Earthquake Damage, Anchorage

The Good Friday Earthquake (also called the Great Alaska Earthquake) of Friday, March 27, 1964 (Good Friday, a Christian holy day), 5:36 P.M. AST (03:36 3/28 UTC) was the most powerful earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the third most powerful ever measured by seismograph. The epicenter was about 10km east of the mouth of College Fjord, approximately 90 km west of Valdez and 120 km east of Anchorage. The epicenter was located at Lat. 61.04N, Lon. 147.73W, at a depth of approximately 25km. The duration of rupture lasted approximately 4 minutes (240 seconds.) The magnitude 9.2 earthquake, which resulted in 131 deaths, was centered in Prince William Sound off the coast of South Central Alaska. The powerful earthquake also caused some parts of Alaska to be liquefied, causing much damage to property and leading to landslides. Download high resolution version (1000x770, 166 KB)Damage to Fourth Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, caused by the Good Friday Earthquake. ... Download high resolution version (1000x770, 166 KB)Damage to Fourth Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska, caused by the Good Friday Earthquake. ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Good Friday is the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... An earthquake is a phenomenon that results from the sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Seismographs (in Greek seismos = earthquake and graphein = write) are used by seismologists to record seismic waves. ... The moment magnitude scale was introduced in 1979 by Tom Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori as a successor to the Richter scale and is used by seismologists to compare the energy released by earthquakes. ... The epicenter is directly above the earthquakes focus. ... Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska. ... South Central Alaska consists of the portion of the U.S. state of Alaska from the shorelines and uplands of the Gulf of Alaska. ... Earthquake liquefaction, often referred to simply as liquefaction, is the process by which saturated, unconsolidated soil or sand is converted into a suspension during an earthquake. ...

Earthquake epicenter

Image File history File links Epicenter of the Good Friday Earthquake of 1964 Source http://neic. ... Image File history File links Epicenter of the Good Friday Earthquake of 1964 Source http://neic. ...

The earthquake

At 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (3:36 a.m. March 27, 1964 UTC), just as people were travelling home, a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. The earthquake lasted for three to five minutes in most areas. Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 20 meters (50ft) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 11.5 m (38 feet) occurred, affecting an area of 250,000 km² (100,000 miles²) within Alaska. The Alaska Time Zone is a Time Zone located west of the Pacific Time Zone. ... March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (87th in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... UTC redirects here. ... Geologic faults, fault lines or simply faults are planar rock fractures, which show evidence of relative movement. ...  The Pacific plate, shown in pale yellow The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. ...  The North American plate, shown in brown The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Cherskiy Range in East Siberia. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... College Fjord is a fjord located in the northern sector of Prince William Sound, Alaska. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... In tectonics, vertical displacement is the shifting of land in a vertical direction, resulting in a permanent change in elevation. ...

Type of fault

The Alaska Earthquake was a Subduction Zone Earthquake.(Megathrust earthquake) Categories: Geology stubs | Plate tectonics ... A megathrust earthquake is an interplate earthquake where one tectonic plate slips beneath (subducts) another. ...

Death toll, damage and casualties

131 people were killed as a result of the earthquake: nine in the earthquake itself, 106 from tsunamis in Alaska, and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California. Property damage was estimated at over $300 million ($1.8 billion in 2007 U.S. dollars). Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ...

Anchorage area

Turnagain Heights landslide - exposed earth appears dark against the snow

Most property damage occurred in Anchorage, 120 km (75 mi) northwest of the epicenter. Nine people were killed, the only deaths directly attributed to the earthquake. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on clay or near bluffs, most notably the Turnagain Heights neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x666, 159 KB)Landslide damage in the Turnagain Heights neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska as a result of the Good Friday Earthquake. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x666, 159 KB)Landslide damage in the Turnagain Heights neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska as a result of the Good Friday Earthquake. ... Nickname: The City of Lights and Flowers Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates: Borough Municipality of Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) Area    - City 5,079. ... The epicenter is directly above the earthquakes focus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Central business district. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... This article is about the New Zealand town of Bluff. ... Landslide of soil and regolith in Pakistan A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows. ...

The small coastal towns of Girdwood and Portage, located approximately 60 km (40 mi) southeast of Anchorage on Turnagain Arm, were destroyed. Girdwood was later relocated a few miles inland, while Portage, which subsided below the high-water level, was abandoned entirely. Girdwood is an unincorporated ski resort community within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Cook Inlet, showing Knik and Turnagain Arms The Cook Inlet or Nuti Inlet is a large inlet of the Gulf of Alaska in south-central Alaska. ... A road destroyed by subsidence and shear. ...

Elsewhere in Alaska

Seward waterfront, mid-1964

Most towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas, especially the major ports, such as Seward and Kodiak, were heavily hit by a combination of seismic damage, tsunamis, subsidence, and/or fire. Valdez was destroyed; the town was later moved to more solid ground 7 km (4 mi) west of its original site. Several of the smaller, low-lying Alaska Native villages in the area (such as Chenega and Afognak) were mostly or totally destroyed. The earthquake also caused the ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x666, 149 KB)The waterfront at Seward, Alaska, a few months after the Good Friday Earthquake. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x666, 149 KB)The waterfront at Seward, Alaska, a few months after the Good Friday Earthquake. ... The Kenai Peninsula in Alaska The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. ... Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. ... Seward is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. ... Aerial view of Kodiak Kodiak is a city on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Flame. ... Valdez (IPA: ) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Alaskan Natives are Aboriginal Americans who live in Alaska. ... Chenega is a census-designated place located in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska, along Prince William Sound. ... Ag’waneq, soimetimes called Afognak, was a village on the island of Afognak in Alaska. ... Clear Air Force Station is a United States Air Force base located 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Anderson, Alaska. ...

Canada

A 1.4 m (4.5 ft) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle, about 3.3 hours after the quake. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island, and travelled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, damaging 375 homes and washing away 55 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage. The damage in British Columbia was estimated at $10 million Canadian ($65 million in 2006 Canadian dollars, or $56 million in 2006 U.S. dollars). Orthographic projection centred over Prince Rupert BC Coast, showing Prince Rupert and Vancouver Prince Rupert is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. ... The Alaska Panhandle is the coast of the American state of Alaska, just west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. ... Tofino is a village of about 1,600 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada, located at the western terminus of provincial highway 4. ... Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait. ... Fjord in Sunnmøre, Norway A fjord (or fiord) is a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes, which results from marine inundation of a glaciated valley. ... Port Alberni is a city located in the province of British Columbia in Canada. ... , Zeballos is a village located on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. ...

The force of the tsunami impaled this tire with a piece of wood.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (665x1000, 151 KB)Tsunamis caused by the Good Friday Earthquake drove a 2x6 plank through this 10-ply truck tire at Whittier, Alaska. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (665x1000, 151 KB)Tsunamis caused by the Good Friday Earthquake drove a 2x6 plank through this 10-ply truck tire at Whittier, Alaska. ...

Elsewhere

Twelve people were killed by the tsunami in Crescent City, California. Other towns along the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Minor damage to boats reached as far south as Los Angeles. Crescent Citys harbor, with the jetty visible Crescent City is the county seat, and the only incorporated city of Del Norte County, California, USA. It is named after the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city. ... The Pacific Northwest from space This page is about the region that includes parts of Canada and the US. For the US only region, see Northwestern United States The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City  498. ...

Since the entire Earth vibrated as a result of the quake, minor effects were felt worldwide: several fishing boats were sunk in Louisiana and water sloshed in wells in South Africa [1]. Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W...

See also

• List of earthquakes

The following is a list of major earthquakes. ...

External links

• USGS report on the earthquake
• U.S. Geological Survey Photo Library -- earthquake photos
• The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964 -- NOAA report
• The Effects of the March 28, 1964 Alaska Tsunami in British Columbia, Canada