The -wave appears as a smooth-line elevation of water moving toward 

 the coast from deep water. This appearance fits the description of Tom 

 Hyde who reported "a series of gigantic waves with glassy smooth but 

 curling fronts hurling toward the shore at breakneck speed" (Chance, 

 ,1968). The first wave, according to Hyde, hit with terrific force and 

 soon a wave of black oil was moving down the railroad tracks toward the 

 boat harbor. At about this time the violent ground shaking had opened 

 up innumerable fissures in the area surrounding the boat harbor and 

 cannery and these structures were probably severely, but not entirely, 

 damaged from the earthquake before the wave struck. It seems apparent 

 that a complete slide had not yet occurred since there is clear evidence 

 from several witnesses (Lantz and Kirkpatrick, I96U; Chance, I968) that 

 the waves tossed the boats around in the boat harbor and over the break- 

 waters. It is not known at what stage the boat harbor and cannery dock 

 disappeared completely, but it may be surmised that whatever survived 

 the wave probably succumbed to subsidence on the recession of the wave. 



The second photograph was an 8 mm motion picture film taken by 

 Robert Eads from Lowell Point (see Figure 135 for location). John and 

 Robert Eads were closing shop at their Marine Railway and Repair Plant 

 when the earthquake started. Looking toward Seward they saw a wave 

 coming toward them from the direction of the Arm.y docks and Standard 

 Oil Company docks and about the same time another wave moving eastward 

 |on Fourth of July Point, which swept counterclockwise around the head of 

 the bay (Berg, et al, I96U). This would fit the description of an 

 annular ring wave expanding outward from a central source. 



Robert Eads started photographing the oncoming wave with his motion 

 picture camera, but on realization of its great speed of advance, he and 

 Christiansen ran to their pickup truck to escape. The wave overtook them, 

 as it did John Eads in another panel truck, and surf-rode them up into 

 |the woods at the northern end of the fan delta forming Lowell Point. The 

 color film was damaged by seawater and is exasperatingly short and in- 

 distinct. Nevertheless, it has been found possible to reproduce the 

 photographs of Figure 1^3, which show the wave as a dark band of water, 

 ■elevating slightly and obviously cresting with white water at the shore, 

 lln the background, the plume of black smoke from the fire, just started 

 lat the Standard Oil Company dock, is obviously visible. The writers have 

 Examined Eads' film with care, and though little can be defined with 

 [certainty, they gain the impression that the wave could have been about 

 j20 feet above general water level. The Eads considered the wave was 

 travelling at a speed of over 60 miles per hour (Berg, et al, 196U); 

 '100 miles per hour was mentioned to the writers (SEA interview, 1966). 

 iSuch a speed is possible for a wave travelling as an edge wave (Lamb, 

 1932 Ed. ) at the velocity 



' c = (g sin e)/a (^^) 



i.where is the angle of the seabed to the horizontal and a(=2Tr /T) the 

 jangular frequency of the wave, T its period. For a beach slope of about 

 12° and an effective wave period of 3 minutes (say), this edge-wave 

 ,speed would be about I80 feet per second or about 120 miles per hour. 



225 



