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.
As the massive tectonic plates that make up the earth’s outer crust slowly collide, grind together, or pull apart, the rocks on either side of a fault stretch to absorb
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The major fracture in the earth’s crust extends northwestward through southern and northern California for roughly 810 miles. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the San Andreas forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. Geologists describe the fault as right-lateral strike-slip, which means that the Pacific side of the fault is slowly moving horizontally northward, usually by an inch or two per year. Such movements deep in the earth produces earthquakes-and such movements along the San Andreas Fault have produced most of the largest earthquakes in American …show more content…
In 1906, not only was earthquake research in the United States falling behind compared to Japan and Europe, the technology in building and city design was nothing like how it is today. The wake-up call issued by the earthquake made geologists undertake massive research in the affected area. Their investigation shows that the damage to buildings by the earthquake was strongly related to both the design and construction of the structure and the local geology – the type of soil or rock on which it was built. It was revealed that the earthquake did the most harm on the soft soil areas of San Francisco, as the buildings that lay on these areas experienced a much greater amount of shaking and tremors, compared to the buildings that lay on the hard rock beds. Based on the assessment of the damage, it was concluded that wooden buildings could withstand an earthquake of the same magnitude of the 1906 tremor – if they were well secured to their foundation, combined with the right internal bracing. Unreinforced masonry structures, on the other hand, would not do so well. The handful of reinforced concrete buildings and steel framed structures would do the best, surviving with generally very little structural damage. However, as San Francisco was being rebuilt, the building code changed very little in the aftermath of the natural disaster. It wasn’t until the 1925
When one of the worst earthquakes ever hits the town of San Francisco panic ensues, but not for everyone. On April 18, 1906, at 5:15 am the city of San Francisco was demolished by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which also led to many fires being started. There was $350m in estimated damages, and 400-750 people perished in the earthquake and fire. Around 490 city blocks were destroyed, causing 250,000 people to become homeless (A Brief Account, SF Tourism Tips). In the aftermath of the earthquake there were many eyewitness accounts written about it. The eyewitness account, “Comprehending the Calamity,” by Emma Burke and the eyewitness account,"Horrific Wreck of the City" by Fred Hewitt both describe the same event, but they both have very different
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...
Earthquakes in California are certainly not a surprise. What is a surprise is their unpredictability and randomness. Geologists say there is roughly a 50 percent chance that a magnitude 8 or more quake will hit the Los Angeles area sometime over the next 30 years. And, over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles area has witnessed several earthquakes, and in particular, two that were quite devastating; the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the January 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. Given the certainty that earthquakes will occur, they still seem to come as a surprise, and leave many communities unprepared to deal with their aftermath.
"The Great Quake: 1906-2006 / Rising from the Ashes." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 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.
On December 16, 1811, at roughly 2:15 a.m., the most powerful earthquake ever to hit the eastern United States struck Northeast Arkansas. Clocking in at a presumed 8.0 on the richter scale, the first of three major earthquakes form the New Madrid fault made itself known. This quake, and the two subsequent quakes following shortly after, caused some of the most intense damage and events ever recorded in U.S. history. The quakes were felt in Montreal, Boston, and even the White House. Events such as soil liquefaction and reversal in the flow of the Mississippi river are just a few of many glimpses into the absolute power of earthquakes. In this exploratory paper, I will review the three main quakes, along with their aftermath both
On October 17, 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area. Killing 67 people and causing more than $5 billion in damages. Despite the fact that the disaster was one of the most powerful and destructive quakes ever to hit a populated area of the United States, the death toll was relatively small.
benchmark for the future, and integrated investigation into the effects of earthquakes in the U.S.
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 caused by tectonic plates moving in the earth's crust. They either move apart or pull together at faults. Two forms of faults are normal faulting where the hanging wall moves downward causing rocks to be pulled apart by tension and reverse faulting, which is the opposite where the hanging wall moves upward casuing rocks to be forced together by tension. These movements cause tectonic plate boundaries called divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries and transform boundaries. Each boundary is different and play a
In the story “Comprehending the calamity” and “Horrific wreck of the city” both explain how the earthquake destroyed the town. In “Comprehending the calamity” it says “The shock came, and hurled my bed against an opposite wall. I sprang up, and, holding firmly to the foot-board managed to keep on my feet to the door. The shock was constantly growing heavier; rumbles, crackling noises, and falling objects.”In “Horrific wreck of the city” it said “For an hour more after that terrible shock, which shook the buildings of all San Francisco to the very foundations, people wandered about in an insane fashion. There was no attempt to hold the sufferers. People were stupefied as the inferno raged and reigned supreme.”This text proves that they were describing what was happening to the town because it was talking about
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...
The San Andreas Fault is a geologic fault zone between two tectonic plates that runs from San Francisco south to San Diego in California. It is an area of frequent earthquakes caused by the plates sliding past each other. It is so called because it runs along the San Andreas Valley.
... although we may never be able to understand exactly what soil failures can occur when a natural disasters take place, as time goes on and testing instruments and materials advance we will hopefully have a better understanding of what we can do to avoid soil failures and come up with a better and more sufficient method of improving the soils structure and strength permanently. While researching the information for this report I feel I have a much better understanding for construction geo-technics and foundations especially regarding the deformation, liquefaction and pile information related to this specific event. I hope to carry the information I have learned from this event into the construction field and apply them towards an authentic project that’s taking place and know that the information, regarding soils, I have given input on will be precise and accurate.
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).