Peninsula. The circles represent the approximate survey location for each study