Captain Stewart's impressions of the above events were also reported 

 by Berg, et al (196^+); Denner (196U); Chance (1968); and the magazine, 

 "Alaska Construction" (19^^); collectively these sources add further im- 

 portant information as have interviews which the writers had in I966 with 

 former crew members Dunning, Harding, Nelson, and Numair. 



It appears evident that immediately after the start of the earth- 

 quake, the Chena went astern in a northwest direction and either slipped 

 or fractured her mooring lines. Sturgis , on the third floor of the 

 Valdez Hotel, with a view seaward down Alaska Avenue (Figure I62), was 

 in an exceptionally good position to observe this initial movement (cf. 

 Berg, et al, I96U; Bryant, I96U; Chance, I968) . It is also confirmed 

 by Dunning and Niomair. The implied movement of the Chena is shown in 

 Figure l66b. 



This first movement of the Chena appears to have been due to water 

 withdrawal which accompanied the initial subsidence of the docks during 

 the first minute of the earthquake. Sturgis had also noted that the 

 initial earth movement during the earthquake was north-south (Bryant, 

 I96U; Chance, I968), which seems amply proved by the numerous earth 

 crevices and cracks in an east-west direction, measured by Bracken (196U) 

 (see also Coulter and Migliaccio, I966). Earth waves some ^00 feet be- 

 tween crests and 3 to U feet high (Chapman, I96U) apparently rolled from 

 north to south, producing these fissures and causing the land to start 

 sltunping toward the sea with numerous fissures forming parallel to the 

 coast in a northwest-southeast direction. The violent earth shaking 

 caused considerable compaction of the soil and squeezed a great volume 

 of water to the surface which spouted in walls of spray when fissures 

 closed with the earthwave movement (Chance, I968; Bryant, 196i+). We 

 note too (from Figure I6) that the entire Valdez area was being pushed 

 horizontally from northwest to southeast through a distance of about 

 25 feet. 



The earth slump at the harbor was at first more in the nature of 

 compaction and partial sliding on the fairly flat slope of the sediments 

 at the east end of Port Valdez (Figure l67a). It could not have been a 

 complete and sudden failure because the Chena returned on the crest of 

 the first wave (Figures l66c and l67c ) and was deposited on the wreckage 

 of the docks. Further, although the docks had by this time disappeared, 

 the portion of the North Arm at the approach to the docks , along with 

 the cannery, was still intact, as proved by Figure 168.* This is 

 enlarged from a single frame (No. 110 ) of the 8 mm motion-picture film, 

 photographed by Fred Numair, crew member of the Chena, from the approxi- 

 mate location. Figure 166 c and d or Figure i6T c and d. Figure 168 



* Figures I68 through 173 are enlargements from 35 mm color film, re- 

 produced from original 8 mm color motion-picture film. Because the 

 original films were not of good quality, definition in the photographs 

 is unavoidably poor. Dashlines in black or white and suitable annota- 

 tion have been added, where necessary, to indicate features of interest 

 or importance. 



_ . Text resimies on page 268 



264 ^ 



