USA: Arnold Genthe's photograph of San Francisco on April 18, 1906, looking from Chinatown towards the fire on Sacramento Street

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906.

The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.9; however, other values have been proposed, from 7.7 to as high as 8.25. The main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles (476 km). Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada.The earthquake and resulting fire are remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States.

At the time, 375 deaths were reported. However, that figure was fabricated by government officials who felt that reporting the true death toll would hurt real estate prices and efforts to rebuild the city. In addition, hundreds of casualties in Chinatown went ignored and unrecorded; that number is still uncertain today, estimated to be roughly 3,000 at minimum.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Arnold Genthe (PD)

Credit:

Pictures From History