Healdsburg to WilletsHealdsburg, Sonoma County. Population 1,870. (R. S. Holway.) — This place comes next to Santa Rosa in the extent of damage done to towns in Sonoma County. The shock was definitely less severe, however. The new 3-story brick building of the Odd Fellows Society is a total wreck, as are several other buildings, but many brick structures stood the shock without serious damage. The cemetery is on a low hill similar to that at Santa Rosa, and as at the latter place not over half the monuments fell. Of 35 square monuments of the same class, the direction of fall was as follows: north, 10; south, 11; east, 10; west, 3; southwest, 1. Along the bottom-land of the Russian River, cracks from an inch to a foot in width opened at several places. (H. R. Bull.) — The direction of the earthquake at Healdsburg seemed to be from north to south during the early stage of the disturbance. Following this was a decided pause attended by a quivering motion; then followed a vertical movement attended by a great rumbling noise like thunder; lastly, the distinct oscillatory movement which continued thruout. A piano with its back close against the north wall was shifted 2 feet almost directly toward the south. It was evidently lifted and rolled simultaneously, since the base-board of the piano was thrust out upon the floor ahead of the piano. A clock on a south wall was thrown 5 feet to the north, while a clock on a north wall was thrown to the south. Plastering on walls extending north and south was badly broken and scattered, while that of the ceiling and the walls extending east and west was only slightly injured. One chimney was hurled toward the east, another toward the south. North and south walls of a brick dwelling 40 feet north of the frame building above described were thrown toward the south. Furniture in this building was shifted also in a similar manner. Residents generally agree as to the general movement being from north to south. Fissures in the creek bed near the town are in evidence. Water was thrown out and continued to flow for several hours, at first with some considerable force; then it gradually diminished and finally disappeared. Brick buildings were generally injured and in some instances thrown down. (Plate 70A, B.) Many brick walls facing east and west were buckled either in or out, because of the movement from north to south of the north and south walls. Chimneys generally fell north or south. In some cases the oscillatory motion caused chimneys which had withstood the north and south wave to fall in other directions. ― 184 ―
(George Madeira.) In the bed-room a heavy walnut and marble composite bureau, mounted on rollers and weighing 400 pounds, was moved toward the center of the room by the first wave motion, which was north to south. It then turned so that the large mirror surmounting it was due north. In the house are three chimneys built close together. One chimney above the roof fell to the south; but beneath the roof one fell to the south, one to the north, and one to the east, on the ceilings of the back parlor, dining-room, and sitting-room respectively. A large pier glass 8 feet high, with a very heavy marble base, was turned northward. There were two maxima in the shock and the second was the more violent. The first was from north to south and the second from east to west. Not a building escaped damage to some extent, whether made of wood, brick, or stone. There were five brick buildings destroyed. Mr. Madeira estimates the loss at between $200,000 and $300,000. Along the creek and river bottoms the earth was fissured and water was forced up which, in some instances, flooded the orchards. Alexander Valley to Mt. St. Helena (R. S. Holway). — This trip was made in order to cross the line of the fault described by Mr. V. Osmont [1] on the southwest slope of the mountain. No sign of recent movement was seen, however, and no reports of cracks or landslides were obtained. There are few houses from which to obtain reports. Some chimneys fell as far as Kellogg at the foot of the mountain. At Nays — elevation about 1,500 feet — and at the toll-house southeast of the summit — elevation about 2,300 feet — a severe shock was reported, but nothing was shaken down. In climbing the last 2,000 feet to the summit, large boulders were frequently seen balanced on points and yet not overturned by the shock. The intensity decreased from IX at Healdsburg to about VI on top of the mountain. Alexander Valley is part of the Russian River Valley lying east of Lytton Springs. The main bridge across the Russian River was wrecked, the trestle-work part going down. The bridge was old and was to have been rebuilt this year. At the east end of the bridge cracks cross the road, northwest to southeast, parallel to the river bank. These cracks appear at intervals northwesterly, at least as far as the ranch of Rev. E. B. Ware, about a mile up the river. The cracks vary from a few inches to over a foot in width, and are sometimes 200 to 300 feet long, roughly parallel to the river. Mr. Ware states that the shock threw the river water upon the sandbars to such an extent that he found fish there during the day. Other cracks are reported a mile or two northward. Subsidence frequently occurs where the cracks are near the bank. Cracks in the Russian River Flood-plain (R. S. Holway). — Cracks have been observed at intervals in the alluvial banks of the Russian River from near its mouth to Alexander Valley, 5 or 6 miles northeast of Healdsburg. These cracks are sometimes 100 yards in length and from a few inches to 2 feet in width. Sometimes near the bank there will be a deep fault 5 to 6 feet in width and 100 feet long, as shown in the photograph of the crack at Monte Rio. The direction of the cracks is usually parallel to the bank of the river or the bank of some small tributary. At Duncan Mills the cracks ran north and south above the bridge and nearly east and west just below the bend of the river. At Monte Rio they are east and west. In Alexander Valley they run north and south, while a mile or two below some are found nearly east and west running up a small tributary. Maacama Slide, 6 miles easterly from Healdsburg (R. S. Holway). — This slide is on the north side of a ridge that runs in an easterly direction and that is at this point from 225 to 300 feet above the bed of Maacama Creek, which runs along the foot of the north slope. Mr. Hugh Simpson, whose house is just beyond the foot of the slide, states that the entire slide took place at the instant of the earthquake. The slide is about 0.125 mile wide at the top and about 0.5 mile long. The rock is a very light, porous, volcanic ― 185 ―
tuff and seems to be free from water. A slicken-sided wall on the east shows a very smooth surface in spite of the soft rock.
Striæ near the top run N. 13° W. with a pitch of about 24°. The slide seems to have taken off some of the top of the ridge;
that is, it started a few feet down the south slope of the ridge, cut its way thru a fir forest and dammed Maacama Creek with
rocks and trees. Either two successive slides occurred or else the upper part of the moving mass was arrested part way down,
for a bank with the vegetation of the top rests across the slide about one-third of the way down. (See plate 124A, B.)
This slide was subsequently visited by Mr. G. K. Gilbert, who contributes the following supplementary note:
Geyserville, Sonoma County (R. S. Holway). — Shock reported north and south and northwest and southeast. Several brick buildings were badly cracked and tops of fire walls thrown down. The northwest wall of a butcher shop (brick) was thrown out against an adjoining frame building, which saved the brick building from an entire fall. Half or more of the chimneys were reported down. Goods were commonly thrown from shelving in stores. The cemetery 1.5 miles northwest in the low hills was not disturbed. The bridge across the Russian River at this point was unhurt. The town is on the west side of the river, on alluvial terraces. Cloverdale, Sonoma County (R. S. Holway). — The upper walls of a brick building nearly opposite the United States Hotel were cracked so as to necessitate partial rebuilding. A 2-story brick building on First and West streets was unhurt except for cracked plastering. The shock was reported north and south; goods were thrown north and south from the east and west walls. In a 1-story brick building at Broad and West streets goods were thrown from the wall facing north. In the grocery opposite the United States Hotel goods were thrown mostly from the wall facing south. The inspector reports that he has condemned four-fifths of the chimneys, but most estimates agree that not over one-fourth fell. Mr. Scott reports that he went out-of-doors during the shock and that distinct waves in the ground could be seen moving from the west toward the east. The cemetery is on a knoll on the bank of Russian River, and suffered no damage except the fall of a vase from the top of a tall monument. This fell to the north. (M. C. Baer.) On or about 9h 30m P. M., April 11, a slight shock (class III) was felt. The general direction seemed to be east and west and to have a trembling motion. The next shock came at 5h 13m A. M. on April 18, and was of about class VIII. The motion was at first oscillatory, but seemed to end up in a series of jerks. There did not seem to be any general direction. All chimneys were cracked; many windows were broken, and many brick chimneys and buildings were shaken down. The bricks of a chimney from a building about 30 feet high were thrown southward about 70 feet. Generally the chimneys seemed to have shifted or fallen southward, but in some cases they have tended to go in other directions. Many telephone wires were broken. In most cases water was split from water-tanks on all sides. It is reported that the water of several streams was partially thrown upon the banks. No cracks in the earth's surface have been reported. ― 186 ―
Ukiah, Mendocino County. Population, 2,000. (R. S. Holway.) — A brick building owned by Mrs. White was so badly damaged that it is being taken down. The north firewall of the McGlashan Building was thrown down and the engine house is reported unsafe. Mr. Cunningham, inspector of chimneys, reports some 30 to 40 actually down, but probably one-fourth of all chimneys condemned. Sexton Rogers reports no damage in the cemetery. The State Asylum for the Insane, a large brick building, is east of the river and some 2 miles away. The gables fell out, coping and ornamental stones fell from walls, and chimneys fell generally west or east. In one case, where a chimney was braced by an east and west rod, the washer was pulled thru into the flue, but the chimney remained standing. At Vichy Springs a greatly increased flow of water is reported. The water was milky for a few days. Increased temperature was reported, but no thermometer was used to determine this. (Geo. McGowan.) — The town is partly on bottom-land and partly on a bench slightly above the bottom. There is no rock near the surface and none of the ordinary wells go to rock, but pass thru washt gravel and clay. Ukiah Valley is approximately 12 miles long, and 2.5 miles wide, lying about north-northwest and south-southeast, and surrounded by mountains. Russian River enters at the north end of the valley. At this place it is at the extreme east side and continues near the east side to its exit at the south end. The greater part of the valley floor is alluvial fill. It is nearly level except for a depression toward the south to correspond with the grade of the river. Ukiah is a little to the west of the center line of the valley and about 4 miles from the north end. There are several deep canyons at right angles to the valley in the bordering mountains. In the town a 2-story brick building, rather flimsily built, the front being set on pillars, was canted about 6 inches to the south, breaking most of the plate glass in the front. It struck against a 2-story brick building just completed, also set on pillars, and the latter was set over nearly a foot and the walls badly cracked. The greater part of a long fire-wall on the north side of a 2-story brick building fell and an inner wall that served as the casing of a stairway was badly cracked. A large number of chimneys were dislocated and some were thrown down. Some of our well-built structures suffered. Quite a number of houses had the plastering more or less cracked. The railroad lost a large water-tank which was thrown down and demolished, tho a large oil-tank near by appears to be uninjured. The shock caused an old sheet-iron tank full of water to break loose at numerous points around the bottom and lose its contents in short order. Of two pendulum clocks one was stopt. Chimneys and loose objects were thrown to the north and south, some one way and some the other, and some chimneys that were not thrown were dislocated and turned partly around, in a direction opposite the apparent motion of the sun. The electric-light bulb hanging over my bed swung first back and forth, then changed to an ellipse and finally almost to a circle. There were two principal maxima, of which the first was the stronger. The first movement was north-northwest and south-southeast and this was succeeded by a twisting motion. Mr. S. D. Townley, in charge of the International Latitude Observatory, 1 mile south of Ukiah, reports:
At the Latitude Station no damage whatever was done, altho the shaking was the most severe ever experienced by the writer. Dishes rattled, milk was split from pans little ― 187 ―
more than half full, and fowls and other domestic animals were very much perturbed. There was a series of shocks, and reliable
estimates of their duration vary from 20 seconds to 1 minute. The general direction seemed to be from southwest toward northeast,
but others report a different direction. The Ukiah Valley is surrounded by mountains of considerable altitude, and it is probable
that some of the shocks felt were reflected from the mountains. Hence it is that the earthquake is generally spoken of as
a "twister."
The Observatory clock was not stopt, but it lost 6 seconds during the disturbance, which is equivalent to being stopt for that length of time and then set going again. The Observatory roof is built in two sections, which roll upon horizontal tracks, east and west, giving an opening of about 1.3 meters for observation. When closed the two parts are fastened together by means of a hook and eye such as are used on screen doors. The hook rests in a horizontal position and the bend of the hook in a meridian plane. The effect of the earthquake was to unfasten this hook and open the roof to the width of about 20 centimeters, my recollection being that the eastern half was moved about twice as far as the western. The pier upon which the zenith telescope rests was apparently not damaged, but the telescope was thrown considerably out of adjustment. It was out about 15 seconds of arc in azimuth and the vertical axis was out in both directions, but not much more than sometimes results from extreme changes in temperature. The first series of shocks was followed by three lighter shocks and the observed data for each are as follows:
The times are correct within 2 or 3 seconds. I was in the observatory at the time of the second series of shocks, 10h 4m, and perceived the effect of the movement in the striding level (east and west) of the zenith telescope. The bubble oscillated over about 2 divisions of the level. The value of one division is 2.2'', and as the distance between the east and west leveling screws of the instrument is about 42 cm., the disturbance produced in the bubble was equivalent to the effect of raising and lowering one of the leveling screws by 0.0005 centimeter. This shock was felt very distinctly and it is probable that the north and south component of the motion was much greater than the east and west component. The fourth shock was not felt at all. It was detected during the progress of latitude observations, by a movement of the bubbles of the latitude levels. The oscillation (north and south) was about one-half of one division, and the value of one division is 1 inch. My estimate of the intensities for the four shocks given above would be, respectively, VII, IV, III, I. The Observatory is about a mile south of the city of Ukiah, and it seems certain that the earthquake was more severe in Ukiah than at the Observatory. The intensity of the first shock at Ukiah would certainly not be less than VIII, possibly IX. The direction of all shocks was southwest to northeast, according to bodily impression. Willets, Mendocino County (R. S. Holway). — Brick chimneys were quite generally wrecked. The Buckner Hotel was completely demolished. One wall fell at the time of the shock, killing Mr. Taylor, the proprietor. The building finally fell at 10h 20m A. M. The structure was largely frame, with some brick veneer. The stores of the Irvine Muir Company were badly wrecked. Fire-walls fell; plaster, shelving, and goods were thrown to the floor. Brick walls fell in several other stores, and frame buildings were in some cases thrown from their foundations. Small cracks across some of the streets were reported, but they are not now visible. All brick buildings were damaged to some extent. A tank 2 or 3 miles to the east threw the water out on the northwest and southeast. Colonel La Motte, at the spawning station 5 miles north of Willets, stated that the water of a pool 8 to 12 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep splashed out on the south and southeast, wetting the pickets to a height of 18 inches. It did not splash out in any other ― 188 ―
direction. The valley is an old lake bed with ground water within 3 to 4 feet of the surface in April. (See plate 73B.)
At Hemlock, 14 miles east of Ukiah, the shock, according to a report by Mr. C. D. L. Bowen, had two maxima, the second being the stronger. A rotary motion was felt, but no damage was done. |