The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

San Francisco City Hall after the 1906 Earthquake 

BUNKER HILL

The earthquake that hit California on April 18, 1906, was one of the most devastating in history. 

Pink Blob

The earthquake ruptured the northernmost 296 miles (477 kilometers) of the San Andreas fault from northwest of San Juan Bautista to the triple junction at Cape Mendocino, surprising scientists with its massive horizontal displacements and rupture length.

At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. 

Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. 

1906 Earthquake Numbers

Deaths

Buildings Destroyed

Homeless

3000

28000

400K

THE MMI

The highest Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMI's) of VII to IX paralleled the length of the rupture, extending as far as 80 kilometers inland from the fault trace. 

Sediment-filled valleys and San Francisco Bay-reclaimed terrain saw the heaviest shaking.

In the public's mind, this earthquake is perhaps remembered most for the fire it spawned in San Francisco, giving it the somewhat misleading appellation of the "San Francisco earthquake". 

Green Location Pin

Dec 17th, 2022

The San Francisco Bay Area in California has been struck by a magnitude 3.6 earthquake.