NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Good Friday Earthquake

The Good Friday Earthquake (also called the Great Alaska Earthquake) of Friday, March 27, 1964 (Good Friday, a Christian holy day associated with a historical earthquake^[1]), 5:36 P.M. AST (03:36 3/27 UTC) had a magnitude of 9.2, and was the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history, and the third most powerful ever measured by seismograph. 131 deaths were attributed to the earthquake. The epicenter of the earthquake was 61°03′N 147°29′W / 61.05, -147.48, 20 km north of Prince William Sound, 125 km (78 miles) east of Anchorage and 64 km (40 miles) west of Valdez. The rupture occurred at a depth of approximately 25km and its duration was approximately 4 minutes. 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. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Good Friday is the Friday before Easter (Easter always falls on a Sunday). ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... 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. ... An earthquake is the result of a 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... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Seismographs (in Greek seismos = earthquake and graphein = write) are used by seismologists to record seismic waves. ... The epicenter is directly above the earthquakes focus. ... Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska. ... Nickname: Motto: Big Wild Life Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates: , Borough Municipality of Anchorage Government - Mayor Mark Begich (D) Area - Municipality 1,961. ... Valdez (IPA: ) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state 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. ...

The earthquake

At 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time (3:36 a.m. March 27, 1964 UTC), just as people were traveling 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 metres (70ft) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Large rockslides were also created which resulted in great 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. 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 Alaska Time Zone is a Time Zone located west of the Pacific Time Zone. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... â€œUTCâ€ 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. ... For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ... In tectonics, vertical displacement is the shifting of land in a vertical direction, resulting in a permanent change in elevation. ... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ...

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: 9 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) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area Ranked 9th - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 kmÂ²) - Width 260 miles (420 km) - Length 360 miles (580 km) - % water 2. ...

Anchorage area

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 Nickname: Motto: Big Wild Life Location in the state of Alaska Coordinates: , Borough Municipality of Anchorage Government - Mayor Mark Begich (D) Area - Municipality 1,961. ... The epicenter is directly above the earthquakes focus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Central business district. ... For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation). ... The panoramic view from Connors Hill, near Swifts Creek, Victoria A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain, in a limited area. ... 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

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 not totally destroyed as is commonly thought and was inhabited for the next three years; 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. Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska. ... 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. ... The Seward boat harbor Seward is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... View of Kodiak from Pillar Mountain Street of Kodiak in 1965 Kodiak is a city on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. ... For other uses, see Fire (disambiguation). ... 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 AFS is about five miles (8km) south of Anderson, Alaska Clear Air Force Station (ICAO: PACL) is a United States Air Force Station located 5 miles (8 km) south of Anderson, Alaska, USA. The 13th Space Warning Squadron is located at this base; a part of the 21st Space...

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 1,650 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 SunnmÃ¸re, Norway Geirangerfjord, Norway A fjord (or fiord) is a long, narrow estuary with steep sides, made when a glacial valley is filled by rising sea water levels. ... Port Alberni is a city located in the province of British Columbia in Canada. ... Zeballos (pop. ...

Elsewhere

12 people were killed by the tsunami in Crescent City, California, while four children were killed on the Oregon Coast at Beverly Beach State Park.^[2] 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. ... Beverly Beach State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon located five miles north of Newport. ... The Pacific Northwest from space The Pacific Northwest, abbreviated PNW, or PacNW is a region in the northwest of North America. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area Ranked 43rd - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 kmÂ²) - Width n/a miles (n/a km) - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km) - % water 41. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ...

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.^[3] This article is about Earth as a planet. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

Aftershocks

Over 10,000 aftershocks were recorded following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. An additional nine more occurred over the next three weeks. It was not until eighteen months later that the aftershocks were no longer a danger.

Gallery

Contents

The earthquake

Type of fault

Death toll, damage and casualties

Anchorage area

Elsewhere in Alaska

Canada

Elsewhere

Aftershocks

Gallery

See also

Notes

External links

Contents

The earthquake GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Type of fault

Death toll, damage and casualties

Anchorage area

Elsewhere in Alaska

Canada

Elsewhere

Aftershocks

Gallery

See also

Notes

External links

The earthquake