246 REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE COMMISSION. 
THE SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA. 
By Ropgrric CRANDALL, 
The distribution of intensity in the San Francisco Peninsula, south of the city, was 
studied by Mr. Roderic Crandall, under the direction of Prof. J.C. Branner. The follow- 
ing is Mr. Crandall’s report on that territory: 
For a consideration of the detailed effects of the earthquake thru the area of the San 
Francisco Peninsula, it will be convenient to divide the country into two portions along 
the San Andreas fault, and to subdivide the area northeast of that line into two parts; 
namely, the San Mateo district, and the Merced Valley. 
THE SAN MATEO DISTRICT. 
The towns of San Carlos, Belmont, San Mateo, Burlingame, Millbrae, and San Bruno 
are included in the San Mateo district. These towns all lie along the railroad between 
San Jose and San Francisco, and are in almost a straight line; that is, parallel to and at 
a distance of from 2 to 4 miles from the San Andreas fault. They are all situated about 
the same geologically, being upon the Santa Clara Valley floor just at the east edge of the 
foot-hills of the Santa Cruz range. 
San Carlos. — The railway station at San Carlos, a low 1-story stone building, was 
badly damaged, some of the walls being partly thrown down, and the rest of the building 
cracked. A large frame house near the station was shaken from its cement foundations, 
and the foundation itself was badly cracked. 
Belmont. — Between San Carlos and Belmont, over four-fifths of the houses lost their 
chimneys, but no buildings were thrown from their foundations. At Belmont a majority 
of the chimneys fell. Reid’s school and other buildings in the neighborhood of Belmont 
sustained similar damages. Reid’s school is one mile nearer the fault-zone than Belmont, 
among the low foot-hills. Thru the hills west of Belmont no cracks nor big landslides 
were found, but there were small landslides along the road leading from Belmont to 
Crystal Springs Lake. A tall stand-pipe on the hill southwest of Belmont was unaffected, 
but it is a well-built structure, guyed with wire cables, and might sway without falling. 
Near Homestead, in the foot-hills between Belmont and San Mateo, the brick building 
of the Crocker Orphanage was completely ruined. 
San Mateo. — San Mateo showed the intensity of the earthquake plainly.!_ Almost all 
brick and cement buildings were damaged and several were completely ruined. (See 
plates 98a, B, and 99a, B.) Many wooden structures suffered by being thrown from their 
foundations, while others were shifted without material damage. Nearly every brick 
chimney in town was shaken down, with consequent damage to the houses. 
At San Mateo Point, which is on the shore of San Francisco Bay, east of the town, 
low frame buildings were uninjured. Tanks 5 feet deep and 4 feet wide, which were half 
full of water, were almost emptied by the shock, the water spilling to the southwest. 
The alluvial flats around the point showed some small cracks, and there was a slight 
sinking of the ground near the bay. 
According to the man at the boat-house at San Mateo Point, the waters of the bay 
were quieted by the shock. Another man, who was in a boat at the time, felt the shock 
but not very strongly. Several fairly heavy shocks about 6 o’clock that morning were 
not felt at all by men on the waters of the bay. At a lumber yard, about half a mile 
West of the point, part of the wharf was broken, lumber piles were overturned, and a 
chimney fell. 

i — Robert Anderson’s paper on San Mateo and Burlingame in a later part of this report for statistical 
etails, 
a 
