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Earthquake Damage in San Francisco, CA, April 18, 1906

Entry ID: gov.noaa.ngdc.G01195

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Summary

Abstract: ABSTRACT: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the largest event (magnitude 8.3) to occur in the conterminous United States in the 20th Century. Recent estimates indicate that as many as 3,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake and ensuing fire. In terms of 1906 dollars, the total property damage amounted to about $24 million from the earthquake and $350 million from the fire. The fire ... destroyed 28,000 buildings in a 520-block area of San Francisco. The earthquake, centered near San Francisco, caused damage over a 640-km north-south area. It was felt as far north as Coos Bay and as far south as Los Angeles. The total felt area (971,000 km2) included most of California and parts of Nevada and Oregon. This earthquake apparently triggered far-field seismic activity throughout the United States until the 21st of April. Subsequent earthquakes were felt in the Imperial Valley of California, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, northern New Mexico, Ohio, and South Carolina.The earthquake was associated with the largest known displacement along a fault plane in the United States. Strike slip faulting on the San Andreas fault was observed for 317 km (190 miles) from Point Arena southward. Faulting in Humbol County on the Shelter Cove fault area was also observed. It is likely this fault was activated at the same time and ruptured separately from the San Andreas fault.) The greatest amount of horizontal slip (6.5 m) occurred near Port Reyer. The area to the southwest of the rift moved northwest relative to the area on the northeast of the rift (right-lateral strike-slip faulting). Besides the general horizontal displacement, there was a vertical movement of as much as 1.2 m in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.The rift, which began at 5:12:21 A.M. local time, came on shore 320 km north of San Francisco. Forests were demolished, and fences, roads, stream courses, and conduits which crossed the rift were dislocated. In addition to the great rift fissures, there were branch fissures, and considerable cracking of alluvial surfaces. Avalanches and earth slumps occurred, and where the ground contained excess water, earth flows were observed. Springs and artesian wells either increased or decreased in flow. Jets of water spurted through holes or fissures, creating mud or sand craterlets.Buildings on or near the surface fault were destroyed. Trees were uprooted or snapped off. Pipelines, broken along the many fissures, caused the water shortage that allowed raging fires to destroy the city.Generally, there was a decrease in intensity from the southwest toward the northeast, as the distance from the zone of faulting increased. However, the character of the ground also determined the amount of damage. The areas that incurred the most damage were those upon filled ground. In these areas, brick and frame houses were severely damaged or destroyed.Next in intensity to areas of filled land were those upon incoherent sands. There was a large amount of damage done in the cemeteries, which were built on sand. Movement in more than one direction was suggested by monuments twisted upon their bases. The damage in sandy areas was due to the shaking, settling, and sliding. The building destruction and the disturbance of railway roadbeds and rails was much more severe throughout the area covered by the inconsistent beds than on the older hard rock in the adjoining areas. Areas that had the least damage were on hard rock beds, chiefly of the Mesozoic Franciscan Formation. Although buildings throughout the City and County of San Francisco were damaged, most earthquake damage in this area was only moderate. Toppled chimneys and cracked plaster on walls and ceilings were common. The business district at Santa Rosa (30 km from the fault) was nearly totally demolished. Healdsburg, San Jose, and Agnews also had a large amount of damage. All these places were located on the valley floor on loose or only slightly coherent geological formations. The portions of Berkeley and Oakland, which were located on the alluvial slope, incurred more damage than the foothills, where the buildings were built on rock. In the Los Banos region of the western San Joaquin Valley (48 km from the rift) the shaking intensity was also unusually great. Petaluma and San Rafael, though nearer the rift than Santa Rosa, received less damage. These towns were for the most part on, or close to, rocky ground. In San Francisco, the fire continued unchecked for three days leaving 12.2 km2 burned. Finally, the fire was stopped by dynamiting structures in its path. The burned area included 520 city blocks; 418 km of streetcar and cable were destroyed. Thousands of businesses were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were homeless. There were 350,000 who badly needed food. However, the disaster was unable to subdue the spirit of the people of the city. According to William Randolph Hearst, "The calamity seems overwhelming, and yet the people are not overwhelmed." The San Franciscans rebuilt their homes and businesses, and within two years, a new San Francisco arose from the ashes.

CURRENTNESS REFERENCE: Publication Date

DATA SET CREATORS: DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce (comp)

Fees: $25.00 plus handling and shipment outside the USA None $195.00/$145.00 plus handling plus shipment outside the USA

Purpose: PURPOSE: Make available Damage Photos for research and education

Related URL

Link: GET DATA

Description: View all slides in this slide set

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 38.26

S: 36.06

E: -119.12

W: -122.43

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: Please See Summary

Dataset Title: Earthquake Damage in San Francisco, CA, April 18, 1906

Dataset Release Date: 1994

Dataset Release Place: Boulder, CO

Dataset Publisher: National Geophysical Data Center

Version: First

Other Citation Details: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_1=2&t=101634&s=0&d=4&d=44

Online Resource: http://map.ngdc.noaa.gov/website/seg/hazards/viewer.htm

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1906-04-18

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > CALIFORNIA > SAN FRANCISCO

Science Keywords

SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > EARTHQUAKES > EARTHQUAKE MAGNITUDE/INTENSITY

SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > EARTHQUAKES > EARTHQUAKE OCCURRENCES

SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > PLATE TECTONICS > FAULT MOVEMENT

ISO Topic Category

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Project

ESIP > Earth Science Information Partners Program

Access Constraints ACCESS CONSTRAINTS: None

DISTRIBUTION LIABILITY: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

CUSTOM ORDER PROCESS: Contact Data Center

Use Constraints None

Ancillary Keywords

WDC/SEG, BOULDER > World Data Center for Solid Earth Geophysics, Boulder

DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Seismic Activity

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Data Center

National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce

Data Center URL: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/
Dataset ID: ______Document ____

Data Center Personnel
Name: NGDC USER SERVICES Phone: (303) 497-6826 Fax: (303) 497-6513 Email: ngdc.info at noaa.gov Contact Address: NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC E/GC 325 Broadway City: Boulder Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80305-3328 Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution Size: 17596

Distribution Format: TIFF

Fees: Please See Summary

Distribution Format: TIFF

Fees: Please See Summary

Personnel

JOY IKELMAN

Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT

Phone: 303-497-6419

Fax: 303-497-6513

Email: Joy.A.Ikelman at noaa.gov

Contact Address:

NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC

Mail Code E/GC4

325 Broadway

City: Boulder

Province or State: CO

Postal Code: 80303

Country: USA

KELLY STROKER

Role: DIF AUTHOR

Phone: (303) 497-4603

Fax: (303) 497-6513

Email: kelly.stroker at noaa.gov

Contact Address:

NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC E/GC1 325 Broadway

City: Boulder

Province or State: CO

Postal Code: 80305-3328

Country: USA

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2008-01-18

Last DIF Revision Date: 2011-03-10

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