The Northern California earthquake of April 18, 1906, commonly referred to as the “Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906“, is the most damaging earthquake in US history. San Francisco and surrounding cities were violently shaken by seismic waves produced by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The remarkable post-earthquake construction and renaissance of the Bay Area are important events in the history of the region. The 1906 earthquake also revealed the existence and significance of the San Andreas fault to earth scientists, who then gave birth to the science of earthquakes. This virtual tour utilizes the geographic interactive software Google Earth to explain the scientific, engineering, and human dimensions of this earthquake, so as to help you visualize and understand the causes and effects of this and future earthquakes.
The site offers Google Map views of the epicenter, historic photos, the works. Pretty cool.
They also try to nudge viewers into reflecting upon the next one.
Here in the Mid-West, we only worry about blizzards in winter, tornadoes during spring , drought in the summer, and the price of corn on the Chicago Exchange in the fall. Earth quakes don’t even count.
As a kid I went through the 1967earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela. I was about five years old. The earthquake registered 6.5 Richter and cracked many buildings. Some buildings collapsed, trapping and killing many people. I prefer hurricanes, at least you get some warning that someting is coming your way. I don’t like the idea of waiting for the “Big One” to strike at any moment. I have been to San Francisco a few times and I’d hate to see it ravaged by another earthquake. It is a beatiful place.
Its funny how we can live in or near hurricane alleys, faults or volcanoes and ignore the danger. I have seen satellite photos of Vesuvius, which is right by Napoli, and there are thaousands of people living just a few miles from the volcano, crazy.
Mr. Fusion:
Better practice standing in doorways. The worst known earthquake in the continental US occurred in southern Illinois in the 19th century. According to reports, it caused the Mississippi to flow backwards and church bells to ring in Boston. Read more about the New Madrid Fault on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_fault
Bustling SF before the quake:
http://www.archive.org/stream/TripDown1905/TripDown1905_256kb.mp4
Greg
Well, uummm, aa, well, you see, aaa, cough, cough, ya sure about that?
Really, John! You know you risk losing your Bay Area resident status by forgetting to refer to it as The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake AND FIRE.