The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906

The great San Francisco earthquake struck San Francisco at 5:12 A.M. April 18th 1906. This earthquake devastated this area and here is some information on what happened before and after this fearsome quake.

This earthquake was one of the biggest recorded earthquakes to this date. The earthquake ruptured 296 miles of the San Andreas fault from northwest of San Juan Bautista to the triple junction of cape Mendocino. This earthquake was measured to have a magnitude of 7.8. The shaking of this earthquake was felt all the way from Oregon to los angelus and inland to Nevada. The resulting fire and destruction is remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. Geologists estimate that around 700 people died during the quake and after math. The damage of this earthquake can be compared to the disaster of hurricane Katrina. After the quake was over and the damage had been done the moved up to 20 feet visually but geologists measured the movement of the earthquake and found that it had moved up to 28ft of ground not seeable from the surface. The ground moved at 4-5 feet a second or about 3miles an hour.

The 1906 earthquake of San Francisco was one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history and provided a lot of information to geologists about earthquakes. This earthquake was an impressive 7.8 on the Richter scale, and the highest recorded number on the Richter scale is 9.2 in the United States. The great San Francisco earthquake will never be forgotten and left its mark in San Francisco by rupturing along the San Andreas fault.

In conclusion this earthquake had once destroyed a city but the fault it left behind is now looked at for information and as an attraction for the San Francisco area. R.B.5