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San Francisco Earthquake 1906

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Reference #1: Date Accessed: 3/18/2015

Cooke, Tim. 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens Pub., 2005. Print.

On April 18, 1906 at approximately 5:13 a.m., a super powerful earthquake that lasted for about 45 to 60 seconds struck San Francisco, California. The earthquake that hit the town was so strong, that people all along the West Coast of the U.S felt it; the areas along the coast included Oregon to Los Angeles, California and east into the state of Nevada. Unfortunately, since the earthquake was an 8.3 on the Richter scale more than 3,000 people were killed, while 225,000 people were left homeless. Thousands of people were left homeless after the earthquake disrupted about 12,000 square miles of land. It has been said that one of the reasons why the 1906 earthquake caused so much damage, was that parts of San Francisco were built on land that was once the seabed of the San Francisco Bay. Thus, a majority of the land in San Francisco should have never been built on, since the building does not have the proper ground support.

Reference #2: Date Accessed: 3/18/2015
Richard, Hansen Barton., and Gladys C. Hansen. 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Charleston: South Carolina, 2013. Print. In the 1906 earthquake, the buildings that were damaged the most had wooden structures that were built on alluvial soil or landfill. In addition, because the buildings had weak foundations, those killed in the earthquake were in wooden structures, not brick. Surprisingly, the buildings that were well built with brick, stood up very well to this disastrous earthquake; many buildings of which are actually still standing today. Sadly in 1906, even though about 575 firefighters were on duty, the men were basically useless to help stop the fires, due to the shortage of water supply. To be honest, from what I have read, the firefighters never had a chance in really helping the people, since while thousands of people were trapped in rubble and wreckage, fire stations were either destroyed or damaged, along with the fire engines being destroyed.

Reference #3: Date Accessed: 3/18/2015
Pidwirny, Michael. "San Francisco Earthquake of 1906." The Encyclopedia of Earth. N.p.: n.p., 2011. Print. The 1906 California earthquake still today, ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Although the earthquake hit places other than the city of San Francisco, the earthquake is remembered for causing the high number of fires that it caused in San Francisco, which is why many call this disaster, "San Francisco Earthquake." After examining the displacement of the surrounding crust, Reid (1910) thought of the elastic-rebound theory, which remains today, still the basic principle model of the earthquake cycle.

Analysis: It has been said that the San Francisco earthquake, which occurred on April 18, 1906 at 5:13 A.M has been one of the worst earthquakes ever seen. The earthquake which only lasted for about 45-60 seconds traveled quickly, as it ripped through the cities of the West Coast; specifically those in Oregon to Los Angeles, California and east into the state of Nevada. After being ranked an 8.3 on the Richter scale, it was no surprise to find that more than 3,000 people were killed, while 225,000 people were left homeless to live on the streets. Unfortunately, it has been said that the main reasons why buildings fell so easily in the specific San Francisco area, was because parts of the city were built on land that was once the seabed of the San Francisco Bay; making the land not very supporting. Furthermore, the buildings were also so easily damaged, for the simple reason that many were built out of wood and on either soil or landfills. The towns that were struck by this disastrous earthquake could not catch a break because not only was the town of San Francisco devastated by the earthquake, it was also brought down by fire, which quickly spawned down the streets. Also, because of the effects of the 8.3scaled earthquake, firefighters were not able to provide any sort of relief to the community since many of the fire stations and engines were demolished. After reading all of the information about this horrible even that happened on the West Coast, it saddens me since I really was never aware of this earthquake prior to this class. I believe that events such a devastations in our country, should be taught in schools so that students can learn the importance of doing things right the first time. What I mean is that in one of my sources, the author noted that the town of San Francisco knew that when the constructors were building on the land in the town, that the grounds were not strong. Therefore, if the builders would've built buildings on land that was more supportive I'm sure that there would have been less damage caused by the 1906 earthquake since a sturdier foundation would have been harder to bring down. All in all, I truly enjoyed learning about this earthquake and I hope to never live to see such destruction to a part of the country.

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