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PHY-104
San Francisco Earthquake
In 1906, San Francisco civilian’s lives were changed by the ground shaking catastrophe
that effected almost all of the residents in the bay area. On April 18th, an earthquake that had a
magnitude of 7.9 and lasted about a minute was felt all the way from southern Oregon to the
south of Los Angeles. This left half of San Francisco City homeless which was about 200,000
and killed 67 people. This natural disaster caused a lot of damage to California and will not be
forgotten anytime soon. But through this disaster geologists could learn more about earthquakes,
how they are caused, what happens during them and what happens after them including what
damage occurs. This purpose of this paper is to highlight all those aspects of what exactly
happens to the earth when an earthquake happens and what geologists can learn from them.
The San Fransico earthquake was a horrible disaster, but because it occurred, it helped
geologists to be able to learn more about how earthquakes are caused. Earthquakes occur when
the rock beneath the ground suddenly breaks apart or slips along a fault. Seismic waves are
caused by the sudden release of energy when the rock breaks which then causes the ground to
shake (Ellsworth, Lindh, Prescott, & Herd, 2013). It was hard to tell exactly how earthquakes
were caused and when they were going to occur before the 1906 earthquake. This helped
geologists really advance their research in all aspects of earthquakes, but especially how and
when they might happen. Though geologists will never be able to predict exactly when an
earthquake might occur, with the technology and monitoring systems they have, they will be
PHY-104
San Francisco Earthquake
In 1906, San Francisco civilian’s lives were changed by the ground shaking catastrophe
that effected almost all of the residents in the bay area. On April 18th, an earthquake that had a
magnitude of 7.9 and lasted about a minute was felt all the way from southern Oregon to the
south of Los Angeles. This left half of San Francisco City homeless which was about 200,000
and killed 67 people. This natural disaster caused a lot of damage to California and will not be
forgotten anytime soon. But through this disaster geologists could learn more about earthquakes,
how they are caused, what happens during them and what happens after them including what
damage occurs. This purpose of this paper is to highlight all those aspects of what exactly
happens to the earth when an earthquake happens and what geologists can learn from them.
The San Fransico earthquake was a horrible disaster, but because it occurred, it helped
geologists to be able to learn more about how earthquakes are caused. Earthquakes occur when
the rock beneath the ground suddenly breaks apart or slips along a fault. Seismic waves are
caused by the sudden release of energy when the rock breaks which then causes the ground to
shake (Ellsworth, Lindh, Prescott, & Herd, 2013). It was hard to tell exactly how earthquakes
were caused and when they were going to occur before the 1906 earthquake. This helped
geologists really advance their research in all aspects of earthquakes, but especially how and
when they might happen. Though geologists will never be able to predict exactly when an
earthquake might occur, with the technology and monitoring systems they have, they will be
