Arnold Genthe's famous photograph of San Francisco following the earthquake, looking towards the fire on Sacramento Street.

Houses damaged by the earthquake.

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California on the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. It has been estimated at approximately 7.8 on the Richter Scale [1]. Foreshocks and the main quake occurred at about 5:12am along the San Andreas Fault, with an epicenter close to the city. Tremors were felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and subsequent fire would go down as one of the worst natural disasters to hit a major city in the history of the United States (see also the Galveston Hurricane, and Hurricane Katrina). Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Self-portrait Arnold Genthe ( 1869- 1942) was a photographer, most well known for his photos of San Franciscos Chinatown and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. ... Houses damaged by 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, from stereopticon card issued soon after the event This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Houses damaged by 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, from stereopticon card issued soon after the event This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earths surface. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay Official website: http://www. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... View of the San Andreas Fault on the Carrizo Plain in central California San Andreas Fault is a geological fault that spans a length of roughly 800 miles (1287 kilometres) through California, United States. ... The epicenter is directly above the earthquakes focus. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 9th 255,026 km² 420 km 580 km 2. ... Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) None Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 7th 286,367 km² 519 km 788 km 0. ... This photograph shows the aftermath of the hurricane and the destruction it wrought. ... Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history. ...

At the time only 478 deaths were reported, a figure concocted by government officials who felt that reporting the true death toll would hurt real estate prices and efforts to rebuild the city. Furthermore, hundreds of casualties in Chinatown went ignored and unrecorded due to racism at the time. This figure has been revised to today's conservative estimate of 3000+. Some have put it as high as 6000. Most of the deaths occurred in San Francisco itself, but 189 were reported elsewhere across the San Francisco Bay Area. Other places in the Bay Area such as Santa Rosa, San Jose, and Stanford University also suffered severe damage. An interesection of Chinatown in San Francisco. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center Luther Burbank Gardens, part of California Historical Landmark No. ... Nickname: Capital of Silicon Valley Official website: http://www. ... The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University (or simply Stanford), is a private university in an unincorporated region[1] of Santa Clara County, California, bordering on Palo Alto. ...

Between 225,000 and 300,000 people were left homeless, out of a population of about 400,000. Half of the refugees fled across the bay to Oakland. Newspapers at the time described Golden Gate Park, the Panhandle, and the beaches between Ingleside and North Beach being covered with makeshift tents. Oakland, founded in 1852, is a major city on the east side (also called East Bay) of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. ... The domed Conservatory of Flowers is one of the worlds largest. ... The Panhandle from Clayton Street The Panhandle is a park in San Francisco, California that forms a panhandle with Golden Gate Park. ... Ingleside is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. ... Looking south-east Columbus Street (on the left), Stockton (on the right), and Green Street (not visible). ...

The earthquake and fire would leave a long-standing and significant impression on the development of California. At the time of the disaster, San Francisco had been the ninth-largest city in the United States and the largest on the West Coast, with a population of about 410,000. Over a period of 60 years, the city had become the financial, trade and cultural center of the Western United States; operated the busiest port on the West Coast; and was the "gateway to the Pacific", through which growing US economic and military power was projected into the Pacific and Asia. Over 80% of the city was destroyed by the earthquake and fire. Though San Francisco would rebuild quickly, the disaster would divert trade, industry and population growth south, to Los Angeles, which during the 20th century would become the largest and most important urban area in the Western United States. However, the 1908 Lawson Report, a study of the 1906 quake, showed that the very same San Andreas Fault which had caused the disaster in San Francisco ran close to Los Angeles as well. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total   - Width   - Length    - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 158,302 sq mi  410,000 km² 250 miles  402. ... In general, the term West Coast is a nickname for the coastal states of the Western United States, comprising California, Oregon and Washington, and sometimes Alaska and Hawaii (see Pacific States). ... The states shown striped may or may not be considered part of the informal western United States today. ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. ... Asia is the largest and most populous region or continent depending on the definition. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

The earthquake was the first natural disaster of its magnitude to be documented by photography and motion picture footage. Furthermore, it occurred at a time when the science of seismology was blossoming. The overall cost of the damage from the earthquake was estimated at the time to be around $400,000,000. Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... Seismology (from the Greek seismos = earthquake and logos = word) is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. ...

Subsequent fires

Fires after the quake.

Smoldering ruins of San Francisco, taken from the tower of the Ferry Building on Market Street.

As damaging as the earthquake and its aftershocks were, the fires that burned out of control afterwards destroyed much more property. Fires broke out in many parts of town, some initially fueled by natural gas mains broken by the quake. Other fires were the result of arson, and campfires set by refugees. Some property owners set fire to their damaged buildings, because most insurance policies covered fire losses while prohibiting payment if the building had only sustained earthquake damage. Captain Leonard D. Wildman of the U.S. Army Signal Corps reported that he "was stopped by a fireman who told me that people in that neighborhood were firing their houses... They were told that they would not get their insurance on buildings damaged by the earthquake unless they were damaged by fire." Fire after 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, scanned from period photo postcard This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Fire after 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, scanned from period photo postcard This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Download high resolution version (1408x1090, 324 KB)The ruins of San Francisco, still smoldering after the 1906 earthquake, taken from the tower of the Union Ferry Building. ... Download high resolution version (1408x1090, 324 KB)The ruins of San Francisco, still smoldering after the 1906 earthquake, taken from the tower of the Union Ferry Building. ... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. ... Market Street in downtown San Francisco. ... Aftershocks are earthquakes in the same region of the mainshock (generally within a few rupture length) but of smaller magnitude and which occur with in a pattern that follows Omoris law. ... Natural gas, commonly referred to as gas, is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ...

As water mains were also broken, the city fire department had few resources with which to fight the fires. Several fires in the downtown area merged to become one giant inferno. One journalist at the time wrote that readers elsewhere should understand that it was not a fire in San Francisco, but rather a fire of San Francisco. The fire ultimately destroyed over 500 city blocks of the downtown core from Van Ness Avenue, an arterial thoroughfare that bisects the center of the city, to the docks at the San Francisco Bay.

It was erroneously reported that mayor Eugene Schmitz and General Frederick Funston declared martial law. Schmitz did, however, issue an edict allowing police, vigilante patrols, and military troops to shoot looters on sight, and some 500 people were shot. Funston tried to bring the fire under control by detonating blocks of buildings around the fire to create fire breaks with all sorts of means ranging from black powder and dynamite to even artillery barrages. Often the explosions set the ruins on fire or helped spread it. Despite its shortcomings, it did eventually prove effective in stopping the fire from spreading westward to the remaining half of the city. Born 1864 in San Francisco, he was the mayor of his hometown when the famous 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and subsequant fire destroyed a prodigious amount of the city. ... Brig. ... Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect (usually after a formal declaration) when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice. ... Black powder - here a 100 grams container - can be freely bought in Switzerland. ... Dynamite recovered in a mine in Eastern Oregon. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...

One of the eleven camps in 1906

A row of refugee shacks in 1907

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (588x740, 206 KB)Earthquake shacks, 1906, San Fran, File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (588x740, 206 KB)Earthquake shacks, 1906, San Fran, File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Row_of_refugee_shacks. ... Image File history File links Row_of_refugee_shacks. ...

Relocation and housing of displaced

The US Army built 5,610 redwood and fir "relief houses" to accommodate 20,000 displaced people. The houses were designed by John McLare, and were grouped in eleven camps, packed close to each other and rented to people for two dollars per month until rebuilding was completed. They were painted olive drab, partly to blend in with the site, and partly because the military had large quantities of olive drab paint on hand. The camps had a peak population of 16,448 people, but by 1907 most people had moved out. The camps were then re-used as garages, storage spaces or shops.

Aftermath & reconstruction

Almost immediately after the quake (and even during the disaster), re-planning and reconstruction plans were hatched to quickly rebuild the city. One of the more famous and ambitious plans came from famed urban planner, Daniel Burnham. His bold plan called for Haussmann style avenues, boulevards, and arterial thoroughfares that radiated across the city, a massive civic center complex with classical structures, what would have been the largest urban park in the world, stretching from Twin Peaks to Lake Merced with a large atheneum at its peak, and various other proposals. This plan was dissimissed at the time and by critics now, as un-practical and un realistic to municipal supply and demand. Property owners and the Real Estate industry were against the idea as well due to the amounts of their land the city would have to purchase to realise such proposals. While the original street grid was restored, many of Burnham's proposals inadvertedly saw the light of day such as a neo-classical civic center complex, wider streets, a preference of arterial thoroughfares, a subway under Market Street, a more people friendly Fisherman's Wharf, and a monument to the city on Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower. Daniel H. Burnham. ... Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussmann (March 27, 1809 – January 11, 1891) was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris. ... An Arterial thoroughfare is an avenue through a city that acts as a major link through a city. ... This article is about the television show. ... Lake Merced Lake Merced is a freshwater lake located in the southwest corner of San Francisco, California. ... Athenaeum can refer to any of: Athenaeum—a rock band from Greensboro, North Carolina—and their eponymous album. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... The Market Street Subway is a subway tunnel in San Francisco, California, United States. ... Fishermans Wharf sign Fishermans Wharf is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, U.S. It is mainly a tourist attraction, known for being the location of Pier 39, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Ghirardelli Square, Ripleys Believe it or Not, ferry rides to Alcatraz and restaurants... Coit Tower (photo courtesy of Michael Doeff) Coit Tower is a notable landmark dedicated to the San Francisco, California firefighters. ... Coit Tower seen from Outside Coit Tower is a notable landmark built at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco. ...

Furthermore, racist plans to move Chinatown and the poor away from the city center failed, as Chinatown was rebuilt in the newer, modern, western form that exists today. In fact, the destruction of City Hall and the Hall of Records enabled thousands of chinese immigrants to claim residency and citizenship, and bring in their relatives from China. Overseas Chinese (華僑 in pinyin: huáqiáo, or 華胞 huábāo, or 僑胞 qiáobāo) are ethnic Chinese people who live outside of the China. ...

Reconstruction was rapid, swift, and largely completed by 1915 in time for the Panama-Pacific Exposition which celebrated the reconstruction of the city and its "rise from the ashes". Due to this analogy, San Francisco adopted the Phoenix as its symbol on the city flag and seal. 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: Stub | Worlds Fairs | California history | San Francisco history ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Since 1915, the city makes official commemorations of the disaster each year by gathering the remaining survivors at Lotta's Fountain. A statue in the city's financial district where people gathered during the disaster to look for loved ones, gather information, and as meeting points.

Centennial commemorations

The 1906 Centennial Alliance has been set up as a clearing-house for various centennial events commemorating the earthquake. Award presentations, religious services, a National Geographic TV movie, a projection of fire onto the Coit Tower, memorials, and lectures are to be held or have already been held. The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has issued a series of Internet documents, and the tourism industry is promoting the 100th anniversary as well.

Analysis

• For a number of years, the epicenter of the quake was assumed to be near the town of Olema, in the Point Reyes area of Marin County, because of evidence of the degree of local earth displacement. In the 1960s, a seismologist at the University of California, Berkeley proposed that the epicenter was more likely offshore of San Francisco, to the northwest of the Golden Gate. However, the most recent analysis by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that the most likely epicenter was very near Mussel Rock on the coast of Daly City, an immediately adjacent suburb of San Francisco. [2]
• The most important characteristic of the shaking intensity noted in Lawson's (1908) report was the clear correlation of intensity with underlying geologic conditions. Areas situated in sediment-filled valleys sustained stronger shaking than nearby bedrock sites, and the strongest shaking occurred in areas where ground reclaimed from San Francisco Bay failed in the earthquake (earthquake liquefaction). Modern seismic-zonation practice accounts for the differences in seismic hazard posed by varying geologic conditions.

• An analysis of the displacements and strain in the surrounding crust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound theory of the earthquake source, which remains today the principal model of the earthquake cycle.

• The USGS estimates that the earthquake measured a powerful 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquake caused ruptures visible on the surface for a length of 470 kilometers (290 miles). Modified Mercalli Intensities of VII to IX paralleled the length of the rupture, extending as far as 80 kilometers inland from the fault trace.

Olema is a census-designated place located in Marin County, California. ... Point Reyes Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States. ... Official website: http://www. ... It has been suggested that UC Mens Chorale be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the strait in California. ... The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. ... Daly City, known as the “Gateway to the Peninsula”, is located in San Mateo County, California, United States, directly south of San Francisco, California. ... In probability theory and statistics, correlation, also called correlation coefficient, is a numeric measure of the strength of linear relationship between two random variables. ... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... I LIKE MARSHMELLOWS float in a liquid slurry. ... Elastic rebound In geology, the elastic rebound theory was the first theory to explain the immediate cause of earthquakes. ... The moment magnitude scale (a successor to the Richter scale), was introduced in 1979 by Tom Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori and is used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes. ... The Mercalli Intensity Scale is one of many scales used to classify the intensity of an earthquake by examining its effects on people and structures at the Earths surface. ...

References

• Lawson, Andrew C., The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906. Report of the State Earthquake Investigation Commission, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1908.
• Reid, H. F., The Mechanics of the Earthquake, Vol. 2 in The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906. Report of the State Investigation Commission, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1910.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) is a foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1902 to support scientific research. ... See also: 1907 in literature, other events of 1908, 1909 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1909 in literature, other events of 1910, 1911 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

See also

• Earthquake weather
• Historic pictures of 1906 San Francisco earthquake
• George R. Lawrence photographer
• Amadeo Giannini banker
• Arnold Genthe - one of the famous photographers of the 1906 earthquake

Throughout civilization, writers and historians have suggested the existence of earthquake weather, an “ominously uneasy period said to precede large earthquakes” [1]. From the ancient histories of Herodotus to the modern writings of David Lance Goines, the notion that weather can somehow foreshadow coming seismic activity has been the topic... Additional historic photos of the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. ... George R. Lawrence (1869 - 1938) was a commercial photographer of northern Illinois. ... Amadeo Peter Giannini (1870-1949), born in San Jose, California, was the founder of the Bank of America. ... Self-portrait Arnold Genthe ( 1869- 1942) was a photographer, most well known for his photos of San Franciscos Chinatown and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. ...

External links

• The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire from the Museum of the City of San Francisco website
• San Francisco-1906 Extensive analysis, description and photos of the earthquake written by Thomas Newport, a UK Student, in 2006. Brief, concise and excellent for quick research.
• [3] The San Francisco Chronicle's special report on the earthquake.
• The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire from the Bancroft Library, includes interactive maps and panoramas.
• 1906 San Francisco Quake and Intensity Maps for that earthquake, from the U.S. Geological Survey site
• Several videos of the aftermath, from the Internet Archive website
• Interactive Earthquake Panoramas, from a website maintained by a Pennsylvanian graphic artist
• San Francisco in Ruins, Aerial Photographs of George R. Lawrence, reprinted from Landscape, Vol. 30, No. 2
• A Personal Account
• 1906 San Francisco Earthquake photos at Western Mining History
• JB Monaco Photography, Images of the 1906 SF Earthquake from the well-known North Beach photographer
• Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916 and, in particular, San Francisco earthquake and fire, April 18, 1906 from the Library of Congress
• In pictures: Jack London's 1906 quake journey: Photographs by Jack London
• Edith Irvine Collection: Photographs of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
• Wells Fargo's Earthquake Blog: History and articles about Wells Fargo's history with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
• USGS 1906 Ground Motion Simulations