WOODWORTH: GEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO BRAZIL AND CHILE. 37 
great disaster which had but four months previous led to the destruc- 
tion of San Francisco, has received such scant attention in North 
American scientific journals that the following notes taken largely 
from local accounts and the paper of Dr. H. Steffen of the University 
at Santiago are deemed worthy of record. 
In Valparaiso the immediate loss of life was estimated at 3,000 
persons and the wounded at 20,000, some of whom subsequently died 
in consequence of their injuries. Several hundreds of lives were 
lost in surrounding towns and villages. (Rozas y Cruzat, 1906.) 
Owing to the lack of seismographs in Chile in 1906, the exact time 
of the earthquake is a matter of some uncertainty. At Santiago where 
there is an astronomical observatory the first sensible shock appears 
to have taken place 7h. 58m. 36s. Pp. M., August 16th, local time. 
Taking the longitude of Santiago as 4h. 42m. 46.4s. west from Green- 
wich, the initial shock was felt there at Oh. 41m. 22s. Greenwich 
mean time, midnight to midnight, August 17th. At Valparaiso 
whose time is 3m. 50s. later, the first shock is placed at 7h. 55m and at 
7h. 56s. by several different time-keepers. The mean of the times 
at Valparaiso, 7h. 55m. 30s. makes the apparent time of the first 
shock at Valparaiso 44 secs. earlier than that at Santiago. The 
earthquake from various studies appears to have originated in a 
fault plane off Coquimbo about 228 miles north of Valparaiso. The 
seismographic indications as to the time of origin point to Oh. 40 m. 
as the probable moment of the primal great shock. 
From. the varied estimates of observers, it appears that in the 
central tract along the coast extending north and south of Valparaiso 
between the parallels of 28° and 39° S. L. there were two series of 
shocks separated by an interval of relative quiet. The first strong 
shock of exceptional duration, lasted from four to five min., while 
the second equal to or perhaps stronger than the first one had a dura- 
tion of 1 min. or less. Outside of the epicentral region but one 
continuous series of shocks seems to have been noticed. (Steffen, 
1907, p. 23). A vertical movement was distinctly recognized at 
isolated points between 38° and 36° S. L. with greater distinctness and 
precision on the north as far as the river Mante. Most observers 
judged the primal movement to be upward. Dr. Steffen obtained 
testimony to the effect that heavy objects in Illapel, Santiago, Talca, 
etc., within the central tract were thrown upward to a certain height 
above the base on which they stood, contradicting as he notes the 
statement of Dutton (1904, p. 148) that there never has been observed 
an acceleration sufficient to overcome the force of gravity. It may 
