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The 1906 San Francisco earthquake occured on April 18, 1906 at 05:12 AM local time in the San Francisco Bay Area of central California. For additional information, check out our lists of links and references below.)

The earthquake was felt throughout California and Nevada. The following description is taken from the paper by Dr. William Ellsworth in USGS Professional Paper 1515 - "The San Andreas Fault System, California".

The California earthquake of April 18, 1906, ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Today, its importance comes more from the wealth of scientific knowledge derived from it than from its sheer size. Rupturing the northernmost 430 km of the San Andreas fault from northwest San Juan Bautista to the triple junction of Cape Mendocino, the earthquake confounded contemporary geologists with its large, horizontal displacements and great rupture length. Indeed the significance of the fault and recognition of its large cumulative offset would not be fully appreciated until the advent of plate tectonics more than half a century later. Analysis of the 1906 displacements and strain in the surrounding crust led Reid (1910) to formulate his elastic-rebound theory of the earthquake source, which remains today the principal model of the earthquake cycle.

As a basic reference about the earthquake and the damage it caused, geologic observations of the fault rupture and shaking effects, and other consequences of the earthquake, Lawson's (1908) report remains the authoritative work, as well as arguably the most important study of a single earthquake. In the public's mind, this earthquake is perhaps remembered most for the fire it spawned in San Francisco, giving it the somewhat misleading appellation of the "San Francisco earthquake." Shaking damage, however, was equally severe in many other places along the fault rupture. The frequently quoted value of 700 deaths caused by the earthquake and fire is now believed to underestimate the total loss of life by a factor of 3 or 4. Most of the fatalities occurred in San Francisco, and 189 were reported elsewhere.

Here is a collection of materials on the 1906 earthquake.

Centennial

2006 is the centennial of the 1906 earthquake. Many activities are being planned to commemorate the occasion.

• 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance
• UC Berkeley Centennial Web site
• 100th Anniversary Conference commemorating the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

On-line Information

• The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake from USGS, Menlo Park

• 1906 San Francisco Earthquake from Museum of the City of San Francisco

• "The Great Shake: San Francisco, 1906" from the Exploratorium's online exhibit about Life Along the Faultline
• Modified Mercalli Intensity Maps for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Plotted in ShakeMap Format
• Information on the 1906 earthquake from the NEIC

Earthquake Field Trips

• The San Andreas Fault and the San Francisco Bay Area

Earthquake Photographs

• UC Berkeley California Heritage Collection
  • San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Stereographs
  • San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Stereographs by W.S Smith
  • Stereograph cards of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, 1906
  • Views of San Francisco and Oakland, California, after the 1906 earthquake and fire
  • Photographs of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire from the Charles Derleth Papers
  • San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Photographs by the Miles Brothers, 1906
  • Relief Camps for Refugees from the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
  • San Francisco Chinese Community and Earthquake Damage

• 1906 Earthquake Photographs from Museum of the City of San Francisco

• The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906 photos from the archive of James Macelwane, S.J.

• Flash Presentation of 1906 Earthquake Photographs from the collections at UC - Berkeley's NISEE.

• Photographs and reports from America Hurrah
  • 1906 Photographs
  • Municipal Reports

References

• Hansen, G., and E. Condon, Denial of Disaster, Chronicle Press, San Francisco, CA, 1989.

• Lawson, A. C. (ed.),The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906, 1908, Reprinted 1969 by the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
  This is a comprehensive report on the 1906 earthquake, published by the State Earthquake Investigation Commission, and comprises two volumes and an atlas. An excellent resource.

• Schultz, S., and R. Wallace, The San Andreas Fault, USGS General Interest Publication, 1989.
  This "General Interest Publication" is a nice introduction to the San Andreas for a general audience.

• Wald, D. J., Kanamori, H., Helmbeger, D. V., and T. H. Heaton, Source Study of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 83, 981-1019, 1993.

• Wallace, R.R. (ed.), The San Andreas Fault System, California, USGS Professional Paper 1515, Denver, CO, 283 pp., paperback, 1990.
  A collection of review articles on the San Andreas Fault, covering the evolution, physiography, seismicity, and deformation along the fault. Excellent reference.