448 REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE COMMISSION. 
has, therefore, to reckon with the latter as well as the former in its future career, and 
consequently should be doubly prudent in the location and structure of its important 
buildings. 
15. The cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay are less concerned with the San 
Andreas Rift, but are more immediately affected by the proximity of the diastrophic 
line marked by the front of the range of the Berkeley Hills. 
16. The interval between the disastrous movement of 1857 on the San Andreas Rift 
and the movement on the Haywards fault in 1868 was 11 years. 
THE EARTHQUAKE OF 186s. 
About 12" 45" p. m., on October 8, 1865, a moderately severe earthquake shook middle 
California. Most of our information regarding it is assembled in Holden’s Catalogue 
of Earthquakes. In the Sacramento Daily Union of that date it is described as the 
most violent ever experienced there. After several vibrations a second or two inter- 
vened, and the shaking was then repeated more violently than at first. The vibrations 
seemed to be east and west, but a few people thought they were from southwest to 
northeast. Clocks stopt, and there was a general feeling of dizziness and nausea. The 
same paper states that at Stockton the shock was heavy and seemed to pass from north 
to south, but that no damage was done. At Petaluma there were two severe shocks in 
quick succession, vibrating from northwest to southeast. The shock was the heaviest 
experienced up to that time. All brick buildings were more or lessinjured. The first 
shock was from the northwest to the southeast, followed by a general shaking or rolling, 
closing with a jerk. At San Jose the shock was very severe. Brick walls fell and the 
convent bell tolled. At New Almaden a large brick store-house on the hill was nearly 
demolisht. Several houses in the village were thrown down. The earth opened and 
closed again. Chimneys in different parts of the county were thrown down. (San 
Francisco Bulletin, Oct. 12, 1865.) 
At Watsonville there was a heavy shock. The earth opened in several places (second- 
ary cracks), throwing up water. At Santa Cruz the shock was apparently heavier than 
elsewhere. Every brick building was reported ruined. The motion was apparently 
east and west. The lowlands along the river opened and spouted water like geysers. 
,, Some wells went dry or were filled with sand. The tide rose very high at the time of 
the shock and fell very low immediately afterwards. (Bulletin, Oct. 9, 1865.) 
“Monterey escaped unharmed.” (Sacramento Daily Union, Oct. 9, 1865.) 
After shocks were reported at San Jose, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. 
There is no record of the shock having been felt at Marysville, Yreka, Eureka, or in 
Alpine County; the Mountain Messenger of October 14, 1865, states that it was not 
felt at Visalia nor in Los Angeles. The Bulletin of October 17, 1865, states that it was 
not felt in Santa Barbara. 
In San Francisco, according to the Bulletin of the date of the earthquake, there was a 
violent shock lasting about 5 seconds, followed almost instantly by another much heavier 
shock, which continued for 10 seconds or more. Vibrations appeared to be nearly east 
and west, but some experienced observers said that the movement was in the same 
direction as previous shocks — nearly northeast and southwest. The commencement 
of the shock was accompanied by a rumbling sound. During the following evening there 
were two or three slight after-shocks. The effects of the earthquake were visible in every 
street. No buildings were entirely demolisht, but the damage aggregated many thou- 
sands of dollars. The most important damage to buildings occurred at the following 
localities: 
