How did the Chicxulub impact produce a tsunami in the Gulf of Mexico?

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The Chicxulub asteroid — Earth impact hazard An artist's rendering of the impact of a near-Earth object 66 million years ago in what is today the Caribbean region. Many scientists think that the collision of a large asteroid or comet nucleus with Earth triggered the mass extinction of dinosaurs and many other species near the end of the Cretaceous Period.

The Chicxulub impact, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago, generated a massive tsunami because the asteroid collided with Earth in a shallow marine environment off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.1

At the time of the impact, the Gulf of Mexico was more extensive than it is today. When the 10–15 km (6–9 mile) wide asteroid struck the water at a speed of 20 km (12.5 miles) per second, it caused a violent displacement of a large volume of water. Similar to how a pebble creates waves in a pool, this sudden displacement of water initiated a train of waves that radiated outward, causing significant damage and leaving deposits as far away as present-day Illinois.123