SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE OF 1906
Photo provided by http://quake.wr.usgs.gov Click here to see San Francisco on fire
One of the most most devastating earthquakes in U.S. history! This earthquake
devastated the lives of thousands and structures by the dozens. This gold
mining city wasn't quite ready for mother nature as opposed to today. Fires
broke out everywhere, in fact, once source noted that the smoke from the city
could be seen as far as Fairfield, over 100 miles away! The quake was so
tremendous it ripped the concrete sidewalks until they resembled upward slanted
ridges. Consequently, water that was being transported through pipelines from
the San Andreas Lake was cut off when the earthquake hit. The lack off water
supply made it virtually impossible to put out the city's raging inferno. The
city was in mass confusion, as the damage dollar amount soared in
outrageous numbers. The dollar amount in damage was estimated to be well over
twenty million. Keep in mind that this was 1906, when a bottle of pop probably
cost one penny! The earthquake caused great displacement to the San Andreas
Fault (300 kilometers in distance). The Magnitude of the earthquake was
recorded at 7.7 on the Richter scale. The quake claimed 700 lives within the
city and an additional 189 elsewhere. Even those statistics are assumed to be an
underestimation of the truth. The quake was felt by California's neighbors to the
North (Oregon), South (Mexico), and East(Nevada). Plenty of aftershocks occured
later, but devastation had already ran amock. Today the city has prepared
itself for any future acts of nature; because as we soon found out, another one
will surely come! Today the San Andreas Fault is the closest wathched fault
in the world. The Golden Gate bridge, that greets visitors with a golden touch,
is a gateway for moe than just gold. "There's earthquakes in them their hills!"
**This page was created by: Jason Perry**
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Email: perryjas@dekalb.dc.peachnet.edu
