Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-28
EARTHQUAKE RECORD
Those Recorded at Various OBJ
servatories in Past Decade.
THEY RUN INTO HUNDREDS
Also Many Instances Of Volcanic
Activity.
EXTENT OF DISTURBED REGION
From the Uttermost Points Of Alaska
Down to Mexico-Several
Severe Shakes.
HEY RUN INTO HUNDREDS
xTENT OF DISTURBED REGION

1t Is not till one looks over the official
record of earthquakes on the Pacific coast
mat the fact impresses Itself on one that
the whole coastal plain Is mighty shaky
piece of territory. For the past ten years
there have been a series Of records kept
from the Lick Observatory, from Mount
Hamilton, from Berkeley and Oakland, Ia
coma, Washington. the weather bureau at
Carson. New, and at several private obser-
vatories
The list of shocks recorded by the In
struments are, of course, many of them
largely local and many are so faint that 1t
taxes an instrument of precision to catch
them. But there are many others that are
very plainly perceptible, and some that
nave done much damage besides the present
disastrous quake and the historic shake of
1868 1t is probable that there has been q
shake week on some part of the Pacific
coast Tor the past decade and many of
them have been severe enough to be femem-
bered locally for years. There Is also rec
ord of volcanic activity on the part Of
Mount Rainier long prior to the present dis
turbance, though 1t win be remembered
that the residents of Tacoma recently pro-
tested to the world that the stories of
Mount Ralnier's activity were all newspaper
taxes and that the volcano, to use their
own language. was deader than an Egypt
ian mummy
Extent Of Disturbed Region,
The disturbed region extends from the
uttermost points of Alaska down into Mex
leo. several severe shocks having been felt
at Mexico City, while the shakes get across
the mountains occasionally and MANY are
reported from Carson City, while there have
been smaller number as far as Albu
querque.
Taking the year 1902 there were severe
snocks on January 16, February g. February
D, February 90 February "a Fehruarv Ok
March 10, March %, and so on through al
most the whole year. The spring seems
from the records, to be the fayorite time
Tor the tremblers. but there are almost as
many recorded instances through the sum-
mer, fall and winter All of the disturb
ances In question were felt at more than
one point. They ranged from Portland.
ore. TO Yuma and San Diego. Some were
mere earth waves, but some were severe
enough to bring down the plasterine sion
clocks and throw dishes off the Shelves.
The worst shock since the famous one of
1908 struck san Francisco on April 10, 1892
IL was at am. and brought down the
walls of the old Academy Of Sciences build-
ing. at the corner Of Dupont and California
streets, that was then being remodeled and
n mad good many OF the supports cut away
from the walls. There were some chirnneys
thrown down. but there was no loss Of
NE, though the newspaper accounts at the
time said that 1t was severe enough to
Two Volcanoes Spring Into Activity.
There was a bad shake at San Diego on
June 20 Of the same year, and two pros
pectors near Alamo, Lower California saw
two apparently dead volcanoes spring into
sudden activity In the Santa Clara valley,
They continued in action for some weeks and
were seen by number of other travellers,
and then died down.
D.
Aientian Islands on August % OF that year,
anu was accompanied by an earthquake felt
as far as Seattle, while the whole OF the
country for miles around the volcano was
covered with volcanic ashes and day turned
into night for many hours. The outbreak
was witnessed by the crew of the schooner
cara OF San Diego that happened to be in
the vicinity. The crew of the revenue cut
Yer Rush were also treated to a similar
outbreak on September % Off Akutan
Island. This outbreak was ACCOMPANIED by
slight earthquake shock.
Probably the worst shake outside of San
francisco recently was the earthquake that
evidently had Its center near Vacayille
April I'D. This was felt all over central
California from San Francisco to Stockton.
In Vacavflle 1t did about $780, 600 worth of
damage to property.
The shakes in the mountain regions OF
the coast are often accompanied by volcanic
outbreaks There was q bad one on April
u. 1893. that was particularly felt in Los
Angeles and that caused considerable dis
turbance in the San Fernando mountains
and shook many of the adjoining ranges
Shocks were frequent throughout CALI
fornia in 1897, and there were bad ones In
San Francisco and Oakland on June 20 and
July q. 1t would be impossible to give q
chronological list OF the shakes In the past
decade that have been felt up and down
the coast, but they certainly run into the
hundreds. The only reason that some of
them were not as disastrous as the recent
San Francisco affair was that they did not
have the same chance In the absence of
water supply to get fires started in the
heart of a big, thickly populated city.