The San Francisco Earthquake commenced at five thirteen o’clock in the morning, with the epicenter offshore of San Francisco. The city carried more than 400,000 people during this event (Earthquake of 1906, 1). Most of the
Earthquakes are a natural part of the Earth’s evolution. Scientific evidence leads many geologists to believe that all of the land on Earth was at one point in time connected. Because of plate tectonic movements or earthquakes, continental drift occurred separating the one massive piece of land in to the seven major continents today. Further evidence supports this theory, starting with the Mid-Atlantic ridge, a large mass of plate tectonics, which are increasing the size of the Atlantic Ocean while shrinking the Pacific. Some scientists believe that the major plate moveme...
San Francisco was a very opulent city during the 19th century due to the gold rush, the city was thriving and booming and more than 400,000 people residing in this area but the dynamics of this change when at 5:12 am April 1906.1 Powerful devastation ultimately gripped California in April 1906. The Great San Francisco Earthquake is number as one the most powerful devastation in the United Sates.2 On this despondent day many lives were taken and the costs of damages were very exorbitant. The implications were very profound and tumultuous. A forceful seismic shock ripple through San Francisco at the magnitude of 7.8. Some researchers claim that the magnitude of this earthquake could possibly up to 8.3. 3 There were two earthquakes that occurred on this day, the first one was not as potent as second one causing unprecedented damages. This earthquake was one never seen before one and people were indeed flabbergasted by its power.
The science of the natural disaster has baffled many, but from studying the San Francisco earthquake, scientists have made a number of important discoveries and they have a better understanding of earthquakes. At 5:12 on a fateful April morning in 1906, the mammoth Pacific and North American plates sheared at an incredible twenty-one feet along the San Andreas fault, surpassing the annual average of two inches (“San Francisco Earthquake of 1906”)(“The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fires”). The shearing caused a loud rumble in the Californian city of San Francisco. A few seconds later, the destructive earthquake occurred. The ground shifted at almost five feet per second, and the shaking could be felt all the way from southern Oregon to southern Los Angeles to central Nevada (“Quick”)(“The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake”). Moreover, the earthquake could be recorded on a seismograph in Capetown, South Africa, an astounding 10,236 miles away from San Francisco (“San Francisco ea...
The earthquake that only lasted 45 to 60 seconds, but “was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada” was the disastrous 1906 San Francisco Earthquake (USGS 2012). A natural disaster that was responsible for structural
The San Andreas Fault marks the place where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate collide, forming a transform boundary. The earthquake occurred when the two plates collided. Pressure built up over time. Then, suddenly, the plates slipped and moved very fast. There’s no way to tell when this could happen. No one in San Francisco was expecting a disaster as great as this.
...er caused the city to crumble and the government to pay extreme amounts of money. In addition, residents of San Francisco and other surrounding areas suffered as a result. Thousands died, but even more faced the encumbrance of homelessness. As if that could not worsen, fires went on afterward for as long as three days. Nevertheless, San Francisco transformed like a phoenix; its ashes turned into a beautiful city full of fascinating buildings in a matter of months. 1906, a year of a significant natural disaster, also became a year that spawned knowledge in the field of seismology. No one will ever forget the appalling chain of events that took place during the early twentieth century. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 has not only taught seismologists almost everything they now know, but it has also made San Francisco the jewel of the West Coast that it is today.
Earthquakes are one of the most mysterious natural disasters that we deal with to his day. That is the thriller of earthquakes, is the fact that they are so strange and bizarre that it keeps us guessing when the next one is to come. The San Andreas Fault earthquake is the most mysterious, dangerous, and soon to come earthquakes that we still do not necessarily have a date on towards when it will happen.
On the 18th of April in 1906, the lives of many San Francisco residents changed in a split second. Most of the city was either sound asleep or getting ready for another normal day (or so they thought), when the disastrous natural disaster struck. At around 5:12 a.m., the Golden City was jolted awake by a monstrous earthquake that would soon go down in the record books. With a Richter magnitude rating of 7.9, this earthquake was not only felt in the San Francisco Bay area, but also all the way from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, the people of San Francisco were abruptly awaken to one of the world’s most expensive and impacting earthquakes of the 20th century. The magnitude of the earthquake is debatable, ranging from 7.7 to as high as 8.2. However, the most accepted measurement is 7.9. The main shock epicenter occurred offshore 3.2 km from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault northward and southward for 476 km (296 miles). The quake was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, inland as far as Nevtada. Though the earthquake was impacting in itself, it lasted less than a minute and the most damage was done by the resulting fire that lasted 4 days. The earthquake bears inexhaustible remembrance as one of the worst
"USGS: Geological Survey Bulletin 1347 (Earthquakes)." USGS: Geological Survey Bulletin 1347 (Earthquakes). Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damages and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco. Many people, the government, and other countries helped the city of San Francisco with relief goods like food and clothing. The city used up their resources in order to rebuild the city and spent a lot of money. This earthquake also started a scientific revolution about earthquakes and its effects.
"The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / Rising from the Ashes." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18th, 1906, the California city of San Francisco was awoken by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Chaos erupted with the earthquake leading to fire break outs throughout San Francisco (Cameron and Gordon. Pgs 69-73).The earthquake and the resulting fires caused destruction to majority of the city with buildings crumbling and igniting into flames. Many people died along with thousands and thousands of people being left homeless. This devastating earthquake left the city and United States in a financial crisis. Although the 1906 earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of San Francisco was able to overcome these substantial physical, social and economic impacts it had.