The San Francisco
Earthquake
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1906 San Francisco Earthquake History: The Earthquake
Definition:
An Earthquake is a terrifying geological phenomenon
resulting from underground movement along a fault plane
(or from volcanic activity). It is characterized by
violent shaking and vibration of such tremendous force
that it can destroy a city and kill thousands of people
in minutes.
What
caused
the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake?
A rupture along the Tomales-Portola Fault
line caused the earthquake. It was later re-named the San Andreas
Fault line. The city of San Francisco lies along the San Andreas
Fault line.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake History: The Fault Line
The San Andreas Fault extends roughly 810
miles (1,300 km) through California. Approximately 270 miles of
ground surface was ruptured in Northern California. The epicenter
was located near San Francisco.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake History: The
Magnitude
The Great
San Francisco Earthquake caused the
ground to shift at an estimated 4 - 5 feet per
second, and the rupture traveled at about 5,900 miles per hour. The
magnitude of the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake was estimated
to be 7.8. on the Richter scale.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake History for kids: The Firestorm
The Great San
Francisco earthquake was followed by a firestorm in which violent
winds were drawn into a column of hot air rising over the severely
damaged area created by the earthquake. The high temperatures
within the firestorm ignited anything that might possibly burn. The
firestorm fire turned street tarmac into a flammable hot liquid and
created an enormous ash cloud. 80% the destruction of the buildings
in the San Francisco Earthquake were caused by the great fire.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake History for kids: Tectonic Plates
Earthquakes usually occur
along fault lines, the lines where tectonic plates meet. Tectonic
plates are the huge rocky plates that make up the surface of the
earth. Tectonic plates can move apart or collide with each other due
to great heat and pressure. This powerful movement tears apart the
surface of the Earth releasing energy in the form of shock waves
which cause earthquakes. The two tectonic plates that interacted to
cause the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake were the Pacific Plate and
the North American Plate on the boundary line that is now known as
the famous San Andreas Fault.
San Francisco Earthquake History: Fast Facts for kids via the
Fact Sheet
Interesting description and brief facts about the San Francisco
Earthquake History are detailed
in the Fact Sheet. The story of San Francisco Earthquake History is
told in a factual sequence consisting of a series of short facts
providing a simple method of relating the history, events and
effects of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
San
Francisco Earthquake History:
Facts for kids
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 1:
The San Francisco Earthquake was
caused by the rupture of ground surface along the San
Andreas Fault plane (once referred to as the Tomales-Portola
Fault line)
● The intersection of a fault
plane with the surface produces a feature called a
"fault line"
● Stress builds up and the
rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves that
travel through the rock which cause the shaking
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 2:
The San Francisco Earthquake was
estimated to be 7.8. on the Richter scale. The
Richter magnitude scale (also Richter scale) assigns a
magnitude number to quantify the energy released by
earthquakes. Seismic waves are also used to calculate
the magnitude of earthquakes.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 3:
Liquefaction: Many streets destroyed
by liquefaction during the San Francisco Earthquake.
Liquefaction occurs when vibrations cause soil particles
to lose contact with one another and as a result, the
soil behaves like a liquid, unable to support any
weight. Liquefaction had a devastating effect on the
structures and buildings in the 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 4:
It was a major earthquake causing severe
damage and felt in areas up to hundreds of miles from
the epicenter. The activity of an earthquake is referred
to as:
● The Foreshock: A small earthquake heralding the arrival of a much larger one
● The Mainshock: The largest,
most violent shaking
● The Aftershock: A small
tremor that might follow a major earthquake or the
effect or aftermath of the event
● ● The 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake was followed by a firestorm
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 5:
The epicenter of the 1906 earthquake was
located near the city of San Francisco.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 6:
At the time of the earthquake the city had
a population of 400, 000. After the disaster 225,000
were left homeless
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 7:
The area was subject to minor shakes
but residents were not unduly worried as they had not
caused great damage.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 8:
There was no warning of the disaster.
The San Francisco Earthquake began before dawn at 5:12
a.m. when most of the inhabitants were still in bed. The
date was 18 April 1906.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 9:
The Foreshock: People who were up and
about, heard an ominous rumbling. Then the shaking
started. The foreshock tremor was a quick, terrifying
warning of what was to come, and lasted for about 30
seconds. Then it stopped. It was the beginning of one of
the worst natural disasters in the history of America.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 10:
The Mainshock: Approximately 20
seconds after the foreshock, the large earthquake hit - the mainshock. The Mainshock lasted for about 40 seconds and
caused the entire city to rock. The effects of the 1906
San Francisco Earthquake
were horrifying.
● Buildings swayed
● Trees were uprooted
● Buildings crumpled and
collapsed, bricks came crashing down
● Walls caved in and chimneys
toppled over
● Streets were ripped open with
hundreds of great cracks
● Great, deep holes appeared in
the ground
Continued...
San
Francisco Earthquake History: Facts for kids
1906 San Francisco Earthquake History Facts for kids
Interesting information about the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
History Facts for kids are
continued below.
San
Francisco Earthquake History: Facts for kids
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact
11: Many people were killed instantly,
crushed to death by the collapsing masonry and falling
debris. Animals meet the same fate and their carcasses
lay on the streets. People and animals disappeared in an
instant into deep holes opened by the earthquake. Those who
survived were injured by showers of bricks and flying
glass.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact
12: People watched in helpless horror as
friends and family, including children, met their deaths
in front of their eyes. The city was in chaos.
● Gas mains ruptured
● Electrical wires were broken
● All telephone and telegraph
services were cut off
● Main water lines were broken
● Many city chiefs were killed,
so there was no leadership in the city
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact
13: The Fire: The San Francisco
Earthquake terrified the population but there was even
worse to come. Fires immediately broke out across the
city caused by the broken gas lines, broken electrical
wires and the stoves and oil lamps that had fallen over
during the shaking.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact
14: The Fire: Fires were also fueled by
highly flammable, wood constructed buildings in the
poorer, congested districts.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact
15: The Fire: There were more than 50
several separate major fires in the city that grew
together. The fires spread at an alarming and rapid rate
and were uncontrollable. There was:
● Inadequate fire protection
● Inadequate water supply
● Inadequate direction - the
fire chief had been killed in the earthquake
● Broken gas lines
● Inadequate man power and it
was impossible to get extra help quickly
● The firefighters desperately
tried to combat the fires over an area of
approximately 21 square miles
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 16:
The Fire: Without water,
without adequate leadership and the sheer enormity of
the problem, the fires consumed the city.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 17:
The Fire: Most buildings were left to
burn. The only way to stop the fires was to use a
firebreak to create gaps between buildings to stop the
progress of the fire. This method had been used in the
Great Fire of London in 1666. But in 1906, over 350
years later, the firefighters had access to dynamite.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 19:
The Fire: The idea of creating a
firebreak was good but the decision to use dynamite was
bad. None of the firefighters were trained in the
use of dynamite which led to the useless destruction of
even more buildings.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 20:
The Fire: The Fire, accompanied by
deafening explosions, occurred all day long terrorized
the people who were attempting to escape from the city.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 21:
The Fire: The explosions and the fire
engulfed the city in smoke, leaving chemicals and ash
clouds in its wake. Eye witnesses said you could hardly
breath in the clouds of ash.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 22:
The Fire: The city burned for three
days and three nights following the San Francisco
Earthquake, some of the fires were as hot as 2,700°F.
The fire eventually eased after 3 days, helped by a
change in wind direction.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 23:
The Fire: The firestorm, the fires
and the explosions were more catastrophic than the San
Francisco Earthquake
itself. When the fires finally burned out, more than
28,000 buildings had been destroyed attributing 80% -
85% of the damage in the city to the fire.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 24:
Aftermath: The terrified people left
the shattered wreckage of their homes and the city. 98%
of the city’s most populated 521 blocks lay in ruins.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 25:
The people left with nothing at first
fleeing the nightmare by gathering together in parks, in
vacant lots and on beachfronts. It is estimated that
250,000 residents fled the city by foot, ferry,
horseback and train.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 26:
Over 100,000 other residents
remained. A small number took advantage of the situation
and looting occured.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 27:
An emergency, provisional government
was formed and various announcements and edits were
issued including one to shoot looters on sight.
Soldiers, police, and vigilantes were empowered to carry
out the needs of the city.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 28:
Aftermath: The City Hall and the
County Courthouse were destroyed as were all records of
the population. Property deeds, immigration records, marriage licenses, birth
certificates were all destroyed.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 29:
Three days after the San Francisco
Earthquake, the Governor of California, George C. Pardee
appointed an 8 person Earthquake Investigation
Commission.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 30:
It is estimated that the property
loss due to the San Francisco Earthquake amounted to
$524 million (in 1906 dollars)
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 31:
Many insurance companies went
bankrupt and shares on the Stock Market fell that
triggered a nationwide financial
Panic of 1907 that lasted for
months.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 32:
It took nine years to rebuild the
city following the San Francisco Earthquake.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 33:
The only comparable disaster at the
time in America, in terms of the death toll, was the
Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
1906 San
Francisco Earthquake History Fact 34:
The San Andreas fault has averaged
150 years between quakes.
San
Francisco Earthquake History: Facts for kids
San Francisco Earthquake for kids - President Theodore Roosevelt Video
The article on the San Francisco Earthquake provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 26th American President whose presidency spanned from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.
1906 San Francisco Earthquake for
Kids
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Facts about the San Francisco Earthquake for kids and schools
●
Summary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake in US history
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The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, a major
event in US history
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The San Francisco Earthquake for kids
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Fast, fun facts about the San Francisco Earthquake
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The cause and effect of the
1906 San Francisco Earthquake
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Theodore Roosevelt Presidency and
1906 San Francisco Earthquake for schools,
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