CONTENTS 



Page 



Section I. INTRODUCTION 1 



Section II. THE NATUEE OF EAETH DISLOCATION AND MOVEMENT .... 3 



1. The Geological Character of Faults in Alaska 3 



2. Historical Distribution of Earthquakes in Alaska .... 5 



3. Vertical Earth Movement During the Alaskan Earthquake . . 9 

 k. Horizontal Earth Movement During the Alaskan Earthquake . 20 



5. Seismic Evidence for Fault-Plane Mechanism ....... 2k 



6. Character of the Source Inferred from Tsunami Waves ... 28 



7. Speculation on the Cause of the Earthquake and the 

 Earthquake Mechanism 39 



Section III. GENERATION, PROPAGATION, AND DISPERSION OF THE 



MAIN TSUNAMI ^9 



1. The Inferred Mechanism of Tsunami Generation ^9 



2. The Heights of Tsunamis Near Their Source ^9 



3. Progression and Dispersion of the Tsunami Across the 



Pacific Ocean 62 



h. Height Characteristics of the Main Tsunami 98 



5. Period Characteristics of the Main Tsunami . . :. 103 



6. The Transfer of Tsunami Energy to Higher Frequencies . . 106 



7. The Relationship of Runup to Coastal Resonance llli 



6. Suh-Harmonic Effects of the Alaskan Tsunami 115 



9. Heights of Runup Along the North American Coast 118 



10. Heights of Runup Along the Hawaiian Islands 132 



Section IV. EFFECTS OF THE MAIN TSUNAMI AND OF LOCAL SEISMIC 



SEA WAVES IN ALASKA 137 



1. Tsunami at Kodiak City, Kodiak 137 



2. Tsunami Damage at Kodiak City 1U7 



3. Tsunami Damage at the U. S. Naval Station, Kodiak .... 16^^ 

 h. Tsunami Damage at Other Coastal Communities on Kodiak 



and Neighboring Islands I89 



5. Seismic Sea Waves in Cook Inlet 198 



6. The Tsunami in Resurrection Bay, Kenai Peninsula .... 20^ 



7. Tsunami Damage at Seward, Alaska 231 



Section V. EFFECTS OF THE MAIN TSUNAMI AND OF LOCAL SEISMIC 



SEA WAVES IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND 2^7 



1. The Gross Picture of Behavior of Prince William Sound . . 2U7 



2. Tsunami Waves in Port Valdez, Prince William Sound . . . 25^ 



3. Tsunami Damage at Valdez, Alaska 28U 



k. Tsunami Waves at Whittier, Prince William Sound 292 



5. Tsunami Damage at Whittier, Alaska 297 



6, Tsunami Waves and Damage at Cordova, Prince William Sound 311 



