The San Andreas is the 'master fault' of California, it is the main plate boundary in the San Andreas Fault System, consisting of other major active faults. See also: Thrust tectonics and Transverse Range Both events are thought to have been related. The earthquake occurred just as the region was recovering from another event on the 8th of December the same year. One person was killed as a result of the earthquake while another from the aftershock. The 7.1–7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a Modified Mercalli intensity scale rating of X ( Extreme), along with its resulting tsunami, caused considerable damage to present-day Santa Barbara and Ventura County, California, which was at the time a territory of the Spanish Empire.

The 1812 Ventura earthquake (also known as the Santa Barbara earthquake) occurred on the morning of December 21 at 11:00 Pacific Standard Time (PST). Present day Santa Barbara and Ventura County The Hetch Hetchy Valley was within Yosemite National Park and protected by the federal government, leaving it up to Congress to decide the valley’s fate.34☁2′N 119★4′W / 34.2°N 119.9°W / 34.2 -119.9 Hetch Hetchy Environmental Debates Between 19, Congress debated whether to make a water resource available or preserve a wilderness when the growing city of San Francisco, California proposed building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide a steady water supply. military became the 'first responders' and took charge when an earthquake struck San Francisco a century ago.Īftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 in the National Archives Catalog Photographs and documents of the Aftermath of the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 have been digitized about the San Francisco Earthquake and fire. When an American City Is Destroyed How the U.S. Senate, National Archives.ġ906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Documents about the earthquake aftermath, from our archives located in San Francisco. View of the ruined tower of the City Hall. The following images are records of the United States Senate, National Archives from Record Group 46: Army, are now housed with the records of the Senate Committee on Printing. The report on the relief efforts and accompanying captioned photographs, prepared by the U.S. The Senate also passed a resolution asking the Secretary of War to furnish the Senate with a copy of a report on the earthquake and fire. The Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds reporting on buildings damaged in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, and estimates of cost of repairs. In the days following the earthquake, officials destroyed an estimated $30,000 worth of intoxicating liquors. For example, the committee received claims from the owners of several saloons and liquor stores, whose supplies of alcoholic spirits were destroyed by law enforcement officers trying to minimize the spread of fires and threat of mob violence. Other congressional responses included the House Claims Committee handling claims from owners seeking reimbursement for destroyed property. They also appropriated funds to reconstruct many of the public buildings that were damaged or destroyed. The House and the Senate Appropriations Committees enacted emergency appropriations for the city to pay for food, water, tents, blankets, and medical supplies in the weeks following the earthquake and fire. history.Ĭongress responded to the disaster in several ways. The San Francisco earthquake is considered one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. The survivors slept in tents in city parks and the Presidio, stood in long lines for food, and were required to do their cooking in the street to minimize the threat of additional fires. Aid poured in from around the country and the world, but those who survived faced weeks of difficulty and hardship. The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half of the city's 400,000 residents homeless. The earthquake also ignited several fires around the city that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.ĭespite a quick response from San Francisco's large military population, the city was devastated. Though the quake lasted less than a minute, its immediate impact was disastrous. On the morning of April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake shook San Francisco, California.

California earth quake history over 5.0