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 -- The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

Deaths --------> 3,000
Injuries ------> 225,000
Property Damage ----> 400,000,000 in 1906 $$$

The ground had broken open for more than 270 miles along a great fault - the San Andreas rift. The country on the east side of the rift had moved southward relative to the country on the west side of the rift. The greatest displacement had been 21 feet about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco.

The quake lasted only a minute but caused the worst natural disaster in the nation's history. Modern analysis estimates it registered 8.25 on the Richter scale (By comparison, the quake that hit San Francisco on October 17, 1989.