The Cause And Effects Of The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

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 structure damage and the lives of many people. Earthquakes are part of the natural process of the earth and are frequent around the world; they are usually small and not even felt by people. Unfortunately, there is also the magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes, which if trigger in big populated areas can become destructive in matter of seconds (Lutgens, F. and Tarbuck, E.). Like the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake the apart from destroying the city the lives of many people changed forever. Then,

Mr. Adams describes the San Francisco earthquake as his most profound human suffering experience because the horror of shaking floors, parts of his mom’s house collapse to the floor, and got a broken nose from stumbling into a brick wall (Ansel Adams & The 1906 Earthquake 2008). Earthquakes are part of natural disasters of the earth and normally caused by shaking ground and rapid movement of one block of rock slipping past another a long fractures in the earth crust called faults. Faults that are usually locked excluding abrupt movements, which slippage creates an earthquake (Lutgens, F. & Tarbuck, E.

Unfortunately, as the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006 reported that “there are still thousands of hostility rebuilt, unreinforced masonry buildings” that are build very close together with no fire resistance walls in between (John Galvin, 2007). Plus, the Association of Bay Area Governments stated that if a magnitude 7 and above earthquake a long the San Andreas Fault by San Francisco will affect the homes of many thousands of people forcing them to live in the streets once again (John Galvin, 2008). In the other hand, according to John Galvin article San Francisco’s water delivery system was improved and even though insurance companies loss a lot of money they paid out millions in claims.

Another major effect of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was the long “rupture of a fault that has been observed in the United States” (USGS, 2012). According to the article Historic Earthquakes the displacement of the San Andreas Fault could be seen from a distance of 300 kilometers from San Juan Bautista to Point Arena. Further, displacement was beyond north at Shelter Cove in Humbolt County and if the rupture would it have continue the long rupture would it have extended to 430 kilometers becoming the longest displacement (USGS,