EARTHQUAKES OX THE PACIFIC COAST 51 



record. It lasted 47 seconds and the vibrations wrre from south- 

 west to northeast. There were no preliminary tremors, the shock 

 being sudden and the vibrations continuous, with the maximum 

 intensity toward the end. Buildings shook to an alarming degree 

 and several were slightly twisted. One frame building moved 

 about 12 inches to the west. Many chimnej^s toppled over and 

 several hundred panes of glass were broken.' There was no loss 

 of life and the loss to property did not exceed $8,000. The 

 chimneys fell in all directions, but most of them towards the west. 

 The statue of Minerva on the dome of the Court House tipped 

 toward the south until it leaned at an angle of 43 degrees. 



North of Eureka the shock was slight, and reports indicate that the 

 seismic disturbance did not extend more than thirty miles north- 

 ward, but south of Eureka the earthquake was more severe. At 

 Ferndale, 22 miles south, several buildings were demolished and 

 many others badly twisted. Naturally there were wild rumors 

 about crevices, upheavals, and depressions in the earth, but upon 

 investigation it was found that such reports could not be verified. 

 With the exception of a few cracks in the subsoil, and possibly 

 a slight depression in some made land, there were no evidences of 

 an earthquake. All the towns along the coast between Eureka and 

 San Francisco were badly damaged. The nearer they are to San 

 Francisco the greater is the damage. 



Summing up the situation in Eureka and throughout Humboldt 

 county, the earthquake did not do any considerable damage in 

 the aggregate. The sections to suffer the worst were those on low 

 or filled-in land. I am of the opinion that if our buildings had 

 been higher, or the maximum intensity of the vibrations had lasted 

 20 seconds longer, the damage in Eureka would have been much 

 greater. 



A second shock of earthquake occurred on April 18, at 5:22 a. m. 

 and another was felt at 12:25 p. m. These shocks were slight 

 and of short duration. Slight shocks of earthquake also occurred 

 in eai'ly morning of April 19; 3 a. m., 20; 6:07 a. m., 23; 10:30 a. m., 

 27, and at 11:10 p. m., 30. There was quite a severe shock on 

 April 23, at 1:10 a. m., lasting about 14 seconds. The vibrations 

 were from southerly to northerly, being of sufficient violence to 

 shake buildings and stop clocks in different parts of the city. 



1906. April 18; American steamer "Mackinaw," coal laden, from Wash- 

 ington to San Francisco, at 5:10 a. m., while in lat. 38° 23' and 

 long. 123° 24', experienced heavy shock as if ship had struck 

 bottom three distinct times and then slipped over a shoal. Weather 

 calm, sea smooth, no disturbance of sea. — F. S. Meady. 



1906. April 18; San Luis Obispo. 



1906. April 18; Steamer "National City," lat. 38° 24' N., long. 123° 57'. 

 James Denny, chief engineer, states: "The ship seemed to .jump 

 clear out of the water, the engines raced fearfully, as though the 



