The Great Quake
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A powerful earthquake hit San Francisco 100 years ago this month.
STRANGE SCENE
Think back to 1906. It was April 18 in San Francisco. That is a large city in California.
A woman woke to something strange. Her house rocked. She later wrote, "I was wakened by the crash
of falling furniture."
The shaking lasted less than a minute. It seemed much longer. Other people were thrown from their beds too. They soon filled the streets.
The city lay in ruins. Roads had big cracks. A famous singer opened a window. He sang out. He wanted to make sure he could still sing!
THE FAULT BELOW
What started the shaking? Blame the San Andreas Fault. It lies below the city. It is 600 miles long.
A fault is a crack between two plates. A plate is part of Earth’s surface. Plates fit together like huge puzzle pieces.
The plates usually move slowly. Sometimes a plate makes a big move. One plate moved 20 feet that day. It was an earthquake.
FIRE!
The woman and her husband were fine. Only a few things in their house broke. Then things got worse. The city caught fire!
The earthquake broke many water pipes. There was little water to put out the flames.
Firemen blew up houses to stop the fire from spreading. The woman saw flames everywhere that night.
HOMELESS CITY
People had to escape. They took what they could. Some left by boat. Many went to the edge of the city. They gathered in parks.
San Francisco was almost destroyed by fire. Many people lost their homes. So did the woman and her husband. They stayed with friends whose houses were safe. What would they do next?
SPIRIT OF HOPE
Some people felt hopeless. Many were glad just to be alive.
Help came from all over the world. The U.S. Army set up camps in parks. They kept the camps safe.
The city built thousands of green cottages. People rented them for a few dollars. Later, they bought them.
People planned a new city. It would be bigger. It would be more beautiful. And they built it! Many people moved there.
The woman called the spirit of the people "the most wonderful thing."
Article by Beth Geiger. Top-of-page photo © Bettmann/Corbis. "The Great Quake" appears on pages 10-17 of our April 2006 issue.
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// LINKS //
National Geographic: Earthquakes
Learn why earthquakes happen. Set off a quake of your own.
The San Francisco Quake: One Woman's Story
A woman described the quake. She put her story in a letter. Read it here.
Exploratorium: Faultline
Read more about the great quake. See pictures of the city.
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