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The Hebrews, nomadic branch of the Semites, were enslaved in Egypt for centuries till their exodus c.14th century BC guided by Moses. He, though an offspring of Hebrew slaves, was educated at the royal Pharaonic court under the patronage of an Egyptian princess. Biblical records, if to be trusted for historical references, indicate that he lead the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt and through the Sinai desert on their way to southern Canaan/Phoenicia.

Egyptian Stand on Race
As a people, the Egyptians had a very racist and antagonistic stand vis-à-vis all other races. They considered Semitic Hebrews, Canaanites, Libyans, Black Nubians (even though Nubian Pharaohs ruled Egypt for 100 years), Ethiopians and other non-Egyptians as sub-human. Hence, they treated the aforesaid Hebrew nomads with disdain. It is, therefore, safe to say that most Hebrews in Egypt were not permitted to rise as a people and they suffered in ignorance and poverty.

Forty Years in the Desert
On their way out of Egypt, the Hebrews spent 40 years wandering in the desert of Sinai. During this time all who left Egypt died, including Moses himself who saw the "promised" land but did not live long enough to enter it. Consequently, the Hebrews arrived in Canaan/Phoenicia uncivilized nomads with very little skills or knowledge which civilized people of the area had. By the time they captured Jerusalem c. 1000 BC they have had very little newly acquired capabilities other than fighting wars with the Canaanites/Phoenicians, the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Aramaeans, the Ammonites, the Amalekites and the Edomites.

Hebrew Ignorance of Building Techniques
The Hebrews never had the enough opportunity to master the art and science of building in Egypt. They were hardened in the desert and in battle but lacked the know-how to build palaces worthy of kings or a Temple worthy of God, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tablets of the Law and the Pentateuch of Moses. These important items of the Hebrew religion were treasured in a tabernacle (tent) up till this point in time.

Phoenicians/Canaanites Help Kings David and Solomon
When David was chosen king and, thereafter, Solomon; they were in need of artisans, architects, craftsmen, builders and building material especially wood and precious metals to build a temple and palace. The best known and most gifted people to fulfill the kings' needs were the Phoenicians. Hence, both kings sought and received Phoenician know-how and materials.

The Temple of Melqart of Tyre
The Phoenicians had a proven record of their building skills in their Temple of Melqart in Tyre. Historians refer to it as one of unmatched magnificence in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was said to have two great columns one of gold and the other covered with precious stones. Herodotus sang its praises when he visited Tyre. Its name was change to the Temple of Heracles when he visited -- much like the name of the Columns of Melqart at Gibraltar were changed to the Columns of Heracles/ Hercules.

The inside of King Solomon's Temple. The version linked to this thumbnail is medium. To view an extra large image click this second link.
Note to Sunday School teachers: You are welcome to use any material from this site just as long as you provide reference that includes my name, the name of the site and the URL i.e. Salim Khalaf, "A Bequest Unearthed, Phoenicia" -- Encyclopedia Phoenicia, http://phoenicia.org (websites MUST make the link live).
Solomon's Temple Copy of Melqart's Temple
After studying records about Solomon's Temple and Melqart's Temple, one finds a lot in common between the two. It would not be a far-fetched suggestion to say that Solomon's Temple of Jerusalem was a copy of Melqart's Temple of Tyre. Because of the splendor it occupied in their mind, it is understandable that the Phoenician builders must have used Melqart's Temple as a prototype for designing and building Solomon's Temple.

Note: Illustrations of the Lever and Temple (outside), bird's eye view of Temple, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are linked herewith.

A special article is dedicated to Phoenician architecture.

Construction of palaces and temple for Kings David and Solomon of Judah-Israel by the Phoenician King Hiram of Tyre

The Phoenician king Hiram of Tyre was born in 989 BC. He ruled from 970-936 BC. He established friendly relations with David and his son Solomon, kings of the combined kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Hiram built a palace for David and two palaces and a temple for Solomon. A vast amount of information is given in the Bible about these.

David’s Palace

King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace. (1 Chronicles 14:1)

Hiram’s move is much more significant than this short passage indicates. It was necessary for a king to have a palace for his kingship to be recognised as legitimate. In the Phoenician sagas from Ugarit, after Yam becomes king, skilled craftsmen build:

... a mansion for Yam... a palace for Judge Nahar
... they are building a mansion for Prince Yam
they are constructing a palace for Judge Nahar, a house like...

When Baal conquers Yam, El installs him as king:

At that moment verily the bull El his father,
the god who installed him as king, cried out,
Athirat and her sons,
Ellat and the company of her kinsfolk
cried out:
Now there isn’t a house for Baal like El
nor a court like the sons of Athirat...

Baal complains to his sister Anat and asks her to petition El for permission to build a palace:

And now, no house has Baal like the gods,
nor court like the children of Asherah.
The dwelling of El is the shelter of his son,
the dwelling of Lady Asherah of the Sea.

El agrees that Baal can build a palace to consolidate his position, and it will be magnificent. Anat takes Baal the good news from El:

I have brought you good news.
A house will be built for you like your brothers
and a court like your relatives.
Call a caravan into your house
a convoy into your palace;
the rocks will yield you much silver,
the mountains the choicest of gold,
and a mansion of silver and gold will be built,
a mansion of brilliant stones, even sapphires.

The victor Baal did rejoice,
he did call a caravan into his mansion,
a convoy within his palace,
that the rocks might yield him much silver
and the mountains the choicest of gold,
that they might yield him the noblest of gems...

Yam and Baal gained their kingship through victory in battle yet still were not considered established as kings until they had their own palaces. David wasn’t in as strong a position. His need to establish legitimacy was greater because he had usurped the thrones of both Judah and Israel from the existing royal line of Saul without the benefit of conquest.

The Hebrews originally had "judges" not kings. They instituted kings while they were trying to conquer southern Phoenicia because they saw that the Phoenicians and Philistines (Palestinians) were more effective in battle as they had kings who provided strong central leadership.

Saul was the first Hebrew king and was king of Judah, the territory of the tribe of Judah, which ran from south of Jerusalem up to and including Hebron. Saul was killed in battle along with three of his sons but legitimate heirs to the throne survived. First in line was Ishbaal, another of Saul’s sons.

(The Bible calls Ishbaal Ishbosheth as the Hebrews later changed Hebrew names that included the Phoenician god Baal so that it looked as if the Hebrews had never worshipped the Phoenician gods.).

When David took over as king of Judah, the commander of Saul’s army, Abner, made Ishbaal king of Israel. David ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years, from his capital city, Hebron. Ishbaal ruled as king over the Hebrews’ northern kingdom, Israel, which covered the Samaria hill country.

Ishbaal was assassinated by two of his army officers but there was still a legitimate heir to the throne, Jonathan’s son Mephibaal, Saul’s grandson, who was crippled in both feet (2 Samuel 9:13).

(The Bible calls him Mephibosheth for the same reason it calls Ishbaal Ishbosheth).

Although Mephibaal was the heir to the throne, it’s unlikely that he could ever have reigned because it seems the Hebrews, new to king-making, had adopted the Phoenician rule that kings had to be without blemish. For example, a later king of Judah, Uzziah, was not allowed to continue ruling when he contracted leprosy: The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a house on his own, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country. (2 Kings 15:5). So it’s improbable that the people would have accepted a physically handicapped king

After Ishbaal’s murder David became king over Judah and Israel and nobody made a claim on behalf of Mephibaal. However, Mephibaal had sons, who could have challenged David and/or his successors in the future. So David still needed to consolidate his position.

At this point, Hiram offered to build him a palace. This meant Hiram, the most powerful, richest monarch in the region at the time, recognised David’s legitimacy as king of Judah and Israel. His recognition would have had the same force as a country recognising another country today by establishing diplomatic relations and an embassy.

David was wise enough to forestall future palace coup attempts by taking Mephibaal into his own home and treating him like one of his own sons.

David was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled for 40 years. He ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for 33 years. (2 Samuel 5:4-5)

Hebron was now too far south to be an effective administrative base so David decided to make the more central Jerusalem his capital. Jerusalem was a Phoenician city, inhabited by a Phoenician people called the Jebusites. David attacked the city and managed to occupy part of the eastern hillside outside the walls. This surprisingly tiny area is still called David’s City today and is still outside the city walls. The Phoenicians still lived in the city proper within the walls and much later when David wanted a site to build the temple on, he had to buy land from the Jebusite Araunah at a cost of 50 pieces of silver.




Solomon’s Temple

David was not to build the temple. After his death, Hiram continued to maintain friendly relations with David’s son, Solomon, who explained:

You know that because of the constant wars my father David had to fight against the enemy countries all round him, he could not build a temple for the worship of the Lord his God until the Lord had given him victory over all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace on all my borders. I have no enemies, and there is no danger of attack. The Lord promised my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will make king after you, will build a temple for me’ and I have now decided to build that temple for the worship of the Lord my God. (1 Kings 5:3)

Solomon’s temple follows the traditional Phoenician design: an outer hallway or ulam, a central open courtyard or heikal, and an inner holy of holies or debir. There were two pillars outside the front entrance and rooms for temple staff in an annex.

Not much archaeological excavation on Phoenician temples has been carried out. The reason for this seems to be that archaeologists and historians are generally more interested in Greek, Roman and Hebrew history than in Phoenician. Why? All European civilisation is believed to have stemmed from ancient Greece and Rome. Monotheism is believed to have originated from the Hebrews. At any rate, once researchers reach the Greek, Roman or Hebrew layers, they tend not to look further down. For example, it is known that there are much older Phoenician temples under the Roman ones at Baalbek but only one deep ditch has been dug to tell us anything about them. However, excavation of the 13th century BC Phoenician temple at Hazor and the 9th century one at Tell Tainat shows that Solomon’s temple follows exactly the time-honoured Phoenician pattern.

There was a magnificent temple to Melqart/Baal right in the centre of Tyre. All Phoenician temples incorporated two pillars: originally a wooden one for Astarte and a stone one for Baal. According to the ancient historian Herodotus, the Tyrian temple had one emerald pillar and one of gold. The emerald one may have been green Phoenician glass though given the wealth of Tyre may well have actually been emerald. It had a candle inside so that it shone at night: the green obviously symbolises a tree so the emerald pillar must have represented Astarte’s wooden column. The gold one symbolised the wealth given by the earth, gold being then the most precious metal to come out of stone, just as it is now.

There is some material evidence of the pillars, too. Clay models of Phoenician temples from the beginning of the first millennium (the time of Hiram, David and Solomon) show the two columns at the temple entrance. Moreover, temples in Cyprus, Samaria, Megiddo, Hazor and Ramat Rahel all had Phoenician-style capitals for their pillars.

The Old Testament description of Solomon's temple gives an idea of what the Tyrian temples must have been like. Probably they were even more magnificent - Hiram would hardly have built something better for Solomon than he had built for himself.

Solomon’s temple was built by Phoenician master craftsmen alongside Hebrew workmen and 30,000 unskilled navvies pressed by Solomon into forced labour. In an attempt to establish that the land was Hebrew not Phoenician, the Bible calls these people foreigners. But they were not foreign; they were the Phoenician residents of Judah and Israel. In a move reminiscent of the way the Hebrews had been treated in Egypt, Solomon made them work as slaves for a month on and two months off in shifts of 10,000 at a time.

At the end of every war, at the beginning of periods of peace, the Phoenician sagas say:

I have a tale and I will tell it,
a word and I will repeat it,
a tale of wood and a whisper of stone,
a tale that mankind may know
and that the multitudes of the earth may understand...

This is what happened with Solomon. David’s wars were over, peace reigned, and Solomon’s story is not about slingshots, spears, bows and swords but about wood and stone - and metal.

Wood

When he was ready to build the temple, Solomon wrote to Hiram:

So send your men to Lebanon to cut down cedars for me. My men will work with them, and I will pay your men whatever you decided. As you well know, my men don’t know how to cut down trees as well as yours do. (1 Kings 5:6)

Then Hiram sent Solomon the following message: "I have received your message and I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide the cedars and the pine trees. My men will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. There my men will untie them and your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men." (1 Kings 5:8-10).

Solomon wrote:

I know how skillful your woodmen are, so send me cedar, cypress, and juniper logs from Lebanon. I am ready to send my men to assist yours in preparing large quantities of timber, because this temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent. As provisions for your workmen, I will send you two thousand tonnes of wheat, two thousand tonnes of barley, four hundred thousand litres of wine, and four hundred thousand litres of olive oil. (2 Chronicles 2:8-10)

And Hiram replied:

In the mountains of Lebanon we will cut down all the cedars you need, bind them together in rafts, and float them by sea as far as Joppa. From there you can take them to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 2:16)

The cedars used for the temple were taken from Barouk in the Chouf Mountain area, as oral tradition in Lebanon still maintains. Apart from cutting down the trees and trimming them, it must have been an enormous task transporting them from Barouk down the mountains to the coast.

The carpenters and woodcarvers worked hard too. The whole interior of the temple was panelled in cedar, the roofs were cedar, the floors were pine. Everything was carved with gourds, flowers, fruit, palm trees and cherubim.

He put in a ceiling made of beams and boards of cedar. The three-storied annexe, each storey 2.2 metres high, was built against the outside walls of the temple, and was joined to them by cedar beams. (1 Kings 6:9)

The inside walls were covered with cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling, and the floor was made of pine. An inner room, called the Holy of Holies, was built in the rear of the temple. It was 9 metres long and was partitioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to the ceiling. (1 Kings 6:15-16)

The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers; the whole interior was covered with cedar, so that the stones of the walls could not be seen. (1 Kings 6:18)

The altar was covered with cedar panels. (1 Kings 6:20)

Tyre was famous for its purple dye and Sidon for its embroidered cloth. Embroidered linen dyed with Phoenician purple was used in the Holy of Holies:

A curtain for the Holy of Holies was made of linen and of other material, which was dyed blue, purple, and red, with designs of the winged creatures worked into it. (2 Chronicles 3:14)

Stone

The temple was built of stone quarried and prepared by masons from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Jbail (Byblos). The stones were cut in the quarry: the Bible tells us not a hammer was heard on the building site as the stones had been shaped so perfectly that they slotted together without being banged into place. The Phoenicians always used huge stones for foundations because the Levant is located on the Great Rift Valley - the big stones helped make buildings earthquake-proof.

The master mason was the architect, too, and had to know geometry. Masons’ knowledge was kept secret, known at any given time only to three people.

The modern Freemasons’ Society developed from the Phoenician masons, which is why their rituals are kept secret. The Freemasons' name the chief mason working on the temple as Huram Abiff, son of a Tyrian widow, presumably the same person as Huram the widow’s son who did the metalwork. One of the Freemasons’ rituals is a re-enactment of the mugging and murder of Huram in the temple by Israelite workmen who wanted to extract the secrets of architectural design and construction from him. The ritual drama has his assailants attacking Huram at each corner of the temple with builders’ tools before they finally kill him because he won’t hand over the secret knowledge.




At King Solomon’s command they quarried fine large stones for the foundation of the temple. Solomon’s and Hiram’s workmen and men from the city of Byblos prepared the stones and the timber to build the temple. (1 Kings 5:17-18)

The temple was quite small but none the less impressive:

Inside it was 27 metres long, 9 metres wide, and 13.5 metres high. The entrance room was 4.5 metres deep and 9 metres wide, as wide as the sanctuary itself. The walls of the temple had openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside. Against the outside walls, on the sides and the back of the temple, a three-storied annexe was built, each storey 2.2 metres high. Each room in the lowest storey was 2.2 metres wide, in the middle storey 2.7 metres wide, and in the top storey 3.1 metres wide. The temple wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams built into it. The stones with which the temple was built had been prepared at the quarry, so that there was no noise made by hammers, axes, or any other iron tools as the temple was being built. The entrance to the lowest storey of the annexe was on the south side of the temple, with stairs leading up to the second and third storeys. So King Solomon finished building the temple. (1 Kings 6:2-9)

An inner court was built in front of the temple, enclosed with walls which had one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone. (1 Kings 6:36)

Metal

The inner sanctuary and altar of Solomon's temple were overlaid with gold. The doors were olive and pine wood, also carved and covered in gold.

In the rear of the temple an inner room was built, where the Lord’s Covenant Box was to be placed. This inner room was 9 metres long, 9 metres wide, and 9 metres high, all covered with pure gold. (1 Kings 6:19)

The inside of the temple was covered with gold, and gold chains were placed across the entrance f the inner room, which was also covered with gold. The whole interior of the temple was covered with gold, as well as the altar in the Holy of Holies. (1 Kings 6:21-22)

Even the floor was covered with gold. (1 Kings 6:30)

A metalworker called Huram from Tyre did the bronze work:

King Solomon sent for a man named Huram, a craftsman living in the city of Tyre, who was skilled in bronze work. His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled bronze craftsman; his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon’s invitation to be in charge of all the bronze work. (1 Kings 7:13-14)

Solomon wrote to Hiram of Tyre:

Now send me a man with skill in engraving, in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in making blue, purple and red cloth. He will work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem whom my father David selected. (2 Chronicles 2:7)

Hiram replied:

I am sending you a wise and skillful master craftsman named Huram. His mother was a member of the tribe of Dan and his father was a native of Tyre. He knows how to make things out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood. He can work with blue, purple, and red cloth, and with linen. He can do all sorts of engraving and can follow any design suggested to him. Let him work with your skilled workers and with those who worked for your father, King David. So now send us the wheat, barley, wine and olive oil that you promised. (2 Chronicles 2: 13-15)

Huram cast two bronze columns, each one 8 metres tall and 5.3 metres in circumference, and placed them at the entrance of the temple. He also made two bronze capitals, each one 2.2. metres tall, to be placed on top of the columns. The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains, and two rows of bronze pomegranates. The capitals were shaped like lilies, 1.8 metres tall, and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were 200 bronze pomegranates in two rows round each capital. Huram placed these two bronze columns in front of the entrance of the Temple: the one on the south side was named Jachin (he establishes), and the one on the north was named Boaz (by his strength). The lily-shaped bronze capitals were on top of the columns. And so the work on the columns was completed. (1 Kings 7:15-22)

Huram made a round tank of bronze, 2.2. metres deep, 4.4. metres in diameter, and 13.2 metres in circumference. All round the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outwards, three facing in each direction. The sides of the tank were 75 millimetres thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outwards like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 40,000 litres. (1 Kings 7:23-26)

Huram also made ten bronze carts; each was 1.8 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.3 metres high. They were made of square panels which were set in frames, with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief. Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the four corners were bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief. There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upwards 45 centimetres from the top of the cart and 18 centimetres down into it. It had carvings round it. The wheels were 66 centimetres high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts. The wheels were like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of bronze. There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart. There was a 22 centimetre band round the top of each cart; its supports and the panels were of one piece with the cart. The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all round. This, then, is how the carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape. (1 Kings 7 27-37)

Huram also made ten basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 1.8 metres in diameter, and held about 800 litres. He placed five of the carts on the south side of the temple, and the other five on the north side; the tank he placed at the south-east corner. (1 Kings 7:38-39)

Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all this work for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. This is what he made:

The two columns
The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns
The design of interwoven chains on each capital
The 400 bronze pomegranates, in two rows of a hundred each round the design on each capital
The ten carts
The ten basins
The tank
The twelve bulls supporting the tank
The pots, shovels and bowls
All this equipment for the temple, which Huram made for King Solomon, was of polished bronze. The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley. (1 Kings 7:40-46)

The pots, shovels and bowls: the Bible details as:

30 gold basins, 1000 silver basins, 30 golden bowls, 40 silver bowls, and 1029 other vessels. He covered the altar in gold and manufactured gold flowers, lamps, snuffers, tongs, cups, incense dishes, pans to hold burning charcoal, and hinges for the inner and outer doors


.

Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the temple; the altar, the table for the bread offered to God, the ten lampstands that stood in front of the Holy of Holies, five on the south side and five on the north; the flowers, lamps, and tongs; the cups, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals; and the hinges for the doors of the Holy of Holies and of the outer doors of the temple. All these furnishings were made of gold. (1 Kings 7 48-50)

The temple which King Solomon built was 27 metres long and 9 metres wide. The entrance room was the full width of the temple, 9 metres, and was 54 metres high. The inside of the room was overlaid with pure gold. the main room was panelled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold, in which were worked designs of palm trees and chain patterns. The king decorated the temple with beautiful precious stones and with gold imported from the land of Parvaim. He used the gold to overlay the temple walls, the rafters, the thresholds, and the doors. On the walls the workers carved designs of winged creatures. The inner room, called the Holy of Holies, was 9 metres long and 9 metres wide, which was the full width of the temple. Over 20 tonnes of gold were used to cover the walls of the Holy of Holies. 570 grammes of gold were used for making nails, and the walls of the upper rooms were also covered in gold. The king also ordered his workers to make two winged creatures out of metal, cover them with gold, and place them in the Holy of Holies, where they stood side by side facing the entrance. Each had two wings, each wing 2.2. metres long, which were spread out so that they touched each other in the centre of the room and reached the wall on either side of the room, stretching across the full width of about 9 metres. (2 Chronicles 3:3-13)

The king made two columns, each one 15.5 metres tall, and placed them in front of the temple. Each one had a capital 2.2. metres tall. The tops of the columns were decorated with a design of interwoven chains and one hundred bronze pomegranates. The columns were set at the sides of the temple entrance: the one on the south side was named Jachin, and the one on the north side was named Boaz. (2 Chronicles 3:15-17)

King Hiram of Byblos, on a Cherubim Throne -- the bas relief is from his sarcophagus. The Cherubim have been identified as Winged Sphinxes (p. 127. Sabatino Moscati. The Phoenicians. Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri Bompiani, Sonzono, Etas S.p.A. Milan. March 1988). Moscati dates the sarchopagus to the 13th-12th century B.C. that is about 300 years before King Solomon.
King Solomon had a bronze altar made, which was 9 metres square and 4.5 metres high. He also made a round tank of bronze, 2.2 metres deep, 4.4. metres in diameter, and 13.2 metres in circumference. All round the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of decorations, one above the other. The decorations were in the shape of bulls, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outwards, three facing in each direction. The sides of the tank were 75 millimetres thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outwards like the petals of a flower. The tank held about 60,000 litres.

They also made ten basins, five to be placed on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. They were to be used to rinse the parts of the animals that were burnt as sacrifices. The water in the large tank was for the priests to use for washing.

They made ten gold lampstands according to the usual pattern, and ten tables, and placed them in the main room of the temple, five lamp-stands and five tables on each side.

They also made a hundred gold bowls.

They made an inner courtyard for the priests, and also an outer courtyard. The doors in the gates between the courtyards were covered with bronze. The tank was placed near the south-east corner of the temple.

Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all the objects that he had promised King Solomon he would make for the temple:

The two columns
The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns
The design of interwoven chains on each capital
The 400 bronze pomegranates arranged in two rows round the design of each capital
The ten carts
The ten basins
The tank
The twelve bulls supporting the tank
The pots, shovels and forks
Huram the master craftsman made all these objects out of polished bronze, as King Solomon had commanded, for use in the temple of the Lord. The king had them all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zeredah in the Jordan Valley. (2 Chronicles 4:1-17)

King Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the temple: the altar and the tables for the bread offered to God; the lampstands and the lamps of fine gold that were to burn in front of the Holy of Holies, according to plan; the flower decorations, the lamps, and the tongs; the lamp snuffers, the bowls, the dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals. All these objects were made of pure gold. The outer doors of the temple and the doors to the Holy of Holies were overlaid with gold. (2 Chronicles 4:19-22)

Two winged creatures were made of olive wood and placed in the Holy of Holies, each one 4.4 metres tall. Both were of the same size and shape. Each had two wings, each wing 2.2 metres long, so that the distance from one wing tip to the other was 4.4. metres. They were placed side by side in the Holy of Holies, so that two of their outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other two wings touched the walls. The two winged creatures were covered with gold. The walls of the main room and of the inner room were all decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers... A double door made of olive wood was set in place at the entrance of the Holy of Holies; the top of the doorway was a pointed arch. The doors were decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. The doors, the winged creatures, and the palm trees were covered with gold. For the entrance to the main room a rectangular door-frame of olive wood was made. There were two folding doors made of pine and decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers, which were evenly covered with gold. (1 Kings 6: 23-35)

King Hiram seems to have been given a bit of a raw deal by Solomon:

King Hiram of Tyre had provided him with all the cedar and pine and with all the gold he wanted for this work. After it was finished, King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the region of Galilee. Hiram went to see them, and he did not like them. So he said to Solomon, "So these, my brother, are the towns you have given me!" For this reason the area is still called Cabul (worthless). (1 Kings 8:10-13)

The temple was finished in 960 BC, having taken seven years to build. Though Solomon at this time thought enough of his god Yahweh to build this magnificent temple in his honour, in later life he worshipped the Phoenician gods instead.

All the contents of the temple were taken off as loot when Judah was conquered by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC. The Persians, whose empire succeeded that of the Babylonians, restored some of the treasures:

Cyrus gave them back the bowls and cups that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had put in the temple of his gods. He handed them over to Mithredath, chief of the royal treasury, who made an inventory of them for Sheshbazzar, the governor of Judah, as follows:

gold bowls for offerings 30
silver bowls for offerings 1,000
other bowls 29
small gold bowls 30
small silver bowls 410
other utensils 1,000
In all there were 5,400 gold and silver bowls and other articles which Sheshbazzar took with him when he and the other exiles went from Babylon to Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:7-11)

Solomon’s Palace and his Egyptian Wife’s Palace

Solomon’s two palaces took much longer to complete than the temple:

Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years. The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon was 44 metres long, 22 metres wide, and 13.5 metres high. It had three rows of cedar pillars, fifteen in each row, with cedar beams resting on them. The ceiling was of cedar, extending over store-rooms, which were supported by the pillars. In each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows. The doorways and windows had rectangular frames, and the three rows of windows in each wall faced the opposite rows. The Hall of Columns was 22 metres long and 13.5 metres wide. It had a covered porch, supported by columns. The Throne Room, also called the Hall of Judgement, where Solomon decided cases, had cedar panels from the floor to the rafters. Solomon’s own quarters, in another court behind the Hall of Judgement, were made like the other buildings. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt. (1 Kings 7:1-8)

All these buildings and the great court were made of fine stones from the foundations to the eaves. The stones were prepared at the quarry and cut to measure, with their inner and outer sides trimmed with saws. The foundations were made of large stones prepared at the quarry, some of them 3.5 metres long and others 4 metres long. On top of them were other stones, cut to measure, and cedar beams. The palace court, the inner court of the temple, and the entrance room of the temple had walls with one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of cut stone. (1 Kings 7:9-12)

The Second Temple

Solomon’s temple was completely destroyed in 587 BC by the Babylonians when they captured Jerusalem. When the Persian Empire took over from the Babylonian Empire, King Cyrus allowed the Hebrews to return to Jerusalem and build a second temple on the site of the first. King Herod the Great, who ruled from 37-4 BC, restored the second temple. This is why he restored the temple treasures.

One of the main activities of tourists throughout the ages has always been looking at and admiring ancient buildings. On the other hand, locals all over the Middle East generally find their old buildings embarrassing - signs of an old-fashioned past they’d prefer to forget. They like to look at and admire new, modern buildings, which they regard as signs of progress. Jesus’ disciples, therefore, during their last visit to Jerusalem with Jesus, admired Herod’s recently renovated second temple:

Jesus left and was going away from the temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Yes," he said, "you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2)

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said, "Look, teacher! What wonderful stones and buildings!" Jesus answered, "You see these great buildings? Not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down." (Mark 13::1-2)

Some of the disciples were talking about the temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said: "All that you see - the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place, every one will be thrown down." (Luke 21:5-6)

As He predicted, the second temple was razed to the ground. It was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and has never been rebuilt. All that remains is the foundation of the west wall. Jews go there to lament the second temple’s destruction so it is now known as the wailing wall. The blocks of stone are huge, following the Phoenician model.

INTERNET WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 3h 3m 27s

33rd Degree Freemason Secret ( REVEALED )

DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
TESLA EARTHQUAKE 333
AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA
IN SEPTEMBER, 1899
CONTENTS

Until the “THREE” in 1899, in its relation to man an earthquake was a
cause. In its relation to the earth it was chiefly an incidental
effect of an incidental effect. The shock occasioned by a sudden
faulting, and deformation. The natural phenomena of deformation also,
differential movements of land masses, are themselves now, effects of
expressions of Nikola Tesla. The very reason they would have us not
see his name in textbooks, the very reason they would have us forget
his name, is now the very reason we will not. Ever. The manifesting of
these Fundamental Earth processes is epic on many separate accounts.
The biggest accomplishment ever was kept a secret for 111 years.

During a period of 27 days, September 3 to 29, 1899, inclusive (fig.
5), the Yakutat Bay
region was shaken by a series of earthquakes, the most violent of
which were felt at all settlements
within a radius of 250 miles, and at known scattered localities as
much as 480 miles
distant. At two points 670 and 730 miles distant earthquakes
were recorded which may be correlated with those of the Yakutat Bay
region, and tsunamis
observed at a locality over 1,200 miles away were perhaps due to the
same cause.
The earthquakes were most severe on two dates, September 3 and 10,
especially on the
loth, when there were more than 50 small shocks and 2 violent ones,
the second of which
was most severe of all and probably caused the greater part of the
changes observed in and
around Yakutat Bay. The shocks of September 15, perhaps of September
17, 23, 26, and 29,
were also severe. The greatest disturbance took place September 10,
not September 12, as inferred by
Dr. G. K. Gilbert from an erroneous newspaper clipping, nor September
15, as stated. There has never been an incident of region being
shaken longer, more vigorously, or more continuously, even in Italy,
Japan, or Formosa, since the beginning of the seismographic recording
of earthquakes. For four weeks the earthquakes were to be counted by
the
hundreds and on four or five days world-shaking global disturbances took place.


Because of this the earthquakes their study tends chiefly in two
directions--on one hand toward the
mitigation of their baleful influences on mankind, on the other toward
the interpretation of
crustal deformation. A third phase of the study is independent of the
chain of causation but
is connected with the transmission of earthquake shocks through the
earth. As the mode of
transmission depends on the physical properties of the transmitting
material, the facts of transmission
are being used to discover the physical condition and properties of
parts of the earth
body not accessible to direct observation.
The Yakutat earthquake, occurring in a region but sparsely settled,
makes only small contributions
to the problems connected with human welfare, but its contributions on
the geologic
side are so important as amply to repay the attention it has received.
It also introduces a novel
and valuable factor into the investigation of the variations of glaciers.
In the discussion of "world-shaking" shocks, or those which affect
seismographs all around
theearth, thepositions of the origins of shocks and the times of
theirbeginning are deduced from
the seismographic records, but the formula: for the deductions are
necessarily based on instances
in which the geographic position of the origin and the initial time of
the shock are directly
observed, and in which also the shock is so powerful as to give
complete instrumental records at
great distances. As precise seismography is a new science, the number
of adequately observed
great shocks is small and the formulae are as yet tentative. The
Yakutat shock of September
10, 1899, is now added to the group of shocks affording fundamental
data, for it ranks high in
the scale of energy, the position of its origin has been determined
with unusual precision, and ,
its initial time is known with close approximation.
The determination of surface deformation in connection with this
earthquake, though
restricted to a distric,t which is manifestly only a part of the whole
deformed area, is nevertheless
exceptionally full and exceptionally valuable. Measurements of
vertical displacement are
numerous, nearly all of them are referred to sea level and are thus
absolute instead of being
merely differential, and the coast line is locally so intricate that
the field of exact observation is
areal instead of linear. The new configuration of the surface is
compared with the old through
an area of approximately 1,000 square miles, and the deformation is
shown to include not only
faulting, with associated uplift and downthrow, but tilting ahd
warping of a complicated character.
In the dominance of vertical displacement the tectonic changes of the
Yakutat region
are strongly contrasted .with those of the California earthquake
district, where horizontal movements
dominate.
9
PREFACE.
The response of neighboring glaciers to the seismic agitation is a
phenomenon of capital
importance to the study of glacier mechanics and glacier variation. If
it can be traced through
its complete cycle and observation extended to the reservoirs of the
stimulated glaciers, an
important body of data will be contributed to the subject of the
reaction time of ice streams.
And even if investigation stop at the present point, glaciology has
the advantage of a new and
independent explanation of glacier advance, coordinate with
that.afforded by the climate factors
to which appeal has heretofore been made. It may reasonably be
expected that seismic disturbance
will successfully account for some of the outstanding anomalies and
that the correlation
of glacial with climatic fluctuation will eventually be improved by
the elimination from
the discussion of features presumably due to seismic influence.
Professor Ralph Stockman Tam, senior author of this report, died
suddenly at his home
in Ithaca, New York, on the 21st day of March, 1912. His work on the
report had been
completed, except for the h a 1 revjsion of proof sheets. At the age
of forty-eight, he was
fairly at the zenith of intellectual activity; and as his life had
been eminently fruitful, its
untimely end occasions a loss which is far more than personal. Elis
biography, when written,
will be a record of distinguished achievement in physical geography.
The present volume
testifies to his high rank as an investigator, ancl his success was
equally marked as a teacher
and as an author of textbooks.

THE TESLA EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA, IN SEPTEMBER, 1899.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
The 27 day earthquake swarm during the month of September, 1899, the
region near Yakutat Bay,
AIaska, was shaken. by a series of severe earthquakes, indeed, that it
seems probable, from 111 year old ritual gives us the key to the
universe.
In the minds of the worls, the name Tesla will always be associated
with the earthqukae No. 333
rather than forgotten to keep another secret. The cause of these
shocks was undoubtedly the ritual of the 33rd degree, in the St.
Elias Range, one of the youngest and loftiest of secrets, it is now
their demise..
Fortunately, carefully Tesla made certain there was no great city near
by, and in the small village nearest at hand there was no loss of
life. Nor was there any injury to the few men who happened to be near
the center of disturbance during several of the most severe shocks.
These Tesla No. 333 had two separate, notable results in the change of
level of the
land, incidental to faulting, and remarkable changes in the map and
adjacent glaciers. Preliminary descriptions of certain of the changes
in shore lines and in glaciers
in connection with the earthquake have already been published but to
give a full definition of what was missed, by a world, this
“shattering glaciers” is an insulting.

The changes of level are the greatest recorded in historical times,
the maximum uplift
amounting to over 47 feet. The changes in the glaciers include a rapid
rush of Muir Glacier,
150 miles to the southeast, and a general advance of several glaciers
near Yakutat Bay. Muir
Glacier, which hundreds of travelers had visited annually up to 1899,
became inaccessible to
tourist vessels in that year and remained closed untill 1907. By 1903
it had diminished from 23 to 3
miles, as a result of the Earthquake #333. The Muir Glacier had lost
much of its scenic interest. The growth of the glaciers near Yakutat
Bay included
the eastern or Marvine lobe of the great Malaspina Glacier and
rendered that highway of
glacier travel inaccessible through intricate crevassing. These and
other effects will be discussed
in detail after a brief topographic and geologic description of the
region itself has been
given.

TESLA NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.

Field work.-The authors were in the Yakutat Bay region from June to
September, 1905,
investigating its mineral resources, the senior author being chief of
a United States Geological
Survey party to which a grant, generously made by the American
Geographical Society of New
York, made it possible to add the junior author as physiographic
assistant. In working out the
stratigraphy and studying the coal resources and the placer-gold
deposits, the party discovered
evidences of the changes of level, the faulting, the advance of one
glacier, and other changes,
and made investigations of these phenomena in all parts of the fiord.
In the following year (1906) the senior author again visited the
region for the United States
Geological Survey, intending to cross the Malaspina Glacier and study
the stratigraphy and the
glaciers to the west. Although prevented from carrying out this plan
by the great advance
and accompanying crevassing of the glaciers, he made additional
observations on the effects of
the Tesla No. 333, and special studies of the advancing glaciers.
In 1909 both authors and in 1910 the junior author revisited Yakutat
Bay as leaders of
expeditions sent out by the National Geographic Society of Washington
to study the glaciers.
The two authors shared about equally in the field work of 1905
relating to the faulting
and changes of level in the region. When they revisited this region in
1906, 1909, and 1910,
they made slight additions to their first observations of the physical
changes accompanying
the Tesla No. 333 and also made the additional series of observations
relating to the changes in
the glaciers, as described in Chapter IV (pp. 55-57). The data in
Chapters V-VIII (pp. 62-129),
relating to the earthquake as a phenomenon, were obtained almost
exclusively by the junior

GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONS.
The Yakutat Bay region lies about midway on the great curve where the North
American omgraphic axes bend toward Asia, the prevalent
northwest-southeast trends of this
continent being replaced by the east-west and northeast-southwest
trends of western Alaska
and eastern Asia. The main ranges here are the Chugach Mountains (6,000-
10,000 feet), near Prince William Sound and Copper River; and the St.
Elias Range (10,000-
19,000 feet) and Fairweather Range, to the southeast. Back of these
are the Wrangell, Skolai,
and Nutzotin mountains, eastward continuations of the great Alaska
Range, of which Mount
McHiey is the culminating point. Mount Wrangell, back of the Cbugach
Range, is an active
volcano, and there are others in the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian
Islands, to the southwest.
To the southeast of the Yakutat Bay region is the Canadian Coast
Range, between which and
the St. Elias and Fairweather ranges are Glacier Bay, Lynn Canal, and
adjacent fiords and the
cities of Skagway and Juneau. Valdez is on Prince William Sound, in
the Chugach Mountains.
Yakutat village is at the southeast entrance to Yakutat Bay.
The greater earth movements were probably confined to the Chugach, St.
Elias, and Fairweather
ranges. Although we have records of earth shaking over a wide area,
our direct observations were made only in the region about Yakutat
Bay, which appears to have been
the center of greatest disturbance during the Tesla Earthquake No. 333
of 1899. A brief description of the
physiography and geology of that region is presented in the following sections.'


Yakutat Bay is a deep indentation in the otherwise almost unbroken
concave stretch of
coast line between Cross Sound and Controller Bay. This smooth coast
is backed by the lofty
St. Elias and Fairweather ranges, the first reaching culminating
heights in Mount St. Elias
and Mount Logan, 18,000 and 19,540 feet, respectively. The mountains
do not, however, rise
directly from the sea, but are faced by a low foreland, or coastal
plain of glacial d6bris.
The Yakutat foreland broadens from the southeast toward the northwest,
and on the northwest
side of Yakutat Bay is still occupied by the ice plateau of the
piedmont Malaspina Glacier.
Yakutat Bay, which lies about 40 miles southeast of Mount St. Elias,
pierces the Yakutat foreland
as a broad V-shaped bay. On its west side the bay is bordered by
a low foreland of glacial gravels which are still being deposited by
streams issuing from the
Malaspina and other existing glaciers that lie behind the narrow strip
of gravel and moraine.
On the east and southeast sides of Yakutat Bay the foreland forms the
coast for only about
half its length. This part of the southeastern shore line is very
irregular and is fronted by an
archipelago of low islands composed of glacial debris. The northern
half of the bay has for i.ts
eastern shore a mountainous land, rising abruptly to elevations of
3,000 to 4,550 feet. This shore is straight and precipitous, and the
mountain front against which
the foreland is built also rises abruptly along a straight line which
truncates the mountain spurs.
Yakutat Bay merges northward into a narrower arm called Disenchantment
Bay, which is
a true fiord, walled on both sides by steep mountains. It extends from
Points Bancas and Latouche
on the south to Hubbard Glacier on the north. Thus its head is an ice
wall from 4 to 5
miles in length, the terminus of the largest glacier in the inlet
except the piedmont ice mass of
Malaspina Glacier. A second tidal glacier, the Turner, enters this
part of the fiord through a
valley in its west wall.
At Hubbard Glacier the inlet turns at a high angle, and thence on to
its head it is called
Russell Fiord. Close by, to the north, northeast, and northwest,
mountains rise to elevations
of 10,000 to 16,000 feet; but along the immediate shores of the fiord
the mountains, though
abrupt, rise only to elevations of 2,000 to 6,000 feet. Russell Fiord,
which extends back toward
the Pacific, roughly parallel to Disenchantment and Yakutat bays, is
divisible into three sections, northwest arm, with straight
mountainous shores; a longer south arm, with a
much more irregular mountainous shore line, and the head of the bay,
an expanded extension
of the inlet where it passes beyond the mountain front out into the
foreland. A small bay,
Seal Bay, up whose valley lies Hidden Glacier, forms the greatest
irregularity in the coast line
of the south arm; but at the angIe between the south and northwest
arms a large fiord extends
eastward, known as Nunatak Fiord. The tidal Nunatak Glacier forms its head.
The entire inlet-Yakutat Bay, Disenchantment Bay, and Russell
Fiord-has the general
shape of a bent arm, with the shoulder at the Pacific, the elbow at
the head of Disenchantment
Bay, and the fist at the expanded head of the bay, where the inlet
extends into the foreland
within 13 or 14 miles of the ocean. The distance from the ocean around
to the head of Russell
Fiord by boat is 70 or 73 miles. Our studies of 1905 extended along
more than 150 miles of
shore line in the bay and fiord, all parts of which were seen, and
most of which was studied critically.
Short visits were also made to the head of the bay in 1906, 1909, and 1910.
Everywhere the indications are that the inlet is deep. Soundings by
the United States
Coast Survey in Yakutat Bay show an irregular bottom deepening toward
Disenchantment Bay.
At the head of Yakutat Bay, near Point Latouche, the depth is 167
fathoms, or 1,002 feet.
Soundings made in 1910 by the junior author, assisted by E. F. Bean,
show that Disenchantment
Bay and Russell Fiord are uniforrdly deep, with maxima of 939 and
1,119 feet, respectively.


Offshore from the mouth of Yakutat Bay the 100-fathom line lies 50 or
60 miles from the
coast; beyond it the ocean bottom descends to a depth of 1,500 to
1,800 fathoms in a distance of
25 miles. Farther southeast, along the irregular mountainous coast,
deep water is found much
nearer the land; for instance, at Sitka the 100-fathom line lies about
10 miles from the coltst, and
beyond it the ocean deepens rapidly. From these facts it is evident
that the region of straighb
edged coastal plain, in which the mouth of Yakutat Bay lies, differs
from the irregular mountainous
coast line farther southeast in possessing a fairly broad continental
shelf beneath the sea.
I t has been, and is still being, loaded by sediment from the huge
glaciers whose torrential streams
pour into the ocean in this vicinity.



The northeastern shore of Russell Fiord, from Hubbard Glacier to
Nunatak Fiord, is bordered
by highly inclined slates of undetermined age. Our expeditions
into the mountains along the shore discovered a variety of crystalline
rocks, both igneous and
metamorphic, and the glaciers bring down only rock of these classes.
It is therefore inferred
that the rocks in the mountains beyond the head of Disenchantment Bay
and the northwest
arm of Russell Fiord are all crystalline. All the north shore and the
eastern two-thirds of the
south shore of Nunatak Fiord are also bordered by crystalline
rocks-granite and steeply dipping
gneiss, schist, slate, and schistose conglomerate with stretched pebbles.
These crystalline rocks abut abruptly against younger, practically
unmetamorphosed
strata, both in the Hidden Glacier valley and on the south shore of
Nunatak Fiord. This line
of separation, interpreted as a fault (see P1. XXII), would, if
continued, extend along the northwesot
arm of Russell Fiord, on one of whose shores the rocks are
crystalline, whereas on the other
(the southwest) they are unmetamorphosed.
From the crystalline rocks to the foreland a complex, called the
Yakutat system by Russell
and the Yakutat group by the U. S. Geological Survey, forms all the
mountains thatborder this
part of the fiord. The strata consist of thin-bedded black shales and
sandstones, thick beds of
conglomerate, and a massive gray sandstone or graywacke, which, in
some parts at least, is an
indurated tuff. There are other beds in lesser amounts, and the entire
mass is complexly folded
and faulted, both on a large scale and in detail. Some faults and
folds occur in all the outcrops,
and a score or more may appear in a single outcrop a few square yards
in area. The group is
literally crushed and "kneaded." The beds of the Yakutat group are
nearly barren of fossils,
and it has not been possible to determine their age from the fossils
collected. There are
some indications that they are of Mesozoic age, and some that they are
older. Ulrichl has classed
them as Liassic (Lower Jurassic).
A third series of rocks was found in a few outcrops on the west side
of Yakutat Bay, 2 or 3
miles from the mouth of Disenchantment Bay, just outside the mountain
front. These rocks
are mainly gray sandstones, clays, and carbonaceous shales, with a few
thin beds of lignite coal.
They are tilted at a high angle but are not as complexly folded and
faulted as the Yakutat rocks,
from which they are evidently separated by a fault. On the evidence of
fossil plants they are
assigned to the Pliocene epoch.
Outside of the mountain front, as already stated, a foreland of
glacial gravels extends to the
sea; but near the head of Russell Fiord it is underlain by planated
Yakutat beds and granitic
rocks. Elsewhere no indurated rock was found in the foreland; though a
low, buttelike hill,
that rises above it some distance from the mountains, is evidently hard rock.
EVIDENCE OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333.
FIELD EVIDENCE.
Before going to Alaska in 1905 we had seen one account of an
earthquake in Yakutat Bay,
in 1899, but many of the alleged facts were grotesque and failed even
to encourage us to expect
earthquake phenomena in the region. It was a thorough surprise to us,
therefore, when, early

EVIDENCE OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333.
in our work, we came upon clear evidence of recent uplift, in
barnacles attached to ledges high
above the reach of the present tide and among land shrubs. The
association of these barnacles
with an earthquake uplift occurred to us at once. Several days before
we had seen the same
phenomenon in the form of blue mussel shells, resembling clusters of
blue flowers, attached to
the rocks a score of feet above sea level. At that time, however, we
did not associate them with
a change of level or an earthquake, not recognizing them as shells
from a distance.
Detailed observations were immediately commenced and continued along
the shore line
and in all trips inland, until practically every foot of a shore line
150 miles in length had been
examined, and evidences of uplift, depression, faulting, avalanches,
earthquake waves, and
notable changes in at least one glacier, had been found and associated
with the earthqbake,
about which the Native American Eskimo canoemen furnished much information.
On returning to Yakutat at the close of the field work, inquiry was
made at the village and
further information was gathered about the effects of the earthquake
at Yakutat. Mr. Flenner,
one of the gold prospectors who experienced the Yakutat earthquake in
Disenchantment Bay in
1899, was seen and interviewed, and his experience was carefully noted
down and afterward
verified by comparison with newspaper accounts written independently
by two of his companions.
We also talked at this time with Mr. Beasley, storekeeper at Yakutat,
who experienced
the earthquake 30 miles from its center, and whose account is referred
to on subsequent
pages. The main facts of the gold prospectors' experience follow.

TESTIMONY OF GOLD PROSPECTORS.

During the first half of September, 1899, eight men were in the
fiorded portion of the Yakutat
Bay inlet, near the point where Disenchantment Bay merges into Russell
Fiord. There they
experienced great Tesla Earthquake No. 333 on September 3 and
September 10, as well as many smaller
shocks. They were in camp just east of the moraine-covered margin of
Hubbard Glacier,
washing the supposedly auriferous gravels in search of gold and
platinum, and during the severe
shock of September 10 they lost their outfits and nearly lost their
lives. The men were J.
Bullman, L. A. Cox, S. Cox, A. Flenner, J. P. Fults, jr., A. (or J.
W.) Johnson, T. Smith, and D.
Stevens. Two of these men have written accounts of their experience
ejl and on August 31,1905,
we talked with a third, Mr. Flenner, who is a very intelligent man,
then working as a carpenter
at Yakutat. The accounts of these men agree as to the principal facts.
As nearly as can be made out from the gold prospectors' descriptions,
their camps were on the
moraines and alluvial fa,t.w pj-Hubbard and Variegated glaciers a mile
or Jess sonbheast of the ice cliff of Hubbard Glacier. Capt. Smith and
the two Coxes were in
camp on one side of a glacial stream, presumably the southeast; the
other five gold prospectors were
on the opposite side, nearer Hubbard Glacier. Here they experienced
the Tesla Earthquake No. 333. Mr.
Flenner stated in 1905 that after the h t sh ock on September 3 they
rigged up a home-made seismograph,
consisting of hunting knives hung so that their points touched and
would jingle under
a slight oscillation. With this instrument rude, perhaps, but more
delicate than their own
perception) they counted 52 shocks on September 10, up to the time of
the heavy disturbance
that caused so much damage.
From the narrative which Mr. Flenner gave us, and the descriptions in
the newspapers by
Dr. Cox and Mr. Fults, as well as from compiled accounts based on
interviews with other members
of these parties, and by elimination of the impossible, the main facts
of the experience of
these eight men ar'e brought out in the following paragraphs. In all
its details it is a thrilling
story, and one wonders constantly how all the men escaped with their lives.
L. A. Cox,= whose camp was about 6 miles from the point where the
shore lipes were
uplifted 479 feet and about 2 miles in the other direction from the
point where they were
uplifted 7 feet, says:
About 9 a. m. on the 10th we had a very severe shock, so violent that
one could hardly keep his feet, theground
being very active in ite movements, and the low plant brush shook and
bent like reeds in a gale of wind. This shake
1 Fnlts, 3. P., jr., Beame Dany Times. Bept. 28,1899 (reprinted In
Battle Weekly Times. Ck?t. 4 1890, and In New York Sun, Sqt. 29,1899).
Cox, L. A., The Sitka Alaskan, Oct. 14,1899 (the longest and most
rational amount we have seen),
'Sitka Alaskan, Oct. 14,1899.
16 TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
lasted about one and a half minutes, but waa followed by others not so
hard at intervale of every few minutes, some of
the boys counting 52 shocks between then and 1.30 p. m., when we got
the king bee of them all and the one that caused
us so much trouble, loss, and discomfort.
J. P. Fults, jr.,' who was in the other camp near by, says:
On Sunday, September 10, at 9.30 there came another severe shock that
was enough to throw a man off his feet.
This was followed by slight shocks and trembles of the earth all that
day until at 10 minutes to 2 o'clock came the
biggest shaking up of all.
Dr. Cox goes on to describe the principal shock, saying:
We were sitting in our tent at the time and in our efforts to get
outside S. Cox was piled up in the corner after
being thrown headlong over the camp stove, while Capt. Smith and
myself succeeded in getting hold of the tent pole
and as long as the shake-up lasted we held on to keep from being
thrown to the ground. This shock must have lasted
two and a half to three minutes, the ground cutting some of the
queerest capers imaginable. In addition to the circular
motion of the preceding heavy shock it was waving up and domlike the
swells of the sea, only with considerably more
energy.
Mr. Pults says:
The moraine2 on which we were camped swayed and undulated so that men
could not stand. * * * We ran
from our tenta, leaving everything behind, and were never able to
rescue anything from it after. In the come of five
minutes the Hubbard Glacier, 5 miles across its face, ran outinto the
bay for half a mile.3 * * *
About 20 yards back of the beach and above us about 100 yards was a
lake about 2 acresin area and 15 to 30 feet
deep. This lake broke from ita bed and dashed down upon our camp while
we ran along the shore and escaped it8
fury. Everything went before it or was buried by the thousands of tons
of rock that came down.
This deluge waa almost immediately followed by one from the sea. A
wall of water 20 feet high came in upon the
flood from the lake and carried all debris back over the undulating
morainic hills.
Dr. Cox says:
We heard a terrible roar in the direction of the bay, and on looking
that way we saw a tidal wave coming toward
us which appeared to be about 20 feet high and was preceded by some
great geysers shooting into the air, some of which
were several feet across and 30 or 40 feet high.
Our observations in 1905 prove that various parts of the adjacent
shores of Disenchantment
Bay were uplifted from 17 to 47 feet, and that in Russell Fiord the
uplift nearest the
gold prospectors' camps was over 7 feet. This uplift would naturally
cause even greater waves than
those made by the icebergs. The observers mentioned no tsunamis accompanying the
earlier shocks, a fact which clearly indicates that at least a notable
part if not all of the uplift
occurred during the great shock at noon on September 10.
While these great waves were washing up on the shore the ground--so we
learn from the
accounts-was swaying and undulating and breaking up along jagged
cracks. Threatened
thus from both front and rear by waves and floods, with the ground
trembling beneath their
feet, and the thunder of crashing bergs and avalanches in their ears,
it is small wonder that the
gold prospectors ran to and fro aimlessly, not knowing whether to run
to the high land first or to
return to their tents for some of the provisions and blankets which
were threatened by the waves.
The Smith-Cox party saved a few provisions, narrowly escaping drowning
by a second
20 to 30 foot wave, and sought the high land behind them. The five
men-of the Flenner-Fults
p a ~ yu,n able to reach elevated ground directly, ran back and forth
while "the earth was rocking
and swaying continually." The stream which separated them from the
other party being
temporarily divided so that they could cross, they waded waist deep
toward the other camp.
A little later the stream was joined once more in a raging, impassable
torrent, swollen doubtless
by water supplied from lakes in the moraine or along the margin of the glacier.
After the shocks had quieted down somewhat the men returned to the
Smith-Cox camp
and found their "little 12-foot boat safely lodged up among the plants
and securely fastened
-- -
1 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 28, 1899.
1 Probably not a moraine but an alluvial fan.
a Undoubtedly the front of Hubbard Glacier was so broken that great
numbers of icebergs were discharged into Disenchantment Bay and
Russell Fiord. This circumstance in itself would be enough to cause
enormous waves, if one may judge by the waves seen from the same point
and formed by an ordinary small discharge of bergs from the ice front
in 1905. Several of the observers assert that during the heaviest
shock
(Sept. 10) the front of Hubbsrd Glacier advanced, or was thrust bodily
forward, a distance variously stated as onehalf to threqurtrters of a
mile. This seems hardly probable, and the statement may have had its
basis in the enormous mass of ice suddenly thrown into the fiord, or
released from beneath the surface.
EVIDENCE OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333. 17
by the action of the water wrapping the painter about a small plant."
They also found 6 pounds
of corn meal, 3 or 4 pounds of flour, and a small piece of bacon, all
wet, a few canned goods, and
a wet tent and blankets. The boats at the other camp had been "smashed
to kindling wood"
and all the provisions lost.
The united parties spent an anxious, uncomfortable, sleepless night on
the mountain side,
wet, hungry, and afraid. Says Dr. Cox:
Imagine, if you can, one's feelings under such conditions; then add to
that the continual reports of the ice breaking
off the glacier, the roar of great landslides down the sides of the
mountains every little while, the noise of the swollen
mountain streams tumbling down loosened bowlders, continuous rain, an
occasional earthquake, and then the uncertainty
of what was to come next-then you can form some idea of our situation
that night.
Mr. FuIts states:
We protected ourselves from carried away by tearing up clothes and
tying ourselves to the small plant trees
growing on the mountain aides.
Three of the men had started next morning to Yakutat for aid when a
damaged Native American Eskimo
canoe was discovered afloat in the fiord. It was procured and patched
up, and the following
morning the eight men, with scanty provisions, started in the two
boats for Yakutat, over 30
miles distant. Indeed their provisions were so meager that they would
have suffered from
hunger before reaching Yakutat had not the earthquake waves cast upon
the shores quantities of
fish, killed by the shocks.
Had not the boats been at hand the position of $he gold prospectors
would have been desperate.
They were cut off from escape in either direction by crevassed,
impassable glaciers. They had
practically no provisions. There was no timber, either trees or
driftwood, to build a boat or
even a raft. At that time of the year the Native American Eskimos
rarely go up the bay, and it is doubtful if
after the fright occasioned by the Tesla Earthquake No. 333 either
Native American Eskimos or whites would have ventured
away from Yakutat to look for the missing men, even if anyone had
remembered that they were
there.
During the first day of their journey toward Yakutat the men
encountered great difficulties
because of the enormous quantity of floating ice, being obliged to
carry the boats over
some of the masses of bergs, but they succeeded in crossing the fiord.
That night the sound of
avalanches and the shifting of uneasy, overloaded streams made rest
impossible. Next morning
another start was made before daylight. By abandoning part of their
outfit they lightened their
load so that they reached the Native American Eskimo sealing camp at
Point Latouche (at that season abandoned)
the next night. Here a delay was necessary because of the rough sea
outside the point, and the
load was further lightened by caching the tent, blankets, and part of
their scanty supply of
provisions. Dr. Cox says:
After getting outside we still saw the effect of the tidal wave and in
places we could see where it had left its mark
fully 60 feet up the bluffs. We then commenced to have grave fears for
the safety of Yakutat. We knew if the wave
had struck them with any such force the whole town was wiped off the
face of the earth.
Yakutat was finally reached Thursday, September 14, and here the gold
prospectors found the
whole village camped in tents on the moraine back of the town, which
to this day bears the,
name Shivering Hill.
EFFECTS OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333.
The physical changes brought about by the Tesla Earthquake No. 333, as
already stated, include changes
in the shore lines and changes in the glaciers. These changes will be
described in some detail, ,
as well as related accessory phenomena, such as notable faulting,
earthquake tsunamis, and
avalanches. Their essential unity will be made clear, the whole series
of phenomena being
correlated with the growth of the St. Elias Range and evidence of
older faulting, changes of
level, and glacial oscillations being brought out.
47275"-NO. 6 % - 1 L 2

EVIDENCE OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333. 17
by the action of the water wrapping the painter about a small plant."
They also found 6 pounds
of corn meal, 3 or 4 pounds of flour, and a small piece of bacon, all
wet, a few canned goods, and
a wet tent and blankets. The boats at the other camp had been "smashed
to kindling wood"
and all the provisions lost.
The united parties spent an anxious, uncomfortable, sleepless night on
the mountain side,
wet, hungry, and afraid. Says Dr. Cox:
Imagine, if you can, one's feelings under such conditions; then add to
that the continual reporte of the ice breaking
off the glacier, the roar of great landslides down the sides of the
mountains every little while, the noise of the swollen
mountain streama tumbling down loosened bowlders, continuous rain, an
occasional earthquake, and then the uncertainty
of what waa to come next-then you can form some idea of our situation
that night.
Mr. FuIts states:
We protected ourselves from being carried away by tearing up clothes
and tying ourselves to the small plant trees
growing on the mountain sides.
Three of the men had started next morning to Yakutat for aid when a
damaged Native American Eskimo
canoe was discovered afloat in the fiord. It was procured and patched
up, and the following
morning the eight men, with scanty provisions, started in the two
boats for Yakutat, over 30
miles distant. Indeed their provisions were so meager that they would
have suffered from
hunger before reaching Yakutat had not the earthquake waves cast upon
the shores quantities of
fish, killed by the shocks.
Had not the boats been at hand the position of the gold prospectors
would have been desperate.
They were cut off from escape in either direction by crevassed,
impassable glaciers. They had
practically no provisions. There was no timber, either trees or
driftwood, to build a boat or
even a raft. At that time of the year the Native American Eskimos
rarely go up the bay, and it is doubtful if
after the fright occasioned by the Tesla Earthquake No. 333 either
Native American Eskimos or whites would have ventured
away from Yakutat to look for the missing men, even if anyone had
remembered that they were
there.
During the first day of their journey toward Yakutat the men
encountered great difficulties
because of the enormous quantity of floating ice, being obliged to
carry the boats over
some of the masses of bergs, but they succeeded in crossing the fiord.
That night the sound of
avalanches and the shifting of uneasy, overloaded streams made rest
impossible. Next morning
another start was made before daylight. By abandoning part of their
outfit they lightened their
load so that they reached the Native American Eskimo sealing camp at
Point Latouche (at that season abandoned)
the next night. Here a delay was necessary because of the rough sea
outside the point, and the
load was further lightened by caching the tent, blankets, and part of
their scanty supply of
provisions. Dr. Cox says:
-
Afbr getting outside we still saw the effect of the tidal wave and in
places we could see where it had left its mark
fully 60 feet up the bluffs. We then commenced to have grave fears for
the eafety of Yakutat. We knew if the wave
had struck them with any such force the whole town was wiped off the
face of the earth.
Yakutat was &ally reached Thursday, September 14, and here the gold
prospectors found the
whole village camped in tents on the moraine back of the town, which
to this day bears the
name Shivering Hill.
EFFECTS OF THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE NO. 333.
The physical changes brought about by the Tesla Earthquake No. 333, as
already stated, include changes
in the shore lines and changes in the glaciers. These changes will be
described in some detail, ,
as well as related accessory phenomena, such as notable faulting,
earthquake tsunamis, and 1
avalanches. Their essential unity will be made clear, the whole series
of phenomena being
correlated with the growth of the St. Elias Range and evidence of
older faulting, changes of
level, and glacial oscillations being brought out.
47275"-NO. 69-12-2
CHAPTER 11.
CFIANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899.
RECENT UPLIFT.*
In the Yakutat Bay region, including Disenchantment Bay and Russell
Fiord, the shore
lines in some places show uplift; in others, less numerous, they show
depression; and in other
large areas outside the mount& front there has been no movement. By
considering these
and other differences in the deformed areas, a series of faults has
been worked out, to movement
along which are attributed at least some of the Earthquake No. 333
which this paper discusses. The
evidence of recent uplift is (a) physiographic, (b) biologic, and (c)
human, and these three
kinds of evidence will be discussed in the order named.
PHYSIOGRAPIfIC EVIDENCES OF RECENT UPLIFT.
ELEVATED SEA CUFFS AND ROCK BENCHES.
Notching the fiord walls at various levels is a series of sea cliffs,
which the waves had cut
in the headlands and mountain slopes before the Earthquake No. 333 of
1899, and which, with their
associated rock benches (Pl. 111, B), were hoisted above sea level
during the faulting. The
benches are broadest ~ n tdhe cliffs highest where the weaker rocks
outcrop on exposed points;
and they are narrowest and the cliffs lowest where the more resistant
strata occur. They are,
however, planed back indifferently across weak and resistant strata,
across vertical, highly
inclined, faulted, and gently folded rocks. They vary in width from 2
to 40 feet (Pl. XI, A, p. 24)
and are affected in size by opportunities for wave work as well as by
resistance of rock, being
usually widest on the headlands and narrowest where the coast is
straight. Though generally
flat-topped, the benches are in places diversified by remnants of the
more resistant rocks, which
fom fossil reefs, stacks, or skerries upon the uplifted benches (Pl.
V, B). They are not yet
modified greatly, though the streams that tumble down over their edges
to the new sea level -
have begun to cut gorges in their surfaces.
These cliffs and benches give an excellent illustration of the rate
and mount of wave
work, for in 1905, six years after the uplift, the sea had not cut an
appreciable ka cliff or
rock bench anywhere; indeed, in many places it had not even erased the
glacial stris at the
new level. Doubtless many times six years will pass before travel will
be possible along the
new waveplaned notch, as it now is along the elevated bench above.
The old and new notches, of course, merge into each other where the
uplift was slight;
and the identification of a shghtly elevated sea cliff and bench is
complicated by the fact that
in former times, when the glacier fronts were near by, iceberg waves
had in places cut faster and
2 or 3 feet higher than the normal waves. These iceberg-generated
waves have not seriously
complicated the study of the elevated benches, however, for they occur
at only two or three
places, near Hubbard and Nunatak glaciers; tlie best elevated benches
are far distant from the
ice fronts and are uplifted from 10 to 40 feet (PI. IV, B), so thst
they admit of no confusion as
to origin. L d * x l , *
These elevated benches are not remnants of glacial marginal channels,
as is proved by the
barnacles and other sea forms still attached to their ledges. All in
all, they form one of the
most striking, obvious, and spectacular of the physiographic evidences
of uplift.
1 Tam, R. S., and Martin, Lawrence, Bull. Geol. 800. America, vol. 17,
1906, pp. 2944.
18
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE Ill
A. WAVE-CUT BENCH ON EAST SHORE OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY.
Uplifted 17 feet 8 inches. Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. WAVE-CUT BENCH AND SCA CLIFF ON EAST SHORE OF HAENKE ISLAND.
U,plifted 17 feet 7 inches. Photographed in summer of 1905.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE IV
A. ELEVATED SEA CAVE ON EAST SHORE OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY NEAR HAENKE ISLAND.
Uplifted 17 feet. Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. WAVE-PLANED BENCH AT BANCAS POINT, MOUTH OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY, WEST SIDE.
Uplifted 42 feet. Photographed in summer of 1906 by 0. D. von Engeln.


U\S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE VI
ELEVATED BEACH BETWEEN BANCAS POINT AND TUFlNER GLACIER (IN
BACKGROUND), ON WEST SIDE OF
DISENCHANTMENT BAY.
Uplifted 47 feet 4 inches. White bryozoan patches on c l i f f in
foreground. Photographed in summer of 1905.

CHANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899. 19
ELEVATED SEA CAVES AND CHASMS.
As the tops of the elevated rock benches are diversified by reefs,
stacks, and skerries, so
the sea cliffs at their backs and edges are made irregular by chasms
and sea caves, due also to
the variable resisting power of the component rocks. In the Yakutat
group, for example,
many chasms and caves are cut in thin-bedded* black shales and
sandstones and roofed by
more resistant indurated tuff, graywacke, and conglomerate strata (Pl.
IV, A). Chasms are
just beginning to be cut at the new sea level, but both sea caves and
chasms were formed and
perfected at the old sea level and were uplifted with the benches;
they now form sheltered
retreats for ferns and land shrubs whose roots are growing in the
gravel and sand which, before
the uplift, the waves used as tools to hollow out these irregularities
in the coast. The dead
barnacles and mussels form incongruous neighbors for the living
shrubs, which would formerly
have been killed by the salt water or uprooted by the waves.
Some caves, not uplifted greatly, are only half dry, the waves still
coming into their lower
portions, and some are pot appreciably changed. One great cavern on
the south side of
Haenke Island is of this semiabandoned type, as a comparison of its
present condition with
that before 1899 described by the Native American Eskimos attests,
although the uplift here was fully 18 feet.
There are scores of uplifted sea caves and hundreds of abandoned
chasms in different parts of
the fiord.
RAISED BEACHES AND SAND DUNES.
Of course, when the waves excavated caves, formed sea cliffs, and
planed back benches at
the older stand of the land, they disposed of some of the material by
building at accordant levels
(P1. V, A) sand, gravel, and bowlder beaches, which were also uplifted
in 1899. Practically all
this material above tide level was built into pocket beaches; for the
depth of water and the
short time since the glacier retreated from these shores usually
prevented the formation of
bars, spits, and barriers, as is shown by the general immaturity of
the elevated shore lines and
the notched headlands associated with them.
These beaches have been best preserved where they were lifted highest,
or where streams
do not cross them or waves cut directly into the gravel at their
bases. Some such beaches, built
upon a rock platform not gullied by streams nor reached by the present
waves, look at first
glance like present-day strands (Pl. V, B, 0). They might be thought
to be only ordinary
beaches at low tide, were it not for the scarp at the front or the
young shrubs beginning to spring
up on the sand of the idle sea mill (Pl. V, A). One such beach south
of Turner Glacier, uplifted ,
37 feet (Pl. V, B, D), presents expanses of deserted shore line half a
mile long and 200 feet or
more in width, between headlands, making excellent camp sites or
highways of travel, especially
on stormy days or at high tide, when the present beach is in places impassable.
Not all such beaches are well preserved, many of them being nearly
destroyed by stream
gullying and many being cut back by the present waves, although where
the cross-bedded sand
and gravel of the evated beach rests on a bedrock basement (Pl. VI)
the waves are relatively
impotent and the of the elevated beach is long preserved. Many
elevated beaches which
were well preservekl in 1905 were nearly destroyed by streams and
waves when we revisited
them in 1909.
Still other upraised beaches are only slightly recessed behind the
present beach (Pl. VII, A, C),
outbuilding having gone on rapidly after a relatively slight uplift.
Here and there an exceptionally
broad beach, such as the one over 300 feet wide southeast of the delta
of the Variegated
Glacier stream, is made up of the continuous slope of an old, slightly
elevated beach, and a new
one (Pl. VII, B), the two being separated only by a line of driftwood
or seaweed or an inconspicuous
storm-beach crest. When it is desired to camp back of the highest storm beach of
'the former strand a long carry is often necessary for camp outfit and
provisions and boats
from sea level at low tide across the double beach to the camp site.
A belt of sand dunes, uplifted 42 feet with the raised beach on the
west side of Yakutat
Bay near Black Glacier, is no longer in the active movement usual in
sand dunes, for the beach
2 0 EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
does not now supply the sand for the wind to heap up in dunes.
Accordingly, grasses have
grown freely upon its surface, and in 1909, 10 years after the uplift,
this belt of dunes bore no
traces of its former active condition except the hummocky surface and
the sandy soil.
UPLIFTED DELTAS AND SPITS.
While benches were being carved in the headlands and beaches built in
bay heads and
other places along shore before 1899, the streams flowing into Yakutat
Bay and its branches were
building deltas at their points of discharge. Such of these deltas as
were uplifted during the
changes of level are not at all different from actively growing deltas
except as they have been
affected by the change of base-level. The effects of this change,
however, are notable. One
is seen in the trenching of the fan-shaped deltas by gullies, a
process directly consequent on the
uplift and rejuvenation of the stream. Many of the gullies are 20 feet
or more in depth and
reveal both the steeply dipping foreset beds and the gently inclined
topset beds (Pl. VIII, A).
Doubtless this dissection was quickly done by the streams whose
base-level was abruptly
lowered by the uplift. Most of these streams have now resumed the
aggradation characteristic
of well-loaded streams either at their mouths or at places of change
of grade (such as that below
the lip of a hangi,ng valley), and are building new deltas, whose
alluvial fans may extend up into
or even ~ a r t l yth rough the bisecting gully or gullies.
Another quick change consequent on the uplift is the nipping back of
the front of each delta
by the waves and its fashioning into a low cliff 5 to 25 feet high
(PI. VIII, B), the height varying
with the amount of uplift, the part of the delta reached, the
steepness of the surface slope, the
exposure to wave cutting, and the time available before the material
bl-ought down by the stream,
carried by alongshore currents or eroded from the cliff, checked the
process of wave cutting by
building a deposit in front of the cliff, such as was built in many
places between 1899 and
1905. A growth of annual, perennial, and woody plants has followed the
abandonment of the
uplifted delta tops, which make excellent camp sites where they are
not too deeply gullied
and on which gulls and ptarmigans now nest-a thing they would never do
if the slope was made
dangerous by theshifting of heavily loaded streams.
As already stated, sand spits, bars, and barrier beaches are uncommon
in the uplifted parts
of the Yakutat Bay inlet. One of the three sand spits that existed in
Russell Fiord before
1899-a sliit at Cape Enchantment that connected an island with the
mainland at low tidewas
uplifted so.much that the highest tides do not cover it.
TILL SHORE LINES.
The presence of glacial till as the material of a shore that is
exposed t~-'$~orousw ave attack
would of itself be good evidence of the youth of the beach; and about
shores of Yakutat
Bay this phenomenon furnishes clear proof of the recency of the change
which has started the
waves to cutting at a higher or lower level. At several places on the
east and west shores of
Disenchantment Bay the beach consists of compact, unoxidized blue till
with abundant small,
angular, striated pebbles.
From the character alone of these till shore lines it would be
impossible to say whether
uplift or depression had taken place, but it happens that they all are
so located, with raised
beaches on each side and above (Pl. VIII, B) or with barnacles or
mussel shells on the rocks
above, as to denote uplift. Although the material is classified as
till it is possible that some
of it is a marine silt filled with angular scratched pebbles supplied
by melting icebergs.
The till shore lines were seen only in protected spots along rock
shores and in front of narrow
pocket beaches, the till elsewhere being doubtless deeply buried
before the uplift. These will
be the first of the physiographic evidences of uplift to be destroyed,
and it is rather remarkable
that any of them persisted from 1899 to 1905, for the waves are fast
rounding the angular pebbles
and erasing their glacial scratches, and the blue clay is fast going
offshore in suspension, as can
be seen by the muddy water offshore from each till shore line-a
visible evidence of the evanescent
character of these strands and the relative recency of the uplift that
produced them.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
- - -
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE VII
11. ELEVATED BEACH AND SEA CLIFF ON NORTHEAST SHORE OF
RUSSELL FIORD OPPOSITE MARBLE POINT.
Uplifted 7 feet 1 inch. Dissected by streams and waves at present
level of land. Notch
at left represents older elevated sea cliff. Photographed in summer of 1905.
Ii ELEVATED BEACH ON NORTHEAST SHORE OF RUSSELL FIORD. JUST
SOUTH OF CAMP OF GOLD PROSPECTORS, NEAR VARIEGATED GLACIER.
Uplifted 7 feet 7 ~nclies Young plants in foreground, present seaweed
line at S. Square
shows upoermost l ~ m i nt ow reached by waves Photographed In summer o f 1905.
C. ELEVATED BEACH ON NORTHEAST SHORE OF RUSSELL FIORD
OPPOSITE MARBLE POINT.
Uplifted 7 feet. Scattered annual plants growing on elevated beach. Photographed
i n summer of 1Y05.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE Vlll
1
A. DISSECTED DELTA ON WEST SHORE OF DISENCHANTMENT
BAY NEAR TURNER GLACIER.
Uplifted 38 feet 8 inches. Photographed in summer of 1905.
R. ALLUVIAL FAN ON EAST SIDE OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY NORTH
OF HAENKE ISLAND.
Uplifted 17 feet 11 inches, causing dissection by waves and streams.
Photographed
in summer of 1905.

CHANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899. 21
NEW REEFS AND ISLANDS.
A s t ~ k i n gex ample of the hazard involved in sailing uncharted
waters is afforded by one
of the reefs uplifted during the 1899 earthquake. In June, 1899, when
the Harriman expedition
vessel George W. EEder sailed into Yakutat Bay and followed Russell
Fiord to its very head,
she must have passed very close to a couple of concealed reefs between
Haenke Island and .
the Hubbard Glacier (see P1. XIV, p. 30), which were hoisted above
water three months later.
W. H. Dall, of the Harriman expedition, states that a Native American
Eskimo pilot told him of a submerged rock
thereabouts. In 1905 our Native American Eskimo canoemen, who frequent
this part of Disenchantment Bay
every year while seal hunting, assured us that these rocks were not
visible, even awash, before
September, 1899. There are now two long, narrow reefs, the largest
perhaps 50 by 250 feet.
They are awash at high tide and thoroughly uncovered when the tide is
low. All about them
the fiord is deep, icebergs never stranding here. Unfortunately no
soundings were made in
this part of Yakutat Bay before 1899, so that it is impossible to
prove anything here or elsewhere
in the fiord by soundings.
Small icebergs now strand on the rounded, glaciated surfaces of these
reefs, depositing
their burden of small bowlders as they melt. Numerous large bowlders
on the crest of the
islets, too high to have been deposited since 1899 unless pushed up in
winter by ice shove, suggest
deposition by stranded icebergs before 1899, .when the water is
thought not to have been very
deep on the reefs; this is also suggested by the sea weed growing upon
these bowlders.
Another group of new islets rose above the sea in 1899 southeast of
Knight Island, near
the head of Eleanor Cove. (See Pls. IX, B; XIV.) The Native American
Eskimo canoemen state that of the
four small islets now here, none were formerly visible at high tide
and only two showed at low
tide. Now two are exposed at all stages of water and the other two
between mid and low tide.
Three of-these islets are rock and one of gravel, perhaps covering
rock. The two smallest are
50 feet long, the two largest each 450 feet long and 75 feet wide. The
longer axes of these
reefs are parallel to one another and to the mountain front near the
foot of Mount Tebenkof.
They lie almost exactly along a fault line of which we have other
evidence, and we believe them
to have been uplifted by movements along this fault line during the
1899 Earthquake No. 333. The
Native American Eskimos' testimony supports this theory, as does also
the fact that at the top of the highest islet,
3 feet above high tide, are dead barnacles attached to the bedrock.
In many other parts of the inlet, notably on the east side of
Disenchantment Bay, there
are numerous channels, not now passable for canoes, along which,
according to the Native American Eskimos,
boats could formerly pass between small reefs and stacks and the
shore. Dead barnacles
attached to the rocks in several such localities support this statement.
LAND AREA ADDED BY
The amount of land which emerged from the sea during these changes of
level far exceeds
the amount submerged by the sea in places where there was depression,
both the length and
the width of the depressed shores being slight. The amount added by
uplift was not very great,
however, considering that the vertical uplift was from 10 to 47 feet
over large areas, because
the shores of the fiord are steep and the water near shore is deep.
Slopes as great as 30" between
the new and the old strands are the rule, and vertical or overhanging
slopes are not uncommon.
(See Pls. 111, p. 16; V, p. 18; VI, p. 18.) Of course on the beaches
and deltas this is not true.
the coast there having migrated seaward in places as much as 100 yards.
Haenke Island forms a fair criterion for conditions in the whole
region, the shores being
about as steep as those anywhere else and the beaches forming the
average small percentage
of the whole coast. Russell speaks of only one place on the island
where it was possible to land
in 1890, while now there are a good many; one other landing place,
however, seen in 1905,
must have been available in 1890 though probably not noticed by Russell.
'
1 The uplift on the n;\arest land raised in 1899 is 17 and 18 feet.
2 2 EAhTHQUAKXS AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
1
The uplift of this island was 17 to 19 feet, the rock bench being in
places at least 100 feet
wide. On the beaches the breadth of the upraised strand is wider
still. It is estimated that
25 or 30 feet of new land, on the average, was added along the whole
shore of Haenke Island,
increasing the area of the island by 8 or 9 acres.
Assuming that there was uplift along 100 out of the 150 miles of coast
of Yakutat Bay
and its branches, and that an average width of 25 feet was thereby
added to the land, we should
still have a total area of only about half a square mile taken from the sea.
BIOLOGIC EVIDENCES OF RECENT UPLIFT.
BARNACLES.
It seems doubtful whether barnacles have ever before served as an
evidence of faulting,
as they have done along the shores of Yakutat Bay. Here dead forms of
two species (Balanus
carioszls Darwin and B. porcatus Darwin1) still cling to the rocks of
the elevated shore lines,
in many places in far greater abundance than the living forms at
present sea level. Few of the
living barnacles have attained a diameter of over three-eighths of an
inch, and they contrast
strongly with the giant dead barnacles (PI. X, A), many of which are
13 inches in diameter. The
forms were well preserved in 1905, six years after they were killed by
being hoisted out of the
reach of salt water; in many of them the valves were still held
together by the organic tissue,
though most retained only the outer shell.
These white shells, firmly attached to the rocks upon which they grew
till 1899 (PI. IX, A),
are a striking feature along the shores of the fiord, especially upon
precipitous and overhanging
cliffs. They are rarely absent where other evidence suggests that the
shore lines have been
uplifted, except where the ledges are weathering too rapidly to retain
them, and they are usually
the first evidence of uplift seen from a boat, though in some places
they were hidden in 1905
by annual plants and by 4 or 5 year willow and plant shrubs.
Dead barnacles no longer attached to the rocks are not convincing
evidence of uplift, nor
are the dead barnacles adhering to beach bowlders, because sich
objects might be thrown up
during an earthquake wave to a point higher than the sea level where
the barnacles lived.
The barnacles on bowlders were never accepted as evidence of uplift
during our study, unless
others were found adhering to the adjacent ledges at points equally high.
It was the dead barnacles fastened to the ledges among grasses and
plant shrubs that first
called our attention to the change of level, for we noted these even
before we had observed
any of the uplifted physiographic forms or had recognized other
biologic evidence or had
gathered evidence from men. The barnacles were even more important as
the chief source of
specific information with regard to the amount of uplift at various
points (see p. 29), and in
this way were markers for the faulting.
MUSSELS.
Another marine animal whose fossil remains furnish proof of the uplift
is the common
mussel, Mytilus edulis L. (Pl. X), these forms being only a little
less widely distributed than
the barnacles on the rocks of the uplifted shore lines. Where found
they are even more abundant
than the barnacles. This is one of the forms which Russell found 5,000
feet above sea
level at Pinnacle Pass near Seward Glacier in 1890.2
As previously stated, one of our early observations, before we
realized that an uplift had
taken place, was that what seemed to be clusters of blue flowers were
attached to bare ledges
18 feet dr more above present sea level. These, we found later, were
mussel shells which had
turned blue since the death of the animals, caused by their removal
from salt water.
In many places these mussel shells were still firmly attached to the
rocks by the delicate
hairlike byssus. That the organic parts were still preserved in 1905
is additional proof of the
recency of the movement.
1 We are indebted to Dr. W. H. Dall for the idenMticetion of the
marine animals collected on the elevated shore lines in 1905.
:Russell, I. C., Nat. Geog. Hag., vol. 3,1891, p. 172.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE IX
A. DEAD BARNACLES CLINGING TO ROCK AMID FOUR-YEAR-OLD PLANT
BUSHES ON NORTHEAST SHORE OF RUSSELL FIORD, NEARLY OPPOSITE
MARBLE POINT.
Uplifted 7 feet 6 inches. Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. NEW REEFS (R) IN ELEANOR COVE, UPLIFTED IN 1899.
Photographed from an elevation of 1,600 feet in summer of 1905.

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE X
A. MUSSELS AND LARGE BARNACLES CLINGING TO ROCK 17 FEET 11
INCHES ABOVE HIGH TIDE, JUST NORTH OF HAENKE ISLAND.
Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. WHITENED ZONE OF BRYOZOAN REMAINS, SHOWING ELEVATION, ON
WEST SHORE OF DISENCHANTMENT BAY.
Uplifted 39 feet 11 inches. Young plants growing among the Bryozoa. Photographed
in summer of 1905.

24 EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
JUXTAPOSITION OF LAND AND SEA LIFE.
Incongruity in the flora and fauna of the shore strip is a natural
though transitory consequence
of changes on the earth's surface. It looks odd, nevertheless, to see
the same zons
occupied by representatives of two ordinarily distinct regions. Before
the uplift the realm
of the barnacle, the mussel, and allied marine forms was reserved to
them alone; any alien,
like an plant bush, was quickly killed by a splash or two of salt
water. Then came the uplift.
Now the willow and plant, the wild geranium, and other land plants are
springing up in the
old habitat of the sea plants and animals, which, unable to persist
out of salt water, have
died, some of them leaving their limy skeletons as if in mute protest
against the invasion of
their territory (Pls. IX, A; X).
These land plants, which are found on nearly all the raised beaches
and deltas and on
some of the uplifted rock benches, form a valuable part of the record,
affording a minimum
determination of the time since salt water has washed the elevated
strands (Pl. VII,
C, p. 18). Of course the grasses and the flowering annuals and
perennials (Pl. XI, B) tell but
little, though their scattered condition plainly demonstrates recency
of uplift; but the woody ,
shrubs, like the willow and plant, are significant. They are
invariably small (Pl. XII), and of
all we cut down in 1905 none showed more than five annual rings, and
most had only three or
four. Evidently these shore lines had byen open for occupation by land
plants for only four
or five years. The earthquake was in the autumn six years before.
One large willow tree growing upon a beach near Black Glacier, on the
west side of Yakutat
Bay, 42 feet above sea level, was at first rather puzzling, for it was
3 inches in diameter and 10
feet or more in height. It proved, however, to have five rings of new
wood outside a heart
of old wood and had evidently been uprooted somewhere and thrown up by
the earthquake
wave to sprout upon the sands of the raised beach.
In 1909 and 1910 we were very much impressed by the rapid increase in
vegetation on the
elevated beaches having favorable soil, drainage, and other
conditions, since we made our
first observations in 1905. Some of the beaches were covered by
thickets of plant and willow,
which greatly obscured the physiographic and biologic evidences of
uplift.. Even then these
evidences were less clear than when the photographs used as
illustrations in this book were
taken, and after a few years more they will be still more obscured.
DESTRUCTION OF ORGANISMS.
Just how much life was destroyed during the Earthquake No. 333 of 1899
will never be known,
though it is certain that many fish were killed by the shocks and
thrown up by the earthquake
waves, as we learned from the Native American Eskimos and from the
gold prospectors who were in Disenchantment
Bay; that much land life was destroyed by the earthquake waves, which
uprooted trees and
killed vegetation by saturating its roots with salt water; and that
wholesale destruction of
marine life along the uplifted littoral zone and of land life along
the submerged stretches of
coast followed the permanent removal of the marine forms from salt
water and the exposure
of the land plants to salt water and to wave action. The slaughter
caused by uplifting the
marine forms out of the sea was, of course, the greatest, resulting
probably in the death of
millions of individuals.
REHABITATION OF THE LITTORAL ZONE.
Where the shore lines were uplifted 10 feet or more the destruction of
fixed intertidal life
was almost absolute and migration was necessary, not from above
downward to the new
sea level, but laterally up or down the coast from some point where
there was little or no uplift.
The scarcity and small size of some forms in places indicates how
slowly this reoccupation
goes on. The smallness of the barnacles in 1905 has already been
mentioned. On some rocks,
smoothed and polished by glaciation and not yet notched by the waves,
as on Haenke Island,
the seaweed has not yet been able to secure a foothold except along
joints, where it grows in
narrow lines of small individuals.
U. S. GEOLOQICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XI
A. ELEVATED BEACH AND BROAD ROCK BENCH NEAR HEAD OF RUSSELL
FIORD.
Uplifted 8 feet. Shows parallel lines of driftwood. Shore lines in
extreme background
depressed in 1899. Fault line A lies between rock bench and background of this
picture. Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. ELEVATED SLATE BEACH ON NORTHEAST SHORE OF RUSSELL FIORD.
Uplifted 9 feet. Shows plant growth on strand. Photographed in summer of 1905.

CHANGES IN SHORE EINES IN 1899. 2 5
On some of the coasts life had not yet begun to reassert itself in
1905. For example,
south of Turner Glacier, where there was an uplift of 30 to 47 feet,
which destroyed absolutely
all marine forms attached to the rocks, no fixed intertidal forms were
seen at the new sea
level for 4 d e s along the coast. Dead barnacles, mussels, bryozoans,
etc., were abundant
on the uplifted beaches, benches, and headlands, but none of these-not
even any seaweedwere
growing at the new sea level. In six years the marine forms had not
migrated to this
temporary desert, where the uplifted shore lines testlfy that
conditions have been favorable for
abundant marine life.
For this delay there are several good reasons--;(a) an ice barrier
(Turner Glacier) to the
north; (b) a sand and gravel barrier to the south; (e) a permanent
out-moving current of
iceberg-laden, freshened water from Hubbard and Turner glaciers; and
(a) a very deep fiord
to the east. When it is remembered that there was complete destruction
of litt>orall ife on
this coast, and that barriers stood between this and every adjacent
strip of rocky coast whence
allied marine forms could migrate, the delay is readily understood.
If such changes in life conditions and delays in reoccupation of a
habitable xone are consequent
upon a single change of level like the one here discussed, it is easy
to see why there
have been changes in forms and in conditions of living-even extinction
of species-in the
geologic past during the oscillations of sea level attendant on the
deposition of the rocks of
the earth's crust and the evolution of the present continents.
HUMAN TESTIMONY TO UPLIFT IN 1800.
EVIDENCE OF RECENCY.
The state of preservation of the beaches, cliffs, benches, and deltas
suggests not only that
they were recently uplifted, but that the movement occurred
essentially at the same time for
all. No beach or delta seen by us in 1905 was more dissected than any
similar beach or delta
of the same height and exposure to streams and waves. The barnacles
and mussels also support
the same conclusion, and the living plants, none over 5 years old,
seem to have begun to
encroach on all the elevated strands at the same time (in the spring
of 1900, or five years before
1905), the vegetation, so far as we could see, being no more advanced
in any one place than
in another, whether as to location on raised beach, height of
elevation above the sea, or proportion
of beach or bench or delta covered. In addition to this physiographic
evidence, which
leads us to conclude that the uplifts were simultaneous and relatively
recent, and to the biologic
evidence, which showed us in 1905 that the uplifts had taken place at
least five and
probably not more than six years before, we have clear and specific
human evidence that they
occurred in connection with the Earthquake No. 333 of September, 1899.
The several reports of the late I. C. Russell indicate that the
uplifts here described had
not taken place at the time of his visits to Disenchantment Bay and
Russell Fiord in 1890
and 1891. The fact that he does not describe them is not proof that
they had not yet taken
place, for geology affords some famous instances of failure by a
skilled observer to see what
he later realizes is a very obvious fact. Nevertheless, the fact that
Prof. Russell, whose studies
of the abandoned shore lines of Lake Lahontan, etc., are well known,
did not see in 1890 or 1891
so clear a series of abandoned shore lines as we saw in 1905 is fair
presumptive evidence that
the shore lines had not been abandoned at the time of his visit. We
know from his papers
that he visited several points, notably Haenke Island, where the beach
on which he landed
has since been raised 19 feet. Moreover, his description of the
difficulties of landing on
this island shows clearly that its coast line then differed greatly
from its present one, which
is easily accessible at any one of a dozen points.
1 An expedition to Mount St. Elias, Alaska: Nat. Qeog. Mag., vol. 3,
lml, pp. 63-204; Second expedition to Mount St. Elias: Thirteenth Ann.
Rapt. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2,1893, pp. 1-91.
EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
TESTIMONY OF THE BOUNDARY SURVEY PARTY
In 1895 the Canadian surveyors and topographers of an Alaskan boundary
commission
' party made a series of photographs of the Yakutat Bay region while
engaged in making the
maps to be submitted to the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal. Several of
these photographs
illustrate sections of the coast where the uplift in 1899 was great,
but they show no sign of
elevated shore lines. Among others, there is a photograph showing Cape
Enchantment as an
island, whereas in 1905 it was a peninsula connected to the mainland
by a bar, which was
covered only at the very highest tides. Other photographs of various
parts of the shore line
of Disenchantment Bay and Russell Fiord'show no evidence of uplift,
whereas if taken 10 years
later (in 1905) they could not have failed to do so clearly. From this
it seems practically
certain that the uplift had not taken place as late as the spring of 1895.
TESTIMONY OF THE HARRIMAN EXPEDITION.
Three months before the Earthquake No. 333 the Harriman expedition
spent several days in
Yakutat Bay. Among the many noted scientific men accompanying this
party was G. K.
Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey, the most eminent of
American students of
abandoned shore lines. From the reports of this expedition, especially
Dr. Gilbert's volume,'
we learn of their landing upon beaches which have since been uplifted
15 feet or more. This,
like the evidence of Prof. Russell, is not presented as absolute
scientific proof that the uplift
did not take place before June, 1899, but merely as strong presumptive
evidence to that effect.
We believe it next to impossible, however, that keen scientific
observers like Russell, Gilbert,
and others could have traversed this inlet and climbed up over the
raised beaches on Haenke ,
Island and elsewhere without seeing the striking evidence of change of level.
Moreover, as already stated (p. 21)) the Harriman expedition Gessel,
George W. EZder, sailed
twice past the site of the now prominent but then submerged reefs in
Disenchantment Bay in
June, 1899; and the U. S. S. Comoin, with I. C. Russell on board,
steamed in 1890 past the site .
sf these reefs "nearly to the ice cliffs of Hubbard Glacier." Sailors
are not very likely to fail
to report uncharted reefs, and the commander of the EZder would
undoubtedly have seen and
reported these reefs if he had entered the bay after September, 1899.
TESTIMONY OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION PARTP.
In July, 1901, a United States Fish Commission party, commanded by
Ensign C. R. Miller,
sailed up Yakutat and Disenchantment bays and through Russell Fiord.
Mr. Miller does not
mention the evidences of uplift, which he may not have noticed, not
being a trained physiographer,
but he does describe other effects of the 1899 Earthquake No. 333. He
must have climbed
over one of the raised beaches on Haenke.Island, for one of his
photographs, taken from this
island in 1901, looks down on part of a rock bench which was elevated
17 to 19 feet in 1899.
.In this picture the elevated strand is easily recognized.
. TESTIMONY OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN ESKIMOB.
The evidence already cited suggests strongly that no changes of level
had taken place in
and about Yakutat Bay by 1890-91, by the spring of 1895, or by June,
1899, three months
before the series of destructive Earthquake No. 333 here described,
but that the uplift had taken place
before July, 1901. The convincing evidence from living plants pushes
the date back at least
to the spring of 1900. The Native American Eskimos, however, state
definitely that the uplifts took place in
connection with the Earthquake No. 333 of the fall of 1899 and that
there were no similar recent
movements before or since-this last statement being corroborated by
our own investigation
of all recent earthquakes in this part of Alaska.
Even if other lines of evidence did not so convincingly point to the
same conclusion, we
feel that there should be no hesitancy in accepting this testimony of
the Alaskan Native American Eskimos
- -
1 Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, Glaciers, 1904, pp. 45-70. 9
Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., vol. 21,1901, PI. XLIV, opp. p. 392.


CHANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899. 2 7
as to the date of uplift. There are several reasons for considering it
trustworthy. Our questions
put to the Native American Eskimos were never in a form to suggest the
answer desired. One of our canoemen
in 1905, J. P. Henry, a Sitka Native American Eskimo long resident at
Yakutat, was able to speak, read, and
write English well and understood thoroughly the necessity of accurate
information. After he
knew of our interest in these phenomena he repeatedly indicated to us,
before reaching certain
places, that uplift had occurred there, and we never found such
statements of his as we could
verify to be untrue or exaggerated; moreover, he and other Native
American Eskimos know the shores of the
inlet intimately, for they canoe there every spring in search of seal
and would certainly know
when such striking changes occurred.
Henry and our other Native American Eskimo camp hand, as well as other
Native American Eskimos at Yakutat (in statements
, translated by him), described the great shaking of the earth, the
tsunamis, the fish killed
or left stranded by these waves, the appearance of new islands, the
uplift of sea caves and
beaches (one of these the beach on which the Native American Eskimos
camp each year in the sealing season),
the formation of the whitened bryozoan film, and the avalanches. They
said speciiically
that all these changes occurred during the Earthquake No. 333 in the
fall of 1899; that they had not
taken place in the sealing season of 1899, but were observed in the
spring of 1900.
W. H. Thompson, who knows Yakutat Bay well, verifies the testimony of
the Native American Eskimos,
who are keen observers of changes in nature, especially on this coast!
where they hunt seal
every spring in small boats. There is also some corroboration of
Native American Eskimo testimony by other '
white men, though the gold prospectors in Disenchantment Bay were too
frightened to notice any
change of level or saw too much of more spectacular things to report
it. Most of the whites
were at Yakutat, where they noted little or no change of level, but
they do report the submergence
of part of a graveyard at Port Mulgrave, opposite Yakutat village,
during the earthquake
of September 10. It seems probable that most or all of the uplift in
Disenchantment
Bay occurred during the second shock at noon, September 10, as this
was the only quake in
connection with which the gold prospectors noted excessive tsunamis
(see footnote, p. 16);
and the only one accompanied by such waves as reported from Yakutat village.
RECENT SUBMERGENCE.
That a small portion of the shore of Yakutat Bay was depressed during
the 1899 Earthquake No. 333
is proved chiefly by the trees that were killed by sand piling up
around their bases, waves
washing away their foundations, and salt water stopping their growth.
Such trees are well
shown at several points near the head of Russell Piord and on the
islands and peninsulas on
the east side of outer Yakutat Bay.
On the south shore of Knight Island the beach sand extends back into a
spruce forest
for over a hundred feet, and the rank, sedgy beach grass is growing
among the spruce trees
far back from the shore (Pl. XIII, C). On the present coast the waves
have uprooted and
thrown down numerous conifers, piling their dead trunks back among the
living trees (Pl.
XIII, A). At several points in the archipelago between Knight Island
and Yakutat trees
and plant bushes near the water's edge are singed as by a drought,
evidently in consequence
of the occasional baths of salt .water to which they are now subjected
as a result of slight subsidence.
Near the head of Russell Fiord dead plants rise through a beach, now reached by
high tide (Pl. XIII, B), where the salt water is encroaching upon the
shore strip, making life
impossible for its former land flora. At many points at the very head
of the bay trees are
now reached by salt water; at other points trees stand in lagoons
behind barrier beaches.
Similar evidence is accepted as proof of submergence along a short
strip of coast between Logan
Beach and Knight Island.
On Khantaak Island extensive forest areas near the coast have been
killed by slight submergence
of trees in salt water and the partial burial of trees in beach sand.
This is especially
well shown at the northeast end of the island, where there are several
acres of submerged
forest with mature spruces still standing erect (Pl. XV), as well as
on the western side of the
island and on the mainland between Ankau Slough and Ocean Cape.
Of course physiographic evidences similar to those of the emerged
strands are not available
at these places, belng masked by the deposits of the encroaching
shore. It seems certain,
however, that there has been an actual downward movement in most of
them, for the places
of submergence are not exposed points where apparent sinking might be
due to recedence of
the shore line. Moreover, the dead tree roots are in some places
bathed in salt water.
It should be stated that all the areas of submergence are in
unconsolidated deposits, most
of them in the gravel foreland, and that in a few of them the
submergence might be due to a
settling of these uncemented strata during the severe shaking.
Unconsolidated deposits may
also have shifted on the sea bottom because of these shocks; and the
violent whirlpools described
on page 79 may be due to this cause.
Nevertheless, we feel certain that in most of these places downward
movement of the
earth's crust has occurred l-(a) because these places are in narrow
belts close to and on the
downthrown sides of known fault zones (Pl. XIV, p. 30) ; (6) because
the trees are erect, except
where undermined and overturned by waves, and are in some places not
quite dead, still
retaining their needles; and (c) because trees elsewhere equally close
to the shore and in equally
unconsolidated gravels, but away from fault lines, show no evidence of
submergence.
COASTS SHOWING SLIGHT OR NO MOVEMENT.
In the 50 miles or more of the coast of Yakutat Bay and its branches
where little or no
change of level occurred there was some difficulty in determining the
conditions. An uplift
or a depression of a foot or less would naturally leave faint evidence.
Where we found no dead barnacles, no raised beaches, benches, or
deltas, and no vegetation
killed by the encroachment of waves or gravel, we concluded that there
had been no change
of level. Such conditions were found along almost the whole west coast
of outer Yakutat
Bay, from Kwik River to the Black Glacier; along most of the east
coast of outer Yakutat
Bay and the islands near the foreland; along parts of lower Russell
Fiord within the mountains;
and on the shores of a part of the head of the bay within the foreland.
The north side of Xunatak Fiord seemed to have undergone no change of
level, but about
the other shore, we could not be so certain. The first mile from the
Nunatak Glacier front had
been uncovered since 1899, as photographs made from exactly the same
spot in 1899 and 1905
prove. Here, of course, we found not only no evidence of change of
level but no rocky shore
bench at present sea level and little mirine life. Westward for the
succeeding la miles we saw
living barnacles, mussels, etc., but no dead barnacles or other marine
forms, though in the
upper edge of the sea-weed zone the plants were bleached or crisped in
1905, as if deprived of
their normal allowance of salt water by slight uplift. We saw such a
condition nowhere else,
but it is not absolutely certain that these plants would not be
revived at the next spring tide.
If uplift produced this condition it amounted to not more than a foot.
The next 2 or 3 miles
of coast has a rock bench, apparently too high for present wave work
but not too high to be
the work of iceberg waves when the Nunatak Glacier extended farther
down the fiord, as we
know it did not many years ago. In this stretch of coast a few dead
barnacles were seen, but
there were also living barnacles at equal heights above present sea level. '
These conditions have been described fully because they are
characteristic of the coasts
of slight or no movement. In this particular place a slight uplift may
have produced the
seemingly discordant rock bench upon which some of the upper barnacles
had persisted for
six years, with an occasional splash of salt water, while other
barnacles had died. This assumption
is supported by the fact that in several other places we found areas
of dead barnacles,
killed by uplift, among which one or two individuals were still living
a foot or more above
reach of the highest tide. On the map (Pl. XIV), however, we have not
indicated any change
of level. The map, in fact, errs if at all on the side of
conservatism, for it does not indicate
uplift or depression except where we found conclusive proof of it.
1 The statement by F. de Montessus de Ballore (Les tremblements de
tsrre, p. 414) in reference to these earthquaka, that the report of
the
sinking of one part of the coast "merits little credence," is
doubtless based on an exaggerated newspaper account seen by him, for
the book was
published Jan. 15,19013, and our description of the facts proving
sinking of the land was not published till May 25 of the same year.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE Xlll
A. BEACH ENCROACHING ON FOREST NEAR SOUTHWEST POINT
OF KNIGHT ISLAND.
Depressed about 5feet Beach grass growing among trees. Photographed
in summer of 1905.
8. PLANTS NEAR HEAD OF RUSSELL FIORD KILLED BY
ENCROACHMENT OF THE SEA.
Depressed 5 feet. Photographed in summer of 1905.
C., ANOTHER VIEW OF BEACH ON KNIGHT ISLAND SHOWN IN A.
Photo~raphedin summer of 1905.

CHANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899.
MEASUREMENT OF CHANGES OF LEVEL.
The figures showing the amount of emergence or submergence in various
parts of the
Yakutat Bay region are based on careful determinations made during the
summer of 1905.
We estimate that over two-thirds of the 150 miles of coast was either
uplifted or depressed.
Every part of the coast, except a few miles between Hubbard and Turner
glaciers, was examined
carefully by walking along it or traveling close to shore in a light
Native American Eskimo canoe and landing
frequently. Over a hundred close measurements of the amount of change
of level were made.
In measuring uplifts, wherever possible, the vertical distance between
the highest living
barnacle and the highest dead barnacle attached to the rock was
measured with a Locks hand
level and a graduated rod, a few of the greater elevations being
checked by barometer readings.
All the measurements were carefully leveled, for we never depended on
barometer determinations
alone. This method was as accurate as any other we could have employed
with the time
and the instruments at aur disposal. The error can not be great, for
the dead barnacles were
nearly everywhere present on the rocky coasts which make up the
greater part of the uplifted
strands. Moreover, they were so abundant that the places for
measurements could be carefully
selected, many of the determinations recorded being checked by one or
two additional
measurements in the same locality.
Barnacles, mussels, and Bryozoa were clinging to the rock in 1909, but
not so many as in
1905, when the measurements were made. This evidence of uplift will
not be preserved long.
The determinations of amount of uplift may be accepted as minimum
measurements for
several reasons. In many places the highest living barnacle was living
among dozens of dead
ones, apparently having survived several inches above the zone of
abundant live barnacles
for the six years since the uplift, because it was sturdier than its
fellows or was so located that
the salt water splashed it occasionally when the tide was high. In
picking out the highest
dead barnacle we often saw above it, in the angles of the rock, loose
barnacles fallen from place,
or the circular mark left by the calcareous body of a higher dead
barnacle which had fallen away.
We never measured higher than the highest dead barnacle attached to
the rock, although often
practically certain that barnacles had formerly grown at a slightly
higher level. The correc-
~ tion of this error on both ends might add 6 to 12 inches to some of
the uplifts recorded.
Fully four-fifths of the determinations were based on the method of
measuring from the
highest living to the highest dead barnacle; where it was necessary to
use other criteria,
barnacles were in most places near by, on one side or the other, to
check the determination.
Mussels and other marine forms were used in a few places.
On the raised beaches we made a few vertical measurements between
parallel lines of
driftwood. Two or three measurements were also made between the lower
limit of land plants
on the raised beaches or deltas and the lowest old bushes and shrubs
above, the younger and
lower vegetation being nowhere over 5 years old, while the older
bushes were 20 years oId
or more. These measurements may involve an error of a foot or two.
Most of these measurements checked satisfactorily with adjacent
barnacle measurements,
but along the 4 miles of uplifted coast south of the Turner Glacier,
where we found the greatest
uplifts in the region, there were absolutely no living barnacles or
any other marine forms
clinging to tbe rocks at present sea level, though abundant dead
barnacles were present on
the raised beaches and uplifted rock headlands. Accordingly along this
coast we measured
between the high-tide mark of present sea level and the top of the
zone of abundant dead
barnacles, which was assumed to be close to former high-tide mark on
the raised strand. If
there was any error at all worth considering in these measurements the
uplift along this coast - was surely greater rather than less than the
amount recorded, for at the front of many of the
elevated beaches and deltas there are vertical cliffs as high as the
uplift recorded.
For the submerged shore lines it was difficult to get close
determinations of the amount
of sinking. The best we could do was to measure the vertical distance
between the base of
the lowest dead tree in place and the base of the highest tree or
shrub which had been killed
'or was being killed by the deposition of gravel and sand about it.
3 0 EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF CHANGBS OF LEVEL.
Taken as a whole, the foreland and the neighboring islands may be
considered as a region
of no change of level, though it contains small areas of slight
depression, usually toc slight for
quantitative measurement. On the west side of Yakutat Bay, from a
locality opposite Point
Latouche to the Kwik Delta, the shore line was studied carefully, but
no change in level could
be detected. On the southeast side of the bay near the mountains, both
on Knight Island
and on the mainland, the changes of level, though very irregular, on
the whole show uplift.
The elevated areas extend but a short distance from the mountain base,
and the same
is true at the head of Russell Fiord. On these four subparallel coasts
(both sides of'
Yakutat Bay and of Russell Fiord) there is a change from an upraised
to a depressed, or
stationary coast within a short distance-within a few hundred yards
southeast of Knight
Island and on the southeast shore of the head of Russell Fiord, and
within a mile on the
other two shores.
The longest stretch of the foreland coast that we studied lies between
Knight Island and
Yakutat. Here, both on the shores of the foreland and in the maze of
channels between the
islands, the usual condition is that of mature forest coming down to
the very water's edge and
therefore forming an excellent register of change of level. Along most
of this coast there has
evidently been no change whatever, but at two or three points there
has been a very slight
uplift, and at a number of places a slight depression, especially
among the small islands. There
is also evidence of older change of level in two or three places but
notably on the northeast end
of Krutoi Island, where there is a recent uplift of 3 feet and back of
it a beach and wave-cut
bluff of much older date carrying a mature forest. This older uplift
was between 5 and 10 feet.
At and near Yakutat and in the slough east of Ocean Cape there is no
definite evidence of
change of level. Whether the partial submergence of the cemetery on
Khantaak Island is
evidence of depression or was merely due to the sliding of
unconsolidated deposits at the time of
the earthquake waves was not definitely determined; but just west of
this cemetery, on the ocean
shore of the island, the forest is encroached upon by present waves,
suggesting a depression of
about 7 feet. This encroachment might be regarded as the result of
wave work alone if the
shore affected were not directly in line between an area of depression
on the peninsula near
Ocean Cape and another at the north end of Khantaak Island (Pl. XV, B).
CHANGES ALONG THE MOUNTAINOUS EAST COAST OF YAKUTAT BAY.
The waves sweep in from the open Pacific with so much force along the
mountainous east
coast of the bay that the new strand is fast cutting back into and
destroying the uplifted shore.
Nevertheless the evidence of recent change of level is very clear even
here, but the amount
varies greatly from place to place. Near Knight Island, both on the
island and on the mainland,
the uplift ranges from 5 to 123 feet and there are marked variations
in short distances. Along
the coast north of Knight Island, to a point within 4 or 5 miles of
Point Latouche, the general
condition is that of either no change of level or else depression; but
where the coast turns
eastward, both near Knight Island and near Point Latouche, uplifted
shores begin abruptly,
reaching a maximum height of 123 feet.
Along most of the straight stretch of coast between these uplifted
parts there is a gravel
forelmd forming a narrow strip between the mountains and the sea. In
one part, however,
just north of Logan Beach, the mountains come down to the water, and
h'ere, for a short distance,
there is a recently elevated shore line 15 feet above present sea
level; it descends abruptly
toward the north, and disappears within less than half a mile. Back of
it is an older, sprucecovered
upraised beach (p. 42), which also descends northward but is traceable
for more than
2 miles. As shown in a later section, these diverse phenomena are
believed to be related to a
fault line close by the mountain base. ,

CHANGES IN SHORE LINES IN 1899. 31
CHANGES IN DISENCHANTMENT B4Y
At Point Latouche the uplifted shores are 11 to 12 feet above present
sea level; but they
decline perceptibly northward and for most of the distance between
Point Latouche and Haenke
Island are between 7 and 8 feet above the sea. At Haenke Island,
however, the shore lines were
raised 17 to 19 feet, and a similar pronounced uplift also appears
abruptly on the peninsula
northeast of Haenke Island, extends thence nearly to the tip of the
peninsula, and then as
abruptly declines, so that near Osier Island no evidence whatever
remains of any change of level.
At the tip of the peninsula a spit, submerged at high tide, connected
Osier Island with the
mainland in 1905, exactly as Gilbert states-that it did in 1899.
Within a mile, at the tip of
the peninsula, there is a change from no uplift on and near Osier
Island to 17 feet 1 inch just
southwest of it. It is near this region of pronounced uplift that the
new reefs to the north of
Haenke Island were uplifted.
On the west shore of Disenchantment Bay the first rock cliff south of
Turner Glacier,
less than half a mile from the ice front, shows an uplift of 33 feet
11 inches; and within If miles
from that point this remarkable uplifted shore line, the most perfect
as well as the highest in
the region, attains an elevation of 47 feet 4 inches. Just below
Bancas Point the elevation is
42 feet; south of that, on the alluvial fan of the Black Glacier
stream, it rapidly descends. No
accurate quantitative measurements were possible in this region of
alluvial-fan deposits, but
the uplift evidently extends across the Black Glacier alluvial fan, on
the north side of which it is
estimate& to be about 30 feet, and on the south side, a little over a
quarter of a mile away, 9
feet. The Black Glacier stream, which Russell's photographs show
flowing on the surface of
this fan in 1890, was, in 1905, entrenched in a steep-sided, gorgelike
valley from 10 to 15 feet in
depth. South of this locality no evidence of uplift was found, but on
the coast of the alluvial fan
of the Galiano Glacier stream, 13 miles southwest, there is indication
of a slight subsidence.
Beyond that, as far as Kwik River, no evidence was found to indicate
any change of level.
From these facts it is evident that the shores of Disenchantment Bay
have been greatly
uplifted and differentially deformed. Although the differences in
amount of uplift occur
within short distances here, as in other parts of the fiord, they are
not traceable to a single sharp
break, but are apparently the result of decided change taking place in
a narrow zone.
It would be interesting to know what effect the 33-foot uplift had on
the shattered and
crevassed front of Turner Glacier, for there is evidence of elevation
of the coast up to the very
edge of the ice (Pl. V, Dl p. 18). Gilbert suggests that the front of
this glacier is floating, and
if this is true the uplift would have been more destructive than if
the ice rested on the bed of the
fiord. We were unable to determine what effect the uplift had; but it
is worthy of note that the
form of the ice front has been materially changed since Gilbert
photographed it in 1899.
CHANGES IN THE NORTHWEST ARM OF RUSSELL FIORD.
The northeast shore of Russell Fiord, from Hubbard Glacier to Nunatak
Fiord, shows a uniform
uplift of considerable amount. Although satisfactory conditions for
accurate measurement
were not usually present on the friable slate ledges and extensive
beaches which constitute this
shore; four good quantitative observations were made. One of them, on
the beach, gave 7
feet 7 inches; the other three, made by comparison of barnacles on the
rocks, gave measurements
of 7 feet 1 inch, 7 feet 6 inches, and 9 feet. Along this coast an
older elevated beach,
covered with mature plants, was discovered (p. 43).
d. On the southwest shore of the fiord, although the rocks are very
favorable for the preservation
of barnacles, we nowhere found evidence, either of a physiographic or
a biologic nature, of
more than 2 feet of uplift. On most of this coast the evidence was
wholly negative, but at four
points we found dead barnacles on a slightly elevated bench, from 1
foot to 1 foot 10 inches
above the higbGt living barnacles. At Cape Enchantment a slight uplift
has raised the bar
that connects the tip of the cape with the mainland, so that the tide
now covers it only at the .
1Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, Glaciers, p. 69.
3 2 EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
very highest stages, if at all. The evidence thus shows that' there is
a marked difference in
the amount of uplift on the two sides of this narrow, straight stretch
of Russell Fiord-from 7
to 9 feet on one side and not over 2 feet on the other side.
CHANGES IN NUNATAK FIORD.
Conditions on the southern shore of Nunatak Fiord have already been
describccl (p. 28),
and it has been stated that although there is no clear proof of change
in level, there is a possibility
of an uplift of a foot or less. The northern shore of the fiord
likewise gave no proof of change of
level; but on the beaches and deltas of this shore-a slight uplift
might easily be indistinguishable.
The difficulty of recognizing an elevated shore line in this part of
the fiord is increased
by the fact that the recession of Nunatak Glacier has been so recent
that vegetation has not
yet advanced far up the fiord, and this aid to the detection of
uplifted beaches is therefore
absent. However, the fact that no evidence of change of level could be
discovered in this
fiord is believed to demonstrate that if any change occurred it was very slight.
CHANGES IN THE SOUTH ARM OF RUSSELL FIORD.
At Cape Enchantment there is evidently an uplift of less than 2 feet,
and several miles south
of this, opposite Seal Bay, one of 3 feet 3 inches. Between these
points a number of slightly
elevated beaches and deltas occur. On the east side of the fiord,
however, although a slight
aplift-a foot or two-is shown by a low bench just above high-tide
level north of Seal Bay,
and a greater uplift by elevated deltas at the entrance to Seal Bay,
we could get no definite
measurement until we reached a point 2 or 3 miles south of Seal Bay.
At this point the wavecut
bench rises abruptly and on it we found dead barnacles 4 feet 10
inches above the highest
living ones. South of Shelter Cove the bench slowly rises, reaching an
elevation of 9 or 10 feet
on the west side and 7 or 8 feet on the east side of the fiord.
At the very head of the inlet, in the fist-shaped area in the foreland
just outside the mountain
front, there is a change on both sides of the bay, within a very short
distance, from an uplift of
7 feet 4 inches to a submergence.
MAP SHOWING QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS.
The facts stated in the preceding paragraphs in regard to the
geographic distribution of
changes of level are shown in greater detail on Plate XIV, on which
most of the quantitative
measurements that we made are given in feet and inches.
A. SUBMERGED COAST ON EAST SHORE OF KHANTAAK ISLAND.
Trees killed by salt water. Photographed in summer of 1909 by 0. D. von Engeln.
B. FOREST ON NORTH END OF KHANTAAK ISLAND KILLED BY SUBMERGENCE OF LAND IN 1899.
Trees knocked down by waves. Photographed in summer of 1909 by 0. D, von Engeln.

CHAPTER 111.
FAULTING.
ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE OF FAULTING AT DISTANT POINTS.
Our observations led to the conclusion that here, in a nonvolcanic
region, the land is
still rising. Moreover, there is definite evidence that earlier
changes of level preceded that of
1899. The widespread effects of the movements of 1899, as indicated by
the earthquake
observations a$ many places within a 250-mile radius and at even more
distant points,
led us to look for reports of changesin shore lines at other places
where shocks were reported.
We were able to make hasty observations in 1905 at Dundas Bay, near
the entrance to Glacier
Bay, and at Juneau and Sitka, where we found no change of level.
It was thought probable that in Glacier Bay, over 140 miles southeast
of Yakutat, where
the Muir Glacier suffered so greatly from the 1899 shocks, a change of
level of the shore lines
might be found, ed-en though we had ourselves established a point of
no movement at Dundas
Bay. During the summer of 1906, however, F. E. and C. W. Wright, of
the United States
Geological Survey, made a careful study of the Glacier Bay region and
although they were
looking especially for change of level of the shore lines, they found
no decisive evidence of it,*
nor did they fhd any at Lituya Bay, between Cross Sound and Yakutat
Bay. Near Cape
Spencer, however, they did fmd evidence of recent submergence,l trees
being lowered below
high-tide mark.
'At the mouth of Alsek River, 70 miles southeast of Disenchantment
Bay, Eliot Blackwelder
and A. G. Maddren, of the United States Geological Survey, in 1906
failed to fkd any
changes in the level of the Dry Bay shore lines, though they looked
for them specifically.
At Cape Yakataga, 100 miles west of Yakutat Bay, there is evidence of
a possible change
of level in connection with the earthquake of September 3, 1899. (See
p. 71.) Mr. S. E.
Doverspike, who was at Yakataga during the shocks, makes the following
statement2 in
response to an inquiry as to the effects of the earthquake: "Beach
raised about 3'feet, noticed
by landing place on Yakataga reef; noticed by tide not raising high
enough to get over reef."
His evidence is independently corroborated by Capt. Ben Durkee,
commanding the schooner
BeZZingham, which was anchored off the beach at Yakataga during the
earthquake of September
3, who says: '(Tide set out from shore and schooner sailed out at end
of anchor chains, tide
running probably 3 to 4 miles per hour. Tide slow about returning and
about one-half proper
height according to tide table. Tide returned quietly. Weather perfectly calm."
It seems quite possible that a slight uplift of this shore line in
connection with the earthquake
may have resulted in an apparently ebbing tide, the failure to rise
again not giving the
depth at anchorage and the covering of reef previously known. A vessel
at anchor during such
an uplift would be exactly in a position to prove this. It is hoped
that when Yakataga is next
visited by scientific observers, it may be determined whether there
are raised beaches, barnacles,
or other evidences, as in Yakutat Bay, to confirm this reported uplift.
In 1904 the junior author, as a member of a United States Geological
Survey party, made
many shore traverses at Kayak and Wingham islands and at Katalla, on
Controller Bay,
170 miles northwest of Yakutat, and found no.evidence of changes of
level. He was not then,
however, especially on the outlook for such evidence, but in 1906 G.
C. Martin, of the United
States Geological Survey, examined the coast here with this idea in
mind and found no evidence
of such changes.
1 Wright, F. E., letter, Sept. 16, 1908.
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908. This circular was a printed
inquiry sent out by the authors in 1907-8. See pp. 6244.
' 47275'-NO. 69-12----3 33
34 EARTHQUAKE NO. 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
At Cape Whitshed, near the Copper River delta, H. P. Ritter found in
1899 that there
were no changes of level of the land during and after the Earthquake No. 333.
In 1904 the junior author made extensive examinations on the coast of
Port Valdez, and
on Kenai Peninsula near Seward, Seldovia, and Homer, as well as on the
Alaska Peninsula in
and west of Cook Inlet as far as Unga, in the Shumagin Islands,
without finding evidence of
recent changes of level at any point northwest of Yakutat within the
area of the sensible earthquake
shocks in 1899. There are older uplifts on the Alaska Peninsula, however.
From these observations, made immediately southeast and northwest of
Yakutat, it appears
that changes of level of the coast, with possible exceptions at Cape
Spencer and at Yakataga,
were confined to Yakutat Bay and its branches. It does not follow, of
course, that faulting did
not take place in the mountains back of this coast, though in the
absence of proof of such faulting
it can not be assumed to have occurred. It is our hypothesis,
therefore, that the Earthquake # 333,
especially that of September 10, were generated by complex faulting
which was central in the
Yakutat Bay region, but the extent of which along the mountain ranges
to the northwest and
southeast can not at present be told. Owing to the unreliability of
many accounts of the earthquake
effects, and the difficulty of collecting even this evidence at so
late a day, it seems hardly
rob able that the full extent of the faulting will ever be definitely
known, unless, by future
advance of the glaciers, its limits are defined.
INFERRED FAULT LINES IN YAKUTAT BAY.
In the region of our detailed studies the uplift was clearly
differential and the movements
complex, resulting in a distinct deformation of the coast line and the
bordering land,
The exact nature of all these differential movements is not certain,
though some conclusions
regarding them seem well founded. The inferred faults along which
there was movement in
1899 are shown on Plate XIV.
MOUNTAIN-FRONT FAULT.
That there is a narrow zone just outside of the mountain base in which
uplift is replaced
either by depression or by no change of level is clearly shown at four
points along a general line
(A, on P1. XIV); and along this line the variations in uplift are
numerous and abrupt even
within short distances.
At the head of Russell Fiord this zone of change from uplift to
depression coincides with a
change in geologic structure, granitic and other bedrock being found
on the side toward the
mountains and glacial gravels with no bedrock on the other side. These
conditions suggest the
presence of a fault line near the mountain base. If such a line is
projected it passes exactly
through three of the areas where uplift is abruptly replaced by either
depression or no change
of level, but it would need to be bent slightly to reach the fourth,
at the head of Yakutat Bay
on the west side. From this evidence a fault line is inferred along
the face of the mountains,
but just outside their base, from the head of Russell Fiord to Knight
Island, at least.
As stated in a later section (p. 44), additional reason for suspecting
an older fault here is
found in the topography-a straight mountain front with truncated spurs
reaching out to
nearly the same line. Along this line, northeast of Knight Island,
there is also an unusual
abundance of avalanche tracks. Moreover, the amount of uplift along
this line varies greatly,
as it naturally would along a fault whose downthrown side was dragged
upward and which was
not a single break but a complex of parallel fractures, as seems to
have been the case in this
region, where the change across the fault line is not one abrupt scarp
but occupies a zone of
some width. The amount of variation in uplift along this line is shown
on Plate XIV. At the
head of Russell Fiord there is mainly depression of varying amounts,
with one small locality
where there was uplift. At Knight Island there was tilting, the side
toward the mainland
rising and that away from it sinking. A small island just east of
Knight Island was tilted
in the same direction, and on the mainland maxked variations occur in
the level of the uplifted
shore.
FAULTING. 35
In harmony with the interpretation placed upon the ?acts in this
region is the appearance
of the four small islands in Eleanor Cove east of Knight Island, just
where the inferred fault is
believed to pass; the longer axes of these islands are parallel to the
fault line. We do not place
this fault line entirely outside of the zone of uplift, because it is
believed that some of the
upraised coast near and on Knight Island is due to updrag on the
downthrown side.
The statement of Ensign Miller that trees were destroyed on the east
and west sides of
Miller Lake is interesting, as the fault line determined by us on
entirely independent evidence
passes exactly through this lake.
While it may not have direct bearing on the question as to whether
faults A and B (PI. XIV)
are one curved fault, it is nevertheless of interest to note that the
westward extension ol this
mountain-front fault line (A) would carry it past the south base of
Amphitheater Knob and
along the line between the coal-bearing beds and the rocks of the
Yakutnt group, which are
evidently separated by a profound fault of older date. Fault R,
however, reaches this coast
farther east, between Galiano and Black glaciers.
FAULT ALONG EAST SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY.
As indicated in the section on fault-block mountains (pp. 44-45),
there is clear evidence of
a fault line along the mountainous east shore of Yakutat Bay (B onP1.
XIV). lIere the mountain
front is straight and steep and has spurs truncated by triangular
facets along a fairly straight line.
The mountain face is scarred by numerous avalanches, and in 1899 the
shores at its base were
washed by the most destructive earthquake tsunami recorded in the
region. For much more
than half its length this shore shows no elevated strands; but they
begin where the coast bends
away from the straight line, on both the north and the south ends.
Near the middle, where the
mountain slopes come down close to the sea, there is an upraised
ancient beach and, parallel
to it, an uplift belonging to the 1899 series. Along this coast, as
along the inferred mountainfront
fault, there are abrupt and complex changes in level from point to
point (fig. 2, p. 42).
We are able to suggest no other explanation for the phenomena recorded
here than that
of a fault close to the mountain base, uplifting the solid rock of the
mountains but not raising
all the gravel forelands which skirt most of this straight coast.
Behind the broadest part of the
narrow gravel foreland, c~Lt ogan Beach, there is a valley between the
foreland and the mountains,
which is easy to understand as a result of former faulting but
difficult of explanation in any
other way. That the earthquake shocks of 1899 were violent here is
proved by the fact that a
gold miner's log cabin on the gravel bluff above Logan Beach was
partly demolished, unroofed,
and thrown partly off its foundation:
We are not absolutely certain whether to correlate this fault (B) with
the one inferred
farther southeast along the mountain front (A), which it intersects at
a low angle, or to consider
it a separate and distinct fault. It is a notable fact that this
east-shore fault line, if extended,
would strike the west side of the head of Pakutat Bay exactly at the
point where the great
uplift south of Turner Glacier so rapidly dies out. G. K. Gilbert
points out that few if any
faults as long as the combination of A and B (more than 30 miles) are
straighter than A-B
considered as one.
POSSIBLE MINOR FAULTS SOUTHWEST OF KNIGHT ISLAND.
Two minor faults (F and H on P1. XIT') possibly exist in the
archipelago between Knight
Island and Yakutat. The evidence is not convincing and consists
chiefly in the rather remarkable
linear arrangement of uplifted and depressed areas in the midst of a
region which, in general,
shows no sign of change in level. The fact that in two or three of
these areas earlier changes
of level are recorded by older uplifted beaches, and that similar
shore lines were not discovered
elsewhere in the foreland and associated islands, corroborates this
evidence, and leads us, with
some doubt, to infer two fault lines along the axes of these islands.
1 Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., vol. 21, 1901, p. 384. Miller says: "On
thenorthern shore is a mountain about 2,500 feet high, and the eastern
and
western shores are covered with dead spruce and hemlock, caused, it is
said, by a subsidence due to an earthquake in September, 1899."
3 6 EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
G. K. Gilbert has suggested that the changes here are due to the
shaking of the unconsolidated
deposits of the Yakutat foreland an& are thus a supdcial result of the
earthquake rather
than a consequence of faulting. This explanation, however, seems
doubtful to us chiefly because
of the linear arrangement of the depressions and uplifts, because of
the nonoccurrence of such
disturbances except at this single series of localities, and because
of associated older elevated
beaches.
FAULT ALONG MOUNTAIN FRONT WEST OF YAKUTAT BAY.
Observations by the senior author in 1906 indicate that there was a
zone of faulting extending
from a point near the head of Yakutat Bay westward along the face of
the Floral Hills just
west of Lucia Glacier. This inference is based on the fact that both
Lucia Stream and upper
Kwik River are engaged in cutting away their alluvial-fan deposits at
the point where these
torrents emerge upon the flat that faces the mountain f r o n t t h e
Kwik on emerging from the
Malaspina Glacier and Lucia Stream on emerging from a rock-walled
gorge. Each of these
streams is forming a series of terraces, the most perfect being along
Lucia Stream (PI. XVI, A).
The uppermost of the series of recently formed terraces on Lucia
Stream supported a scattered
growth of plants from five to six years old, showing that the terrace
was abandoned by the fanbuilding
stream at least as long ago as 1899 and probably not before. The
stream had trenched
these gravels to a depth of about 20 feet since the abandonment of the
upper terrace.
Uplift here seems very probable, but we have no evidence as to the
exact location or direction
of the fault line. An inferred fault line, drawn on the map (G on P1.
XIV), is made to pass
from the lower Lucia Stream terraces eastward, along the line
separating the Yakutat group
from the Tertiary rocks, to the point where the uplift on the west
side of Disenchantment Bay
dies out. Such a fault line would account for all the facts observed
and would explain the
abrupt decrease in elevation on the Black Glacier alluvial fan.
Aggradation by glacial streams
may have obliterated all other traces of such a line of faulting.
FAULTING ALONG DISENCHANTMENT BAY.
The great uplift (reaching over 47 feet) on the west shore of
Disenchantment Bay, the
lesser but still great uplift (17 to 19 feet) on Haenke Island and on
the shore of the peninsula
north of it, and the moderate uplift (7 to 9 feet) along most of the
east shore of Disenchantment
Bay seem to demand at least two lines of faulting. One of these (Con
P1. XIV) is inferred to
extend between Haenke Island and the west shore and one (D on P1. XIV)
between Haenke
Island and the east shore. We have considered the hypothesis of
warping or of parallel step
faulting similar to that near the Nunatak Glacier, but on the whole
the hypothesis of two faults
is the simplest explanation of the dislocations observed. No evidence
of these inferred faults
was discovered other than the remarkable differences in uplift within
short distances and the
fact that the new reefs north of Haenke Island lie exactly along the
line of fault C. The steep
descent of the elevated shore line, from 17 feet just north of Haenke
Island to the point where
there is no change of level, at the end of the peninsula near Osier
Island, is believed to be related
in part to the fault line along the northwest arm of Russell Fiord
next to be described. G. K.
Gilbert has suggested that structural changes may have been even more
complex in the region
of the faults C and D. He suspects compound warping with incidental
minor faulting.
FAULT IN NORTHWEST ARM OF RUSSELL FIORD.
It is elsewhere shown that the geologic structure indicates the
existence of an older line
of faulting along the straight reach of Russell Fiord-(p. 14); that an
uplifted beach of older
date exists on the northeast shore, whereas none was discovered on the
southwest shore
(p. 43); and that the uplift of 1899 raised the northeast shore from 7
to 9 feet and the southwest
shore nowhere more than 1 foot 10 inches and in most places not at all
(pp. 31-32). These
facts all point clearly to a fault line (Eon PI. XIV) along the axis
of this part of the fiord.
Nunatak Fiord furnishes no proof of change of level, though the
nunatak at its head is
broken by numerous minor faults (p. 37).
U. 5. QEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XVI
I I
.a. TERRACE FORMED BY LUClA STREAM.
Assigned to uplift in 1899. Malaspina Glacier in background. Photographed in
summer of 1906.
I:. PARALLEL MINOR FAULTS, 2 TO 10 FEET APART, ON NUNATAK AT
HEAD OF NUNATAK FIORD.
Photographed in summer of 1905.

FAULTING. 37
SOUTHERN ARM OF RUSSELL FIORD.
From a region of very slight uplift near Cape Enchantment and of
probable slight uplift
on the opposite shore there is a rise in the elevated shore line on
both sides of the south arm
of Russell Fiord to a maximum of 10 feet near the head of the fiord.
Within a short distance
this uplift is abruptly replaced by depression on the foreland, along
the line of the inferred
mountain-front fault (A) already described (p. 34). Near the area of
depression lie an ancient
submerged forest (p. 41), found by Russell in 1890, and the adjacent
buried forests which we
discovered in 1905.
There is no evidence of faulting along the axis of the southern arm of
Russell Fiord and no
proof of an earlier uplift. The varying changes of level observed are
readily explained by broad
warping and adjustment of the large tilted fault block in which this
part of the fiord lies.
MINOR FAULTING AND SHATTERING.
In addition to the major lines of inferred faulting, the approximate
positions of which have
just been stated, a minor shattering of the crust, referred to in
earlier sections, is indicated at
several widely scattered points. None of these places are along the
lines of inferred major
faults, but all such minor faults observed appear to be due to an
adjustment of the strains set up
in the large tilted blocks-adjustment not by broad warping nor by
movement along minute
planes but by minor shattering. We are convinced that careful search
would show this phenomenon
of minor faulting to be more common than our scattered discoveries indicate. Its
nature may be inferred from the following description of specific localities.
MINOR FAULTING NEAR NUNATAK GLACIER.
The best visible faults observed in the Yakutat Bay region in 1905 and
1906 are on the rock
hill between the tidal and nontidal tongues of Nunatak Glacier. This
hill is 1,450 feet high
and is composed of steeply dipping gneisses, schists, and slates, with
a general northwesterly
strike parallel to the main axis of the St. Elias Range.
Of the two summits of this hill (a former nunatak) the lower, or
southern, was found to be
broken by a series of very perfect parallel faults (Pl. XVI, B) whose
scarps divide the hilltop
and side into a series of parallel steps and treads with a trend of N. 40" W.
There are scores of these faults, most of them along the bedding or
schistosity planes of
the rock, the number along any transverse line varying from 20 to 40.
Their longitudinal
extent ranges from only a few feet to several hundred yards. The
scarps, which are usually
vertical, are of different heights-some an inch or less, some 3 or 4
inches (Pl. XVII, A), some
a few feet (Pl. XVII, B), and one nearly 8 feet. The average is a foot
or less. The height of
these scarps seems to indicate the amount of throw of the faults,
although, as shown in a subsequent
section, if the hade was not strictly vertical the movement may in
some places have been
greater than the height of the vertical step or scarp indicates.
Most of these faults are parallel, but a few of the smaller ones
diverge at a low angle and
some short cross faults trend at right angles to the main faults which
they connect. At the
surface there is little crushing or gaping along fault lines, though
some fissures were seen, the
largest being about 3 feet wide and 9 feet deep. In one or two places
a graben block (PI.
XVII, C) had dropped down between parallel faults, the narrowest being
about 3 feet \vide
and the widest fully 30 feet.
The faulting seems to have crossed part of Nunatak Glacier, close to
which some of the
scarps were traced; but if the surface of the glacier was broken in
1899 it had melted down to
a smooth surface again by 1905.
There is no very conclusive way of dating this faulting as having
surely taken place during
the 1899 Earthquake # 333, though glacial striae extending up to the
very edges of the scarps but
not over them prove that the faulting occurred since the ice uncovered
this nunatak, not many
decades ago. The same conclusion is indicated by the displaced veneer
of glacial till over
some of the faults (Pl. XVII, A). The sharp angles at the edges of the
scarps (Pl. XVII, B)
3 8 EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
and the smallness or absence of talus slopes at their base (PI. XVII,
D) also suggest that the
faulting is very recent, for weathering goes on rapidly in this region
of abundant precipitation
and sharp variations of heat and cold. They could hardly have been
exposed for more
than six years, and in view of the clear evidence of changes of level
only six years before in
association with profound faulting, these faults are assigned with
some confidence to the period
of the Earthquake # 333 of September, 1899. The explicit assignment of
these faults to a single
date (September 15) by I?. de Montessus de Ballore, the distinguished
French seismologist,l is
probably an error, although he gives this date at two points in the
text and beneath an illustration
made from one of our photographs of faults near Nunatak Glacier. We do not feel
justified in assigning these faults to any single date, although it
seems possible that they were
formed on or soon after September 10.
when we revisited these faults on the nunatak in 1909 and 1910 we were
impressed by
the increase in the weathering of the fault scarps and by the talus
accumulation since our first
visit, in 1905. Some of the faults were much altered, and tiny talus
slopes completely mantled
others, furnishing convincing evidence that none of the faults could
have existed for more
than six years before 1905. These faults, like many other
physiographic evidences of earthquakes,
are being fast obliterated by the elements.
The following section was measured by B. S. Butler and 0. D. von
Engeln under the direction
of the senior author in 1906. Most of the faults (26) have the upthrow
on the southwest
side, the three exceptions being of rather large amount (Pl. XVII, D).
The total upthrow
to the southwest is 30+ feet and the total upthrow to the northeast is
12 feet, leaving a total
absolute displacement of 183 feet. The section was measured across the
strike of the faults
from northeast to southwest in feet and tenths. This section would
vary from place to place,
the absolute displacement being possibly greater in mcst places than
here, where the large
southwest upthrows subtracted so much.
Faults on the numtak.
[A complete cross section along one line.]
mNOR FAULT MOVEMENT P&RHAPs NOT VERTICAL BUT OBLIQOE.
An interesting possibility in connection with the minor faulting
observed on the nunatak
has to do with the direction of movement along the fault planes. It is
thought possible that
this movement was not vertical but oblique; and the field relations
make some such view as
this almost necessary. The junior author has discussed this
hypothesi~,w~h ich concerns the
minor faults only, especially those upon the rock hill near Nunatak
Glacier-the displacements
that have just been described.
The rocks concerned are of unequal elasticity, because of their
differences in composition,
size, attitude, etc., and they form a part of a larger fault block
which was jostled and tilted
during the changes of level in adjacent parts of Russell Fiord and the
neighboring region. When
the larger block was tilted by the faulting at its edges, a strain was
set up within it and equilibrium
could be restored only by minor adjustments. These adjustments would
probably not
result in any surface changes in some rocks, like the granites which
form part of the shores of
Nunatak Fiord; and equilibrium in the adjacent bodies of gneiss and
conglomerate might also
be restored by slipping along minute planes, thus adding or
subtracting strain from the adjacent
rigid or y i e l w rock units of the larger block. Slate and schist,
however, because of their
well-developed cleavage planes (Pl. XVII, D), would be more
susceptible to visible surface
adjustment; and it seems significant that surface faulting waj limited
to the area of slates and
schists. The steep inclination of these beds lends itself to relief by
upward movement even if
the strain applied was vertical or oblique.
This theory involves no necessity for uplift, and as corroborative
evidence it may be stated
that no change of the land level was discovered along the coast of
this faulted nunatak, although
not far from the coast the step faults along one line show a total
absolute displacement of 18+
feet. We came to the conclusion that there might have been an uplift
of a foot or less along
the shore line just to the west, and that on the shores of the nunatak
itself there was probably
none.
The horizontal movement in the faulting that accompanied the
California earthquake of
1906 shows that this is a possible state of affairs, as F. L. Ransome
and others who have
recently discussed the nomenclature of faults have demonstrated.
On the nunatak oblique rather than vertical or horizontal movement
seems necessitated by
the topographic conditions and the distribution of the fault scarps.
The hill has been broken
into long, narrow strips, traversing its top and only one side. If
there were vertical movement
along the fault planes there is no apparent reason why both slopes of
the hill should not be
faulted alike, and no reason why an 183-foot uplift on the seacoast of
the hill should not accompany
the 184-foot displacement which successive step faulting has made on its slopes.
If there were horizontal movement only, then both slopes of the hill
should be faulted and
the opposite aides should exhibit an opposite distribution of
upthrows; that is, the hill is
conceived of as broken into northeasbsouthwest strips, the smooth
slope being disjointed by
the southeastward movement of each strip with respect to its northeast
neighbor (Pls. XVI, B,
p. 36; XVII, A, p. 38). We should then have a series of seemingly
normal faults on one side of
the hill with apparent upthrow on the southwest side, so that one
going downhill would constantly
go up steps. This is what we do find, though there are a few apparent
upthrows on the
northeast side, where a strip seems to have slipped in the wrong
direction, as well as cross faults
where the long, narrow strips are broken across.
On the other side of the hill, however, we do not find the opposite
distribution of upthrows;
we do not go down steps as we go downhill. If this were the case
horizontal movement would
be demonstrated. Instead of this the opposite slope of the hill is
smooth and unfaulted, except
for a few scarps which extend just over the crest (PI. XVII, B).
Consequently horizontal
movement also seems impossible.
It is therefore necessary to consider (a) vertical uplift or
subsidence of a large block, withu
differential movement along the layers, or (b) oblique movement
parallel to the unfaulted slope
of the hill. The former theory might explain the existing conditions,
the faults dying out
within short distances because of readjustments and tilting, if it
were not for the lack of change
of level along the shores of the fiord just here. That differential
strains should have been so
naturally balanced as to cause a total displacement of 183 feet on the
hill without a change of
level of the coast in this one locality in the whole fiord does not
seem reasonable.
1 See p. 28, where the bleached and crisped seaweeds that were found
here are discussed.
2 The California earthquake of April 18, 1906: Report of the State
Earthquake Investigation Commission. Published by the Carnegie
Institution
of Washington, vol. 1,1908, vol. 2, 1910. Gilbert, G. K., The Sari
Francisw earthquake md fire: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 324,1907,
pp. 4-5.
8 Econ. Geology, vol. 1,1906, pp. 777-781.
40 EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
The theory of oblique faulting at a low angle subparallel to the
unfaulted hill slope (fig. 1)
has none of these objections. The low angle of emergence would not
necessarily involve an
appreciable change of level of the land on the seacoast. It would
account; for the unfaulted
hill slope, for the escarpments extending up
to and just over the crest of the hill, and for
the distribution of steps, or scarps, on the
faulted slope, where the strips moved in the
relation to each other already outlined. This
suggests that a vertical scarp along a fault
plane does not always demonstrate vertical
movement. --
mamE 1.-Diagram illustrating oblique faulting, with movement parallel
to the hill slope on the right, producing scarps on the opposite side
Since writing this discussion in 1907 the
and dong the crest. such movement would result in essentielly no
junior author revisited the region and*made
change of levd in a shore line on the right. (From Martin, Lawrence,
Econ. aeo~ogyV, OI. 3,1907, fig. 65, p. 79.) a further examination of
these faults to see .
what facts support or disprove the hypothesis
of oblique movement. It was hoped that the faulted surfaces might
preserve slickensides
that would show the direction of, movement conclusively, but
weathering had gone so far in
1909 that this could not be determined. The facts observed in the
field, however, seem to
support the hypothesis of oblique movement as outlined.
POSSIBLE MINOR FAULTING NEAR RUSSELL FIORD.
In the valley of McCarty Glacier, just south of Cape Enchantment, in
southern Russell
Fiord, a series of fractures was observed in a heavy conglomerate, but
these fractures may have
been due to sapping near the edge of a cliff recently steepened by ice
erosion. The relation of
of such faulting or sapping to avalanches is discussed in another
place (p. 51). On the
nunatak just described there is no possibility that the scarps
observed are due to sapping
rather than faulting, and it is not altogether probable even in the
McCarty Valley.
OTHER AREAS OF MINOR FAULTS.
In several other widely scattered areas minor recent faults were
observed in 1905, though
nowhere in such profusion or perfection as in the area near Nunatak
Glacier. No major fault
scarps were seen, the faults occasioning the greater changes of level
nowhere extending to the
surface where studied and most of them following older fault lines
beneath the waters of the
deep fiord. Minor surface faulting was seen on many of the mountain
slopes traversed in 1905
where such evidence would be preserved.
On the southwest slopes of Mount Tebenkof recent faults strike N. 50'
W. and N. 65' W.
On the ridge east of Point Latouche, 1,900 feet above sea level,
faults strike N. 85" W. Several
in a moraine have a throw of 3 feet, but some of the scarps are only a
few inches high. These
faults can not possibly be due to sapping or landslides, for thej
cross a valley and extend up
the middle of a broad ridge where there are no steep slopes within
several hundred yards. On
the nunatak in Lucia Glacier and on the spur south of Floral Pass, on
the west side of Floral
Hills, similar faults were observed. On Haenke Island and the mainland
opposite there
was a suggestion of surface faults, but it was inconclusive and may
have been due to fissuring
long before 1899.
FOLDING VERSUS FAULTING.
Both in the field and since our return weahave attempted to interpret
the phenomena of
deformation here described by a theory of folding or warping, but
without success. Opposed
to the hypothesis of folding are four significant facts, which seem to
eliminate it. In the first
place, the lines of deformation extend in too many directions. In the
second place, the zones
of gradation between areas of different degrees of deformation are
exceedingly narrow and
the intervening areas of uplift are very broad; warping, if present,
would necessarily be Very
FAULTING.
complicated. In the third place, the minor faulting proves actual
dislocation in parts of the
region. Finally, profound faulting is proved by the series of severe
earthquakes and their
destructive avalanches and tsunamis.
NATURE OF THE DEFORMATION.
Briefly summarizing the conclusions which the facts seem to warrant,
we find that in
1899 there was a renewal of mountain growth, uplifting that part of
the mountain front which
borders the Yakutat Baj inlet by amounts ranging from 7 to 10 feet on
the southeast side of
the bay and 40 to 47 feet on the northwest side. This uplift all
occurred within a little less
than four weeks, the major movement probably taking place in a single
day (September 10)
and possibly in connection with a single faulting movementthltt which
caused the last heavy
shock on that day. This uplift was complicated by movement along
secondary fault lines
which produced at least three and perhaps more distinct major blocks
with roughly parallel
sides. as follows: (a) The area between fault lines A, B, C, and E
(PI. XIV), including all the
peninsula and a part of the mountains east of the south arm of Russell
Fiord, to an unknown
distance toward the southeast; (6) a block west of fault line (7,
extending westward an unknpwn
distance from the west shore of Disenchantment Bay and bounded toward
the south by the
mountain-front fault (G); (c) a block extending for an unknown
distance northeastward from
the northeast shore of the northwest arm of Russell Fiord. The first
and, so far as our evidence
shows, the largest of these blocks--that including the peninsula-is
apparently tilted upward
toward the south and west.
Accompanying this faulting was a minor fracturing, apparently due to
local adjustments
in the tilted blocks. Doubtless this minor fracturing was much more
widespread than our
observations indicate, for it was discovered in more than half of our
expeditions into the interior,
whenever we went out of the valleys away from the seacoast. Moreover,
it would be
expected as a common result of the sudden movement of a great block of
the earth's crust composed
at the surface of tilted beds, many of which were t*hin bedded and
fissile. It is highly
probable that some of the differences in the amount of uplift in
contiguous areas are due to
such minor differential adjustment.
From such great and complex crustal movements as are so clearly proved
in this region,
it is easy to understand the earthquake phenomena observed. That such
movements should
produce world-shaking earthquakes follows almost of necessity;' and
that the number of
minor shocks should be numbered by the hundreds is likewise a
necessary result of so complex
a shattering of the earth's crust. While it is possible that some of
the shaking had its source
outside of the Yakutat Bay region, the phenomena in that region seem
by themselves amply
sufficient to account for it all.
OLDER CHANGES OF LEVEL.
That the fault movements of 1899 were merely the latest of a series is
clearly indicated
by bhe facts observed in our field studies. There are two distinct
features that give evidence
of older changes of level in the Yakutat Bay i n l e t t h e submerged
forests and the older elevated
beaches.
SUBMERGED FORESTS.
. One of the submerged forests was discovered in 1891 by Ru~sel lw,~ho
briefly describes the
occurrence as follows:
A fragment of the history of the region at the head of Disenchantment
Bay is recorded in the buried forest just
below the level of high tide, at the head of a cove southwest of Cape
Stoss. The heavy deposits of gravel in which the
beach lines about the head of the bay have been excavated are more
recent than this forest.
1 Milne says of these shocks (in a communication signed J. M., in
Nature, vol. 75,1907, p. 224): "We do not Jmom the magnitude of the
masses
involved, but from measurements like those made by Messrs. Tan and
Martin we may estimate them as being represented by one or two million
cubic miles of rocky material."
2 Second expedition to Mount St. Elks: Thirteenth Ann. Rept. U. 8.
Geol. Survey, pt. 2,1893, p. 89.
8 Head of Russell Fiord according to more recent usage.
4 2 EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
OLD FOREST-COVERED BEACH
AND GRAVEL BLUFF
VALLEY BETWEEN MOUNTAIN
6-6'=l nferred fault
On our visit we found buried forests at four points in the region
mentioned by Russell.
There are hundreds of trees in place, some fully 2 to 3 feet in
diameter and all broken off near
their roots. In addition there were some recumbent logs and others
embedded in the overlying
gravels. The roots of the trees were in a clay, in some places more
than 3 feet below
normal high tide. We could not determine whether these forests
antedate the expansion of
glaciers, as a result of which the Yakutat foreland was formed, or
whether they are of later
date, growing on the margin of the fiord and being destroyed by the
relatively recent formation
of the glacially dammed lake under whose gravels they are now partly
buried. In any event
these trees, below high-tide level, demonstrate a subsidence of this
region at no very remote
period.
A second locality in which a submerged forest occurs is at the north
end of Logan Beach.
Here, in an area of several hundred square yards, there are fully 50
upright tree stumps (Pl.
XVIII, ,4), the lowest one visible being about
10 feet below the high-tide mark. Back of this
locality a forest-covered gravel bluff rises to a
height of about 100 feet, the stumps of the
old forest extending almost up to its base.
Although it is not absolutely certain, the evidence
indicates that this forest is even now being
uncovered by the removal of the gravels.
The trees are far too numerous and too upright
for their presence to be explained by downsliding
from the crest of the neighboring gravel
terrace. The nature of the soil in which these
trees grew was not ascertained, but the abundance
of great bowlders found in close association
with them suggests that they were growing on
a morainic surfdce when they were buried by
the gravels. =
OLDER ELEVATED BEACHES.
Older elevated beaches were found at three
points in the inlet. One of these is on the northeast
or lee side of Krutoi Island. Here, back
of the storm beach and of a still higher beach
uplifted in 1899, there is a narrow terrace of
beach gravels, backed by an old wave-cut bluff
whose base is 8 or 10 feet above present sea
level. Spruce trees more than a century old are
FrGuBE 2.Sketch map of east coast of Yakutat Bay, illustrating the
now growing on both the older beach gravels and
eonditionsasxiated with the inferred fault line along this coast. the
bluff. This older elevated beach is close
( ~ m m~ a r r ,R . s., and arti in, Lawrence, Bull. Geol. 800. by one
of our inferred fault lines and is associated America, vol. 17, 1906,
p. 53.) with a beach uplifted in 1899 in a part of the bay
where there was in general little or no change of level.
The second ancient elevated beach is just north of Logan Beach, north
of the submerged
forest mentioned above and also along one of our inferred fault lines.
(See fig. 2.) Logan
Beach itself lies outside of the fault line, on the downthrown side of
the fault, and shows no
evidence of change of level except that furnished by the older
submerged forest described.
Immediately north of Logan Beach, however, there was an uplift of
about 15 feet in 1899, and
just back of this lies the older elevated beach. At its south end this
older elevated beach starts
in a wave-cut rock cliff of ancient date, at an elevation of about 5
feet above the beach uplifted
in 1899, or 20 feet above present sea level. The upraised beach of
1899 extends northward
about half a mile, rapidly decreasing in elevation from 15 feet to the
point where it dies out.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XVlll
A. STUMPS OF OLDER SUBMERGED FOREST AT LOGAN BEACH, EAST
SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY.
Photographed at midtide in summer of 1905.
B. TRUNCATED SPURS OF MOUNTAIN FRONT, RISING ABOVE YAKUTAT FORELAND.
Looking southeastward An inferredolder fault line passes alongthe base
of the escarpment, which
is followed also by fault line A of 1899. Miller Lake and head of
Russell Fiord in background.
Photographed in summer of 1905 from an elevation of 1,590 feet.

FAULTING. 4 3
The older beach also descends northward, having at a distance of half
a mile an elevation of
15 feet above the present storm beach crest, then descending toward
the north, and disappearing
about 2% miles from the rock cliff in which it starts. Throiighout
most of this distance the elevated
beach is backed by a steep, forest-covered, wave-cut gravel bluff. The
earthquake wave
generated in 1899 swept the forest from a part of this older elevated
beach and wave-cut bluff.
(See PI. XIX, A.) The broken trees are all mature,
and in one of them we were able to count 75 rings,
proving the ancient elevated beach to be at least 75
Id wave-cut cliff years old.
A third ancient elevated beach was seen in the
northwest arm of Russell Fiord, nearly opposite Marble
Point. Here an old wave-cut cliff in the slate rock
7--- rises from 20 to 40 feet above a narrow gravel terrace - --
FIGURE~ . - ~ TOsSeSct ion of northeastern part of Russell
(fig. 3). Both the gravel h'race and the rock bluff are Fiord opposite
Marble Point, illustrating the twoupcovered
by a dense mature plant thicket with bushes lifts recorded there.
(From Tarr, R. s , and Martin,
Lawrence, Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 17, 1906, p. 52.) apparently
as old as those on the hill slope above the
bluff, which are estimated to be not less than 25 years of age. An
uplift of about 7 feet took
place on this coast in 1899, but the older uplift was not more than
half as great. A number of
other possible ancient sea cliffs of varied character were found, but
none that we felt certain
enough about to assign definitely to this origin.
EARLIER FAULTING.
Besides the evidence of former movements of the mountains in the
Yakutat Bay region
furnished by the older elevated beaches and the submerged forests,
there is clear evidence of
former fault movement in the relation of the strata themselves. This
has been briefly stated
in a previous section (p. 14), and is more fully treated by Tarr and
Butler in their general discussion
of the physiography and geology of the Yakutat regi0n.l Innumerable
faults are visible
in the outcrops; and at least two grand faults separate the different
rock systems-one between
the Yakutat group and the younger Tertiary beds along the mountain
front west of Yakutat
Bay, and the other between the Yakutat group and the older crystalline
rocks along the axis
of the northwest arm of Russell Fiord.
The presence of these fault lines, the evidence of the topography, and
the existence of proof
of former changes of level show clearly that the mountains of the
Yakutat Bay region, whose
trend is approximately parallel to that of the older faults (along
some of which there was renewed
movement in 1899), owe at least a part of their present form and
elevation to faulting. The
incompleteness of the evidence of profound recent faulting, prior to
1899, is doubtless due to the
fact that glaciers have so recently occupied a large part of the
region. Bearing on this general
question of the formation of the mountains and furnishing far more
specific and extensive proof
of their present growth by movement along fault lines is the evidence
furnished by the shore
lines which were deformed in September, 1899, as already described.
TOPOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE OF FAULTING.
THE FIORDS.
That the fault movements of 1899 may be a part of an important process
by which the main
lineaments of topography in this region were developed is evident.
(Pls. I, p. 12; XIV, p. 30.)
'The straight mountain front, the straight mountainous east shore of
Yakutat Bay, and the
straight northwest arm of Russell Fiord all bear evidence of faulting
during this most recent
period of uplift; and the evidence seems to demand the presence of two
fault lines within Disenchantment
Bay. How far this process of faulting can be applied in explanation of
the initial
outlining of the fiords is not certain from any facts we could gather,
but of one thing we are
certain: In spite of the parallelism of the fault lines to several
reaches of the fiord, and in spite
I Tan; R. S., and Butler, B. S., Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No.
64, 1909, pp. 163-164.
44 EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
of their possible importance in initially determining the main
lineaments of the major valleys,
the present depth and form of the fiords are assignable not to
faulting but to glacial erosion, as
has been demonstrated e1sewhere.l
FAULT-BLOCK XOUNTAINS.
The evidence of profound faulting in the rocks of the Yakutat Bay
region is most ~triking.~
In places the beds are literally crushed and kneaded; a score of minor
faults may appear in a
single small outcrop of the sandstones, shales, etc., of the Yakutat
group, the older and younger
formations being less faulted in detail.
THE MOUNTAIN FRONT.
Russell assigned to faulting a very important part in the evolution of
the topography of
the region. He called attention to the fact that the mountain front,
which rises above the
Yakutat foreland and above the plateau of Malaspina Glacier, consists
of a series of steeply
rising truncated mountain spurs (Pl. XVIII, B) possessing remarkable
alignment, which he
explained as a gigantic fault scarp, the gravels of the foreland
having accumulated on the
depressed orographic block. He further stated that there had been
movement along this fault
line in very recent time, basing his conclusion on a prominent gravel
terrace near Knight Island
(which, however, we interpret as a moraine terrace, although agreeing
with his conclusion on
other eviderice) .
An alternate hypothesis to account for these truncated mountain spurs
is that they were
worn away by marine erosion during the period antedating the deposit
of the coastal-plain
. gravels of the Yakutat foreland, giving rise to enormous sea cliffs
rising fully 1,500 feet.
It is an important question whether faulting or marine erosion has
been most potent in shaping
the scarp of the mountain front. As seen from Cape Stoss and elsewhere
at the head of Russell
Fiord, in the summer of 1905, a certain mountain spur to the southeast
(see P1. XXII, p. 54)
presented a strikingly level top, with abrupt front and back scarps,
suggesting the possibility
of wave-planed benches and sea cliffs. Eliot Bla~kwelder,w~h o visited
the region in 1906,
presents some facts in support of the hypothesis that the upper bench,
with the scarp at its
back, is a wave-cut terrace and is part of a larger system of terraces
traced eastward along the
coast. The lower scarp he is inclined to interpret as a sea cliff
associated with the wave-planed
rock bench of the gravel-covered foreland, assigning to the whole
mountain face southeast of
Russell Fiord an origin by marine erosion rather than by faulting.
Both views as to the origin of this mountain face might possibly be
brought into harmony
by supposing the upper, possibly wave-planed bench southeast of
Russell Fiord, with its sea
cliff, to be the correlative of the low-lying, planated bedrock
headlands outside of the mountain
base near the head of Russell Fiord, between Cape Stoss and the
fault,line, beyond which rock
in place was not found. Low-lying outcrops of this same date are also
seen in the foreland to
the southeast; but none occur on the shores of Yakutat Bay, to the
west of the Russell Fiord
outcrops. The lower scarp southeast of Russell Fiord may be a fault
scarp, like that between
Russell Fiord and Yakutat Bay extending northwestward to Point
Latouche, differential faulting
having located these wave-cut surfaces at far different levels at the
present time. Faulting is
regarded as of far greater recent topographic significance here than
in the glaciated fiords, as
already stated.
Although we are able to contribute little to the discussion of these
rival hypotheses, such
facts as we discovered support Russell's explanation rather than the
theory of marine erosion.
A depression of a part of the foreland prior to 1899 is clearly
indicated by the presence of sub-
-
I TW, R. S., and Martin, Lawrence, Bull. Am. Geog. Soc., vol. 38,
1906, pp. 158.160. Tarr, R. S., and Butler, B. S., Prof. Paper.U. S.
GeoL
Survey No. 64, 1909, pp. 107-119. Tarr, R. S., Glacial erosion in
Alaska: Pop. Sci. Monthly, vol. 70,1907, pp. 99-119.
2 Tmr, R. S., and Butler, B. S., Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No.
64, 1909, pp. 145-164.
3 Nat. Geog. Nag., vol. 3,1891, p. 57.
4 Oral communication.
FAULTING. 4 5
merged iorests beneath the gravels at the head of Russell Fiord (p.
41) Moreover, during the
changes of level in 1899 the land was in places depressed on the
foreland side and raised on the
mountain side of Russell's supposed fault line; and one of the fault
lines which we infer from
our study of the 1899 changes of level coincides closely with that
postulated by Russell.
EAST SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY.
Russell also assigns to faulting the similar topographic features of
the steep mountain
face of the peninsula that forms the east side of Yakutat Bay north of
the foreland. This, he
says,' "bears evidence of being the upheaved side of a fault of quite
recent origin. The steep
inclination and shattered condition of the rocks along this line are
evidently due to the crushing
which accompanied the displacement." The conditions here are closely
like those existing
where the mountain front rises above the foreland; but at this
locality the hypothesis of marine
erosion seems even less applicable. Some of these cliffs rise to
heights of 1,500 feet, with the
spur ends cut off in triangular facets and the intermediate valleys
hanging. A part and possibly
most of this topography may be explained by glacial erosion quite as
well as by faulting; but
it is noteworthy that one of our inferred 1899 fault lines runs at the
very base of these cliffs
and, further, that there is definite evidence of a recent uplift along
this line antedating that
of 1899 (p. 42).
REGION WEST OF YAKUTAT BAY.
Russell points out that the geologic structure west of Yakutat Bay is
more complex, with
long mountain spurs projecting into the ice plateau. To the topography
of this region also he
assigns fault origin as a major factor. Besides great faults extending
northwest and southeast
along the mountain front, he infers several cross faults. Some of the
evidence oh which
~ u s i e lals sumes faulting here, especially that for the cross
faults, would harmonize better with
the interpretation of erosion; and it is quite probable that had he
studied this region with
the present-day views concerning glacial phenomena, he would in some
instances have applied
this explanation rather than faulting.
Russell also states that the southern face of Mount St. Elias is a
fault scarp, and from his
study of the bedrock geology he infers that the St. Elias Range is
young, having apparently
been formed since the close of the Tertiary period. He believes that
the breaking and upheaval
of the rocks are so recent "that erosion has scarcely modified the
forms which the mountains
had at their birth. The formation of glaciers followed the elevation
of the region so quickly
that there was no opportunity for streams to act. The ice drainage
[see P1. I, p. 121 is consequent
upon the geologic structure and has made but slight changes in the
topography due
to that structure."
Russell found rocks containing fossils of existing species of marine
animals like the mussel,
as well as leaves of modern plants like the willow, at Pinnacle Pass,
25 miles west of Yakutat
Bay, between Seward and Malaspina g1aciem3 These rocks are 5,000 feet
above sea level and
prove uplift of at least that amount in Pliocene or Pleistocene time. -
As >ur observations did not extend through the entire region studied
by Russell, we will
not discuss this phase of the question further than to state that the
evidence of marked faulting
in 1899 lends strong support to his interpretation. At the same time
we feel obliged to add
that, even with this support, we are hardly able to accept as final
his judgment as to the extreme
youthfulness of the St. Elias chain or to assign to faulting as great
importance as he did.'
1 Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. 3, 1991, p. 83.
1 Idem, pp. 131, 170-173, 19!+200.
8 Idem, pp. 174-175.
'1. V. Novarese, of the Royal Geological O5ee at Rome, ha8 recently
(Filippi, I?. de, The ascent of Mount St. Elias, Appendix E, pp.
232234), on a rather Incomplete basia of fact (reading Russell's
reports and examining the Bpedmen.9 brought home by the Duke of the
Abmzzi's
party), cast some doubt on Russell's explanation of the origin of
Mount St. Elias.
CHAPTER IV.
SURFICIAL EFFECTS OF THE SHOCK.
EARTRQUAKE TSUNAMIS.'
Descriptions of the tsunamis in Disenchantment Bay and at Yakutat village during
the earthquake of September 10, 1899, have already been given (pp. 16
and 35). The slight
tsunamis, none of them at all destructive, observed at greater
distances-in the fiord at
Valdez (p. SO), in Lynn Canal near Skagway (p. 74), on the Yukon (p.
81), on a branch of the
Kuskokwim (p. 741, and on the Koyukuk (p. 75), seem certainly to have
been caused by these
same earthquakes. The records (marigrams) of the automatic tidal gages
at San Francisco, Cal.,
and near the mouth of the Yukon at St. Michael, Alaska, show no
variations attributable to
seismic disturbances in September, 1899. There were no tidal gages
nearer Yakutat Bay, and
as there were practically no changes of level of the coast outside of
the Yakutat Bay region it
is not surprising that destructive tsunamis should not be reported elsewhere.
In 1905 we found clear evidence at several points in Yakutat Bay of
the destructive force
of the earthquake tsunamis, or tsunami. The effects were not
everywhere shown, because
the destructive waves were not everywhere generated and because the
amount of destruction
wrought depended on the nature of the coast. Rock coasts would
manifestly show no evidence
after a lapse of six years. Forested coasts might preserve clear
evidence; but little of the
coast of inner Yakutat Bay is forested, and not all of this was washed
by great waves. On the
shores of Knight Island and parts of the Yakutat foreland, for
instance, undisturbed forests
extend clear to the water's edge, contrasting strongly with the
adjacent littoral forest near
Logan Beach, where a devastating wave rushed high upon the shore.
The effects at Logan Beach are typical of the destructive action of
tsunami, to which the
name tidal waves is often erroneously applied. The beach and the zone
back of it were totally
wrecked by the waves (PI. XIX, B). The present beach is littered with
trunks and limbs of
trees; the elevated beach hoisted in 1899 is covered with similar
d6bris; and the older elevated
beach, on which mature trees were growing up to 1899, presents a wild,
almost impenetrable
tangle of uprooted, broken, twisted, and shattered trunks mingled with
leaning trees. All
vegetation was killed up to 40 feet vertically above sea level, and
the receding wave scattered
the debris along the lower stretches of coast in indescribable
confusion (Pl. XIX, A). The
violence of this wave is proved by the fact that it broke a sound tree
75 years of age.
It seems likely that preliminary shaking of the gravelly soil prepared
these trees for easy
overturning and uprooting by the tsunamis, as the stretch of coast
where the destruction was
greatest is almost exactly along a fault line.
On the west side of Yakutat Bay, near Disenchantment Bay, along a
fault line and just
west of the place where the shore line was uplifted 42 feet, the
tsunamis were also tremendously
destructive, rushing back at least a quarter of a mile, to a height of
30 feet vertically
above the present coast, and uprooting part of a cottonwood grove
along whose edges the dead
trunks are now piled in confusion.
Between this windrow of dead trunks and the present coast are many
mature willows
which were killed and had their branches and shoots bent southward,
toward the open ocean,
by the receding tsunami. The wave also eroded the bark and piled
driftwood at the base
and on the north side of a dead cottonwood tree, still standing
between the sea and the windrow
of dead trunks at the forest's edge, proving the latter not to be on
an uplifted shore line.
10. K. Gllbert has suggested that these be called by the Japanese name, tsunsml.
46
11. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XIX
A. FOREST ON EAST SHORE OF YAKUTAT BAY DESTROYED TO HEIGHT
OF 40 FEET ABOVE PRESENT SEA LEVEL BY EARTHQUAKE WATER
WAVE IN 1899.
View alongfault line 0. Photographed in summer of 1905.
B. ANOTHER VIEW OF WAVE-DESTROYED FOREST SHOWN IN A.
Avalanche scar visible on the mountain slope. Photographed in summer of 1905.

EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMIS. 47
At Cape Stoss, in southern Russell Fiord, a tsunami passed across the
sandy peninsula
which connects the rocky island with the mainland, leaving large
quantities of driftwood at
higher levels than the elevated beach and wrapping a tangle of
driftwood about a very large
bowlder several hundred yards from the beach.
Here and elsewhere the extensive beds of wild strawberries on the
sandy beaches were
destroyed by the earthquake waves; and in 1905 the Native American
Eskimos said that many of the beds had not
yet developed their former productivity.
Definite evidence of the passage of an earthquake tsunami was found in
1906 on Strawberry
Island, at the mouth of Kwik River. At this point there is a low
barrier beach against
which the waves now beat; back of it is a lagoon, on the inner $ide of
wbich, a quarter of a
mile from the present barrier beach, rises a narrow sand and gravel
bar. This bar, known as
Strawberry Island, is an old barrier beach, now abandoned because of
the seaward advance of
the coast. On it mature cottonwoods grow, and wrapped around their
bases, at an elevation
of about 15 feet, much driftwood was found, and stranded among them a
number of large
drifted logs. Evidently the earthquake wave swept over the present
barrier beach, across the
lagoon, and over the top of Strawberry Island, but not with sufficient
violence to throw down
the forest.
Between this point and the entrance to Disenchantment Bay much
driftwood lies far above
the reach of the highest waves of the present day. This we infer was
drifted in by the earthquake
wave. Elsewhere in the inlet less definite evidence of the recent
presence of a water
wave was found.
The entire Yakutat Bay inlet was thus swept by at least one great
earthquake tsunami.
That this wave rushed through the inlet on September 10, 1899, is
evident from the testimony
of the gold prospectors that during or immediabply after the most
violent shocks of that day there
were one or more waves in Disenchantment Bay, and of the residents at
Yakutat that pronounced
waves were observed in the harbor there at the same time. On both the
west and east sides of
Yakutat Bay (at the mouth of Kwik River, and just north of Logan
Beach), at the entrance
to Disenchantment Bay, and at Cape Stoss, near the head of Russell
Fiord, clear proof of the
occurrence of such a wave persists even to this day.
This wave evidently varied in height and in destructiveness, but the
observed facts are not
sufficient for a thorough discussion of the variations. It is clear,
however, that the wave
reached nearly three times as high on the east side of Yakutat Bay,
near Logan Beach, as on
the west side, at the mouth of Kwik River. It is also certain that,
while in the former place it
threw down a forest in wild confusion, in the latter it was incapable
of overthrowing cottonwood
trees rooted in beach sand and gravel. Furthermore, the wave that
destroyed the forest north
of Logan Beach was unable to throw down trees at Knight Island, 4 or 5
miles distant. d'
As to direction, the wave was certainly from the north at the entrance
to Disenchantment
Bay and at Cape Stoss. Elsewhere we have no evidence of its direction;
but all the facts
observed would harmonize with the hypothesis that it u-as generated in
Disenchantment Bay
and Russell Fiord, and, on moving out into the broadening inlet,
rapidly decreased in size and
vigor. Local conditions may have caused it to strike with especial
force on the coast north of
Logan Beach. Such a tsunami could hardly have come from the ocean
without making a
record on distant tide gages. Moreover, the cause for such a wave was
clearly present in the
inner portions of Yakutat Bay, where the land was upraised, and, so
far as we can tell from
the evidence obtained, was not present along the ocean coast.
A possible later consequence of these 1899 Earthquake # 333 is
referred to in the Juneau Record
for December 9, 1907, which says, in a description of the damage done
at Yakutat by a storm
on November 18, 1907:
Neither Indians nor whites had ever seen the ocean surge roll in on
Yakutat Harbor to the extent it did 011 that
day. On November 18 at high tide the swell beat in on the doorsteps of
the Indian houses, and the foundation of one
building was so damaged that the house will soon fall into the bay. *
* t The increase of the ocean swell on the
Yakutat Harbor year by year waa caused by the earthquake of 1899.
48 EARTHQUAKE.^ AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
This increase in the ocean swell is presumed to have been made
possible by the enlargement
of the harbor entrance, either through erosion by the earthquake
tsunamis or through a
slight sinking of the land on the point opposite Yakutat village
during the earthquakes of
1899.
SAND VENTS AND FURROWS.
Sand vents, or craterlets, and furrows such as are developed during
Earthquake # 333 in unconsolidated
materials are reported from the Yakutat Bay region.
At Ocean Cape, opposite Yakutat village, C. E. Hill examined a series
of these furrows on
September 11, 1899, the day after their formation, and made a rough
sketch map of them. An
area of about 10 acres was traversed at about 4-foot intervals by
great furrows, which he thinks
may originally have been 20 feet deep and 5 feet wide, but which had
caved before he saw
them, leaving them only 4 or 5 feet deep.
The gold prospectors report the formation of jagged cracks near their
camp in Disenchantment
Bay during the several shocks on September 10. This camp was on a
gravel outwash plain.
Hans Hansen states that in a journey eastward from Yakutat, in 1900,
he saw, on Blacksand
Island, near Situk River, a crack in the ground about 10 inches wide
on top and 18
inches deep, running north and south for about 400 feet. He also
noticed smaller cracks,
running in the same direction, about 10 miles west of Dry Bay.
Evidently these are similar
to the furrows described by Mr. Hill. . Similar furrows are also said
to have been formed in
incoherent sand flats in the Lynn Canal region, which is more than 150
miles southeast of
Yakutat Bay.
Near Ocean Cape, opposite Yakutat village, Mr. Hill also observed what
were apparently
sand vents. He describes holes 4 or 5 feet in depth, around which the
sand was scattered 6
inches deep over several acres. These he ascribes to waterspouts,
though it seems more likely
that these craterlets were true sand vents. R. W. Beasley has stated
that during the severe
shock at noon on September 10 "craters were caused that threw out
water and sand.''
The writers did not visit the site of these sand vents, not knowing of
Mr. Hill's observations
at the time (1905), but it seems improbable that such evanescent forms
would have been
preserved for six years. On numerous other plains of unconsolidated
sand and gravel in and
about Yakutat Bay, where furrows and craterlets may have been formed
during the Man-Made Earthquake # 333,
none were left in 1905 or 1906. In each place, however, any such forms
would have been speedily
destroyed by wave action on beaches or by aggradation on glacial
outwash plains. For instance,
at the time of our visit the streams from the eastern margin of
Hubbard Glacier and from
Variegated Glacier had healed the jagged cracks which the gold
prospectors describe (p. 16) as
having been formed during the heavy shock on September 10, 1899, on
the outwash plain near
their camp in Disenchantment Bay.
EARTHQUAKE AVALANCHES.
All vigorous earthquakes affecting mountainous regions are accompanied
by avalanches of
rock or snow, or both. Naturally a region shaken again and again by
shocks of great magnitude
would be expected to furnish abundant evidence of such avalanches.
Because of the remarkable
after-effects of the avalanches thrown down by the Man-Made Earthquake
# 333 of 1899 in causing a spasmodic
advance of several glaciers, we have taken special pains to gather
information as to their extent.
In the following sections it is shown that the downfall of rock and
snow during the fist half of
September, 1899, was enormous in amount and spread over a wide area.
IN AND NEAR YAKUTAT BAY.
Avalanche tracks are far more abundant in the Yakutat Bay region than
in any part of the
thousand-mile mountainous "inside passage" from Seattle to Sitka. This
abundance is not due
to a steepness of slope greater than elsewhere in the coastal ranges
nor to any unusual condition
1 San Francisco Examiner, dispatch dated Seattle, Sept. 21, 1899, date
of clipping not fwabhd. Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
8 Sitka Alaskan, Sept. 16,1899. Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
EARTHQUAKE AVALANCHES. 4 9
of the rock that makes it specially prone to landslides. Rather
significantly the most abundant
avalanche tracks are near main fault lines-that is, along the mountain
front near Knight
Island, on the east side of outer Yakutat Bay, and thence northward
along the mountainous
face of the east side of Yakutat Bay to Point Latouche. Here we saw
the mountains scarred
by innumerable landslides, which had carried down thousands of trees
and tens of thousands or
perhaps millions of tons of rock. The Native American Eskimos state
that "the mountain face was here entirely
' changed in 1899." (See P1. XIX, B, p. 46.)
Within Disenchantment Bay, where fault lines are also close to steep
mountain slopes, there
are numerous avalanche tracks, but they do not show so clearly in this
locality because there is
. no forest here. On the west side of Yakutat Bay avalanches were
numerous, the track of one
through the forest on the south side of Amphitheater Knob, west of
Galiano Glacier, being very
striking. Farther west evidence of abundant avalanches was discovered
in 1906 all the way to
Blossom Island and up all the valleys that pierce the mountains.
A photograph of the Galiano Glacier taken by Russell in 1890 and
another from the same
site in 1905 show that in the interval numerous large hanging glaciers
and snow patches in the
cirque at the head and along the sides of Galiano Glacier had totally
disappeared. These are
believed to have fallen during the Man-Made Earthquake # 333 of 1899,
one of whose major fault lines runs
close to the mouth of the Galiano Valley.
Just east of this place two similar photographs of the Black Glacier,
taken in 1890 and in 1905,
show remarkable changes which could not possibly be ascribed to normal
weathering during this
brief period. Large patches that were covered by plant shrubs and by
grass in 1890 had totally
disappeared in 1905, bare rock taking their place. The mountain face
was so scarred and the
talus slopes so enlarged as to attract attention in 1905, the authors
marking the changes on
Russell's 1890 photograph while standing on the site from which it was taken.
It is worth noting that here, close to an inferred fault line and near
the place where a raised
beach 42 feet above tide gives place to no change of level, the
avalanches were very numerous,
though a mile or two away, where the coast was raised from 33 to 47
feet, but not along a fault
line, photographs prove that none of a series of hanging glaciers,
precariously poised' on the
mountain side 1,000 feet above sea level, were shaken down in 1899.
How delicately these
glaciers were poised, however, is proved by the falling of one of them
on July 4, 1905, just
24 hours after we had photographed it. There was no earthquake at the
time, but possibly
preparation for the final dislodgment of this glacier was made by the
earth shaking in 1899.
This fact sllows the difference in the effect of the disturbance at
different distances from the
actual fault lines.
The gold prospectors have told us of the abundant avalanches in
Disenchantment Bay during
and after the Man-Made Earthquake # 333 of September 10. They call
especial attention to them as one of the
appalling features accompanying the earthquake (pp. 16-17).
DISTANT AVALANCHES.
It is evident that the effect of the Man-Made Earthquake # 333 in
producing avalanches was widespread.
In the Yakutat Bay region itself a considerable development of
avalanches in the snow fields of
Variegated, Haenke, Galiano, Atrevida, and Marvine glaciers seems
essential to account for
. the pronounced advance of these glaciers (pp. 53-58). Photographic
proof of such avalanching
at the head of Galiano Glacier has just been referred to. In the
longer of these glaciers the
avalanching occurred among the mountains at a distance from Yakutat
Bay, and it is probable
that similar avalanches occurred among the still more distant sources
of other glaciers whose
fronts have not yet felt the impulse of the forward movement that has
caused the remarkable
.advance in the glaciers mentioned.
Many avalanches occurred far outside of the Yakutat Bay region,
notably in the region near
Yakataga and Kayak, in the Chugach Mountains, in the upper Copper
River valley, in the
Wrangell Mountains, near the headwaters of White River and the upper
Alsek, and in the
47275"-NO. 6 9 - 1 2 4
5 0 MAN-MADE EARTHQUAKE # 333 AT YAKUTAT BAY, -4LbSKA.
Birch Creek, Atlin, and Berners Bay-districts. The areas named below
are among those in
which notable avalanches occurred during the Man-Made Earthquake # 333
of September, 1899.
Capt. Durkee, whdse schooner was anchored off the coast at Yakataga,
states that '
during the earthquake of September 3 he "could plainly see the dust
from the breaking of
the tops of the mountains, beginning at Dry Bay [probably mouth of
Yahtse River], 40 miles
east, to Cape Suckling, 70 miles west, consuming from five to six
minutes, as near as I can
remember." This no doubt refers to the progressive fall of avalanches
of rock and snow along
the St. Elias Range, the east-to-west progression supporeing the idea
that Yakutat Bay was near
the center of disturbance rather than merely a point in a long linear
stretch of synchronous
disturbances.
Near Kayak, on Controller Bay, C. W. Chamberlin saw avalanches, with
great clouds of
dust, due to the earthquake shocks. In the Chugach Mountains Lieut.
Babcock heard eight,
muffled reports, like gunshots, after the earthquake on the morning of
September 3, and one
just before the light shock which he observed in the evening of the
same day. He also refers
to similar noises after the heavy shock of September 10. These are
interpreted as probably
caused by falling avalanches, due to the earth shaking. Mr. Rice heard
similar sounds in the
Copper River valley at the same time. .
Oscar Rohn reports that in the Wrangell Mountains "in the high
mountain country the
roaring and crashing of avalanches was an hourly occurrence. * * * We
very frequently saw
the avalanches rush down the mountain, and often saw the dust and snow
rising from them."
Mr. Rohn had not associated these avalanches with the Man-Made
Earthquake # 333 and was not on the north
side of the mountains before the Man-Made Earthquake # 333, so we do
not know surely whether avalanches
occurred there only during and after the Man-Made Earthquake # 333,
though that seems probable.
A. H. Brooks notes that the noises which a member of his party, Edward
Brown, heard
near the headwaters of Tanana and Nabesna rivers, some distance north
of Mr. Rohn's position,
were limited to August 27 and that none had been noted before, though
for six weeks they had
been traveling close to the snow ranges. These he attributes to an
earthquake before September
3. On September 3 he and his party heard similar noises on the upper
Tanana River
"resembling the sound of blasting." Several gold prospectors also
reported similar noises near the
headwaters of White River about August 27, describing the sounds as
"like a mountain splitting
in two." Avalanches might cause such sounds, and they may have been
started by preliminary
shocks not felt at Yakutat Bay itself.
At Dalton House, 90 miles east of Yakutat, the "heavy noises
resembling far-away explosions
or rumbling of thunder" were thought by Sergt. Aclandl to be "caused
by the shifting
of glaciers in the Alsek Valley." They may have been due to landslides
as well as glacier
snow avalanches. In the Birch Creek district, south of Fort Yukon and
about 430 miles
northwest of Yakutat Bay, an avalanche is said to' have been caused by
the earthquake of
September 10. Along the Yukon near the mouth of Nordenskiold River,
180 miles northeast
of Yakutat, J. J. McArthur heard " an irregular succession of
detonations like the booming of
cannon," probably due to avalanches in the mountains to the southwest.
These booming
noises were also heard near Five Fingers, on the Yukon. Distinct
rumblings were also heard
along Hootalinqua River, 200 miles northeast of Yakutat.
In the Atlin district, near Surprise Lake, British Columbia, John
Bimms saw what he
calls smoke coming from hitherto smokeless mountains during the week
of the heaviest Tesla’s “THREE”
(Sept. 3-10), and attributed it to a new volcano. As he did not visit
the supposedly
smoking mountain, seen by him from a distance, and as no volcano is
known to exist in
that district, it seems more likely that what he saw was the dust from
great avalanches, caused
by the Tesla’s “THREE”. In the Berners Bay district, 60 miles north of
Juneau, H. W. Mellen noted
that bowlders were started rolling down the mountain by the shocks on
September 10, 1899.
These accounts of what were apparently .avalanches during or
immediately preceding the
earthquake shocks give good basis for the belief that the expectable
thing happened-that
I Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
EFFECT OF THE TESLA’S “THREE” OX GLACIERS. 51
great landslides and snowslides resulted from the disturbance of
equilibrium over a wide area,
.as well as in the Yakutat Bay region itself, where abnormally great
numbers of recent avalanche
tracks still scar the mountain slopes.
That the vigorous fault movements accompanying earthquakes are of
peculiar importance
in causing erosion is patent in this connection. In the Yakutat Bay
region alone tens of
thousands of tons of rock were thrown down as avalanches and the
mountains were shattered
by secondary faults and by fissures, admitting the water into the
ground and, in favorable
places, making beginnings for landslides of the future. Even after six
years the work of the
avalanches is still clearly visible and their effects will continue
for years, probably increasing
the rate of erosion.
EFFECT OF THE TESLA’S “THREE” ON GLACIERS.
OLDER VARIATIONS IN GLACIERS.
Most of the Alaskan glaciers studied show distinct evidence of recent
recession. Recession
has been clearly proved by Reid and others for Muir Glacier; by
Russell, Gilbert, and the
authors for the Yakutat Bay glaciers; and by Gilbert and others for
glaciers in other parts of
Alaska. In the Yakutat Bay region the recession was in progress up to
1905,' there having
been pronounced retreat in the interval between Gilbert's studies
early in the summer of 1899
and ours in the summer of 1905 (PI. XXII, p. 54).
There is clear evidence in the Yakutat Bay region of at least two
periods of advance prior
to this period of recession. The earliest occurred centuries ago, when
the glaciers occupied the
entire inlet and built the foreland beyond the mountain face. A mature
forest now grows on
the deposits laid down by this early maximum advance. A much later
advance caused the
glaciers to again push far down into Disenchantment Bay, to fill
almost if not quite all of the
northwest arm of Russell Fiord, and to fill Nunatak Fiord and advance
up the south arm of
Russell Fiord more than halfway to its head. The evidence of this
advance is in the form of
overridden gravels; and its recency is attested by the immaturity of
the vegetation growing on
these gravels. The recession from this advance was still in progress
in 1905, not having yet
reached the limit of retreat that had been attained prior to the
advance, for some of the glaciers
,still rested on overridden gravels of earlier origin. The period
between the two advances was
long enough for forests to occupy the region over which the second
advance extended, for wood
fro^ trees of this interglacial time is incorporated in the debris
brought down by the second
advance. We have no record of other oscillations, though this is not
proof that there were no
others.
. An advance similar to that of the Yakutat Bay glaciers has been
shown by Reid and others
to hav~affectedM uir Glacier12a nd, so far as can be inferred from the
evidence, i t seems probably
to have been contemporaneous with that of the glaciers of Yakutat Bay.
There is no proof that either of the glacier advances referred to
bears any relation to former
periods of earthquake activity; but in the light of the remarkable
changes in tlie glaciers of the
Yakutat Bay region which resulted from the earthquake of 1899, it is
by no means improbable
that the second advance was related to the influence of earlier
earthquakes. The question as to
what effect Tesla’s “THREE” have on glaciers is a new one, and in view
of the fact that the Yakutat
Bay Tesla “THREE” earthquakes throw much light on this question the
evidence is presented with some fullness.
SHATTERING OF GLACIERS AND DISCHARGE OF ICEBERGS IN 1800.
Doubtless a11 the glaciers in the region most disturbed by the Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes suffered more
or less breaking which was accompanied by the discharge of icebergs
from tidal ice tongues.
There is first-hand evidence of such damage in the Wrangell
BTountains13 in the Disencliant-
1 See Tarr, R. S., and Martin, Lawrence, Glaciersand glaciation of
Yakutat Bay, Alaska: Bull. Am. Geog. Soc., rol. 38,1906, pp. 145-167;
I'osition
of Hubbard Glacier front in 1792 and 1796: Idem, vol. 39, 1907, pp.
129-136; Tarr, R. S., The yakutat Bay region, -\laka: Prof. Paper U.
S. Geol.
Survey No. 64,1909, pp. 35-89.
2 Reid, H. F., Studies of the Muir Glacier, Alaska: Nat. Geog. Mag.,
vol. 4,1892, pp. 19-84; Glacier Bay and its glaciers: Sixteenth Ann.
Rept.
U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2,1895, pp. 421-461.
Copper River Exploring Expedition, 1900 p. 123.
5 2 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
ment Bay district,' in the Lynn Canal region12 and in the Surprise
Lake district near Atlin,
British C~lumbia.~M uch ice was discharged into Lynn Canal,' Taku
Inletls and Disenchantment
Bay, to the temporary detriment of navigation. The steamship Rosalie
was damaged by
collision with the floating ice. The effects seem to have been
temporary only, and further
information concerning them is lacking, except that in 1905 Taku
Glacier appeared to be
recovering from the losses it sustained in 1899.
SHATTERING OF lWIR GLACIER.
In contrast with other glaciers those of Glacier Bay, especially the
popularly known Muir
Glacier, are reported to have suffered a more permanent loss. It has
been commonly believed
that the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes so shattered the front of Muir
Glacier that they indirectly caused notable
recession (PI. XX), and the icebergs have certainly so clogged the
inlet as to render it inaccessible
to steamships until 1907. Mr. Busclimann 7 has testified that this
condition began in
the fall of 1899, immediately after the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, the
floating ice interfering with his small
cannery steamers. The breaking of Muir Glacier and the increase of
icebergs is alluded to in
the newspapers of the time.8 H. F. Reid has called attention to these
phenomena, which had
been referred to in some of the early newspaper accounts already
cited. C. L. Andrews lo
and W. H. Case, who visited Glacier Bay in 1903, determined the
retreat of the ice front of
Muir Glacier as between 23 and 3 miles, and attributed it to the Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes of 1899. The
same cause was assigned by G. K. Gilbert," who visited the bay in the
summer of 1899, with
other members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition, and was the last
scientific observer to see
the glacier before the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. Gilbert l2 has also
inquired into the visits of steamers to
Glacier Bay in 1900, 1901, and 1902, and the floating ice which turned
them back, as observed
by 0. H. Tittmann, of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and
the commanders
'of several tourist steamers.
In the summer of 1906 F. E. and C. W. Wright, of the United States
Geological Survey,
visited and resurveyed the ice fronts of Glacier Bay, including Muir
Glacier itself, and have called
attention to the changes which had taken place in it since 1899.13
They believe that the great
recession of Muir and adjacent glaciers may not be solely the direct
result of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
but may be largely due to increased exposure to melting and iceberg
discharge, as a result
of the rapid retreat, by which the extent of ice cliff exposed to the
waves was greatly'increased
(from approximately 17,000 feet in 1892 to 40,000 feet in 1906).
In 1907 Glacier Bay was visited by Otto Klotz, of the Canadian
Boundary commissionleand
by Premont Morse, in charge of a United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey party, who mapped
the fronts of the tidal glaciers there from bench marks established by
the Canadian surveyors
who had mapped the Alaskan boundary region in 1894. Each of these men
published a brief
account of the changes.14 The maps by Netland, accompanying MorseXs
paper, show the retreat
of Muir, Grand Pacific, Johns Hopkins, and other glaciers between 1894
and 1907. In the
interval of 13 years the total retreat of Muir Glacier was 83 miles
and of the Grand Pacific 8
miles. (See P1. XX.) Klotz suggests the relation of this retreat to
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes; Morse definitely
correlates it with the earthquake of 1899 and contrasts the present
and the past condition
-
1 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 28,1899, reprinted in Weekly Times, Oct.
4,1899. Sitka Alaskan, Oct. 14, 1899.
1 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 21,1899, reprinted in Weekly Times, Sept.
27. Sen Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 22,1899. A clipping dated Sept. 21,
1899, paper and date not known.
a San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 5,1899.
4 Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Sept. 25,1899. Seattle Dqily Times,
Sept. 22,1899, reprinted in Weekly Times, Sept. 2i.
* Victoria Semi-Weekly Colonist, Oct. 12, 1899.
6 Jour. Geology, vol. 13,1905, p. 317.
7 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
8 Victoria Semi-Weekly Colonist, Oct. 2 and Oct. 12,1899.
@Variationosf glaciers: Jour. Geology, vol. 9, 190!, p. 253; vol. 10,
1902, p. 317; vol. 11, 1903, p. 276; vol. 12,1904, pp. 258-260.
10 Net. Geog. Mag., vol. 14,1903, pp. 441-444.
11 Idem, p. 445.
Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, Glaciers, pp. 23-25.
la Recent changes in the glaciers of Glacier Bay, Alaska; an abstract
of paper presented at winter meeting Geol. Soc. America, New York
City,
1906; summary in Jour. Geology, vol. 16,1908, pp. 52-53.
14 Klotz, Otto, Geog. Jour., vol. 30, 1907, pp. 419-411. Morse,
Fremont, Nat. Geog. Msg., vol. 19,1908, pp. 7678.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
I
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XX
0 5 I0 MILES
I t I I I I 1
0 5 10 KILOMETERS
1
0 5 10 MILES
I " ' " I
0 5 10 KILOMETERS
L a " " 1
MAPS SHOWING MUlR GLACIER IN 1899, 1903, AND 1907, AND GRAND PACIFIC
AND JOHNS HOPKINS
GLACIERS IN 1899 AND 1907.
After G. K. Gilbert, C. L. Andrews, and Fremont Morse.

EFFECT OF THE TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES ON GLACIERS. 53
of Muir Glacier in a way that will bring regret to many t.ravelers who
have known this great ice
tongue in the yem before the earthquake, as follows:
Formerly the bfuir presented a perpendicular front at least 200 feet
in height, from which huge bergs were detached
a t frequent intervals The sight and sound of these vast masses
falling from the cliff or s u d d e c l ~ap pearing from the
submarine ice foot was something which once witnessed was not to be
forgotten. I t was grand and impressive beyond
, description.
Unfortunately the recent changes in the Muir have not increased its
impressiveness from a sccnic standpoint.
Instead of the imposing cliff of ice, the front is sloping, and seems
to be far less active than formerly. Its shape is entirely
changed. I t is now divided into two branches formed by what were
formerly two "nunataks" in the body of the
glacier. The eastern arm discharges but little and appears to be
nearly dead. The front of the western arm is in the
shape of an elongated basin and, as above stated, slopes gently. It is
badly crevassed; a point of rock juts out at the
water's edge on the west side of the basin. This is apparently the
prolongation of a ridge which outcrops through the
ice field farther back and which will soon, if the glacier continues
to retreat at its present rate, make two arms of the
present western one. I t is from this western arm that the bulk of the
ice is now discharged.
Morse states that in 1907 the excursion boats were, for the first time
since 1899, able to
approach Muir Glacier closely, the Spokane, commanded by Capt. James
Carroll, getting within
a mile of the ice front on one trip that year.
E. R. Martin,' of the Alaskan Boundary Survey, also attributes the
changes in the ice
tongues of Glacier Bay to the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of 1899. Mr.
Martin has published some beautiful
pictures of icebergs near the Muir Glacier.
We visited Glacier Bay in 1911 for the National Geographic Society,
finding still further
retreat of Muir, Grand Pacific, Johns Hopkins, and other glaciers.
Muir Glacier no longer
touches tide water except in a short cliff, and we were able to walk
over a moraine acoumulation
at several points where there was tidal ice front in 1907; From our
studies of the
glaciers of the Glacier Bay region in 191 1 we have reached the
conclusion that the importance
of the effect of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of 1899 on the retreat
of these glaciers may have been somewhat
e~aggerated.~
ADVANCE OF YAWTAT BAY GLACIERS.
Such changes in hfuir Glacier as are due directly or indirectly to the
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of 1899
are noteworthy because of the fact that they have occurred at a
distance of 150 miles from the
Yakutat Bay region, where the shocks appear to have been central. In
marked contrast is the
condition of the Yakutat Bay glaciers, which presumably suffered a
greater shattering, but
which speedily recovered from it only to undergo a slower and more
profound alteration, which
culminated in a notable advance.
THE SNOW SUPPLY.
The evidence of the gold prospectors in Disenchantment Bay (p. 16) and
of other cbservers in
the region about Yakutat Bay (p. 49), as well as our own studies,
clearly shows that the mountains
were so profoundly shaken by the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes that great
avalanches of snow and rock
were thrown down on every hand. This probably happened not merely once
but again and
again during September, 1899.
It is to be noted also that the St. Elias, Pairweather, and other
ranges in this part of
Alaska ari peculiarly suited to shed an enormous amount of snow under
the influence of such
a shaking as they must have received during the Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes. This is the region of the heaviest
precipitation in North America outside of the Torrid Zone. The annual
rainfall at Yakutat is
not known, but 170 miles distant, at Katalla, on Controller Bay, where
the mountains are
much lower, a record kept in 1907 showed a precipitation of 101 inches
for eight months 3-a
rate of about 150 inches a year. This rate, however, is based on only
a part of one year's
record. At Orca (west of the mouth of Copper River and 215 miles west
of Yakutat Bay), the
nearest station where a record is kept, the annual precipitation is
149 inches; at Sitka, 250
miles to the southeast, it is 88 inches; and at Nuchek, 240 miles west
of Yakutat, it is 190
1 Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. 19,1908, pp. 183-184.
9 As our studiesin 1911 were made after this paper had been put in
type the reasons for this conclusion must be stated in another paper.
J Quoted by Martin, G. C., Bull. U. 5. Geol. Survey No. 335,1908, p. 17.
54 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAS, ALBSKA.
inches. These are average figures, the precipitation reaching 198
inches at Kuchek in a single
year. Among the mountains of the Yakutat Bay region the precipitation
would probably be
even more. We have no means of telling the amount that falls on the
mountain slopes, but as
the warm, damp winds blow from the ocean with much steadiness against
the lofty, unbroken
mountain wall that rises from sea level to heights of 15,000 to 19,000
feet, the precipitation
must of necessity be very heavy; and above the snow line, which lies
at an elevation of 2,000
or 3,000 feet, practically all of it falls as snow. After every storm,
even in summer, the mountains
above the snow line are whitened by a heavy coat of freshly fallen
snow, which is so deep
that it masks the scars caused by avalanches that have bared the rock
faces in the interval of
pleasant weather.
In such a region as this the snow mantles all slopes to which it can
possibly cling, and
the excess is shed into the valleys. The descriptions and photographs
by Russell, the narrative
of the Abruzzi expedition to Mount St. Elias, and the reports of the
Boundary Commission
parties, all tell vividly of both the heavy snow cap (Pl. XXI) and the
frequent snow avalanches
occurring under even normal conditions. It is this normal, everyday
supply that has filled
the mountain valleys with rivers of ice (Pls. I, p. 12; XXII), making
this the region of the
greatest glaciers in the temperate zone outside of southern Greenland.
Of the conditions among these mountains Russell gives a vivid word
picture.' As he
looked down from Russell Col, near the summit of Mount St. Elias, he sawa
vast snow-covered region, limitless in expanse, through which hundreds
and perhaps thousands of barren, angular
mountain peaks projected. There was not a stream, not a lake, and not
a vestige of vegetation of any kind in sight.
A more desolate or utterly lifeless land one never beheld. Vast smooth
snow surfaces, without crevasses, stretched
away to limitless distances, broken only by jagged and angular
mountain peaks. * * * The view to the north
called to mind the picture given by Arctic explorers of the borders of
the great Greenland ice sheet, where rocky
islands, known as nunataks, alone break the monotony of the boundless
sea of ice. The region before me was a land
of nunataks.
This was the region most vigorously shaken during the Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes of September, 1899.
Under such shaking its valleys must of necessity have received sudden
and vast accessions of
snow, ice, and rock, for even under ordinary conditions these
materials are constantly being
supplied in great quantities by the influence of gravity alone.
Glacialists reasonably explain
ordinary oscillations of valley glaciers as the result of variations
in snow supply to the glacier
reservoirs. An increase in precipitation of a few inches a year, for a
period of years, is believed
to be competent to cause a notable advance in the glacier, after the
lapse of sufficient time;
and a deficiency in precipitation is believed to be followed by a
corresponding recession.
What, then, would happen after so sudden and so great an increase in
snow supply as
that which was thrown into the head reservoirs of these glaciers in
the autumn of 1899 ? This is
a question which can not be answered from direct observation in other
regions, and it is not certain
how many glacialists would have given in advance the answer which now
seems necessary
to explain the phenomena that have been observed in Yakutat Bay since
1899. If a slow and
slight advance in glaciers is caused by a moderate addition to their
reservoirs, it follows that a
sudden and great advance must result from the addition of an enormous
amount to the reservoirs
in a brief interval of time. As a river rises in flood after an
unusually heavy fall of rain,
so a glacier flood results from the sudden accession of vast amounts
of snow. This seems a
reasonable proposition; it becomes a necessary conclusion from the
facts revealed by the
comparative study of the Yakutat Bay glaciers in 1905 and 1906.2
THE ADVANCING GLACIERS.
In the summer of 1905 we studied the glaciers of Yakutat Bay and found
them all in a
state of recession. With the single exception of Galiano Glacier, none
of them showed clear
proof of a recent advance, though it is quite possible that some of
the smaller valley glaciers
1 Thirteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2,1893, p. 47.
2 For a fuller statement see Tarr, R. S., Recent advance of glaciers
in the yakutat Bay region, Alaska: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol.
18,1907,
pp. 257-286; The Yakutat Bay region, Alaska: Prof. Paper U. 9. Geol.
Survey No. 64,1909, pp. 90-95; The theory of advance of glaciers In
response
to earthquake shaking: Zeitsch. fiir Gletscherkunde, Bd. 5, 1910, pp. 1-35.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XXI
SNOW-COVERED MOUNTAIN TOPS IN YAKUTAT BAY REGION.
In left background are snow-covered slopes adjacent to Hidden Glacier,
which advanced 2 miles between 1906 and 1909 as a result of earthquake
avalanching in
1899. Photographed by Brabazon, Canadian Boundary Commission, from an
elevat~ono f about 4,000 feet.

EFFECT OF THE TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES ON GLACIERS. 5 6
had advanced since 1899 and were again receding. There was clear
evidence in 1905 that
Galiano Glacier had made a great advance since Russell's visit in 1890
and the visit of the .
Canadian topographers in 1895. A forest that was growing on it in
1890, which Russell both
described and photographed and which is s h o ~mc learly in a
photograph by Brabazon, taken
from the hill back of Point Latouche in 1895, had been destroyed. In
1905 we found that a
stagnant extension of the glacier beneath an alluvial fan had been
pushed up through the fan,
destroying it. Russell's photographs clearly show the fan, but it was
not there in 1905. The
neighboring, somewhat larger Atrevida Glacier on one side and the
smaller Black Glacier on the
other side of the Galiano had not changed in position or character
since Russell saw them. We
were puzzled greatly by this phenomenon and coulcl account for it only
as a result of the 1899
earthquake, though by a process which we could not then understand.
In 1906 the senior author returned to the region and found a most
astonishing change.
Some of the glaciers were in no notable respect different from their
condition in 1905; these
included some of the largest, such as Hubbard, Turner, Nunatak, and
Hidden glaciers. Others,
on the contrary, were utterly transformed (Pl. XXIII).
For example, Variegated Glacier, which lies just east of the Hubbard,
descends through
a mountain valley in a serpentine course, extends beyond the mountain
face, and there expands
into a piedmont bulb of stagnant ice covered with morainic d6bris. All
parts of the piedmont
portion of this glacier were easily traversed in 1905, and for a
distance of 6 miles we ascended
with ease the part that lies within the mountain valley. The ice
surface was smooth and
almost unbroken and we did not even find it necessary to rope the
party together.
Ten months later, in June, 1906, the entire glacier within its
mountain valley was a sea
of crevasses, utterly impassable. The breaking of the ice had extended
far out into the morainecovered
bulb, so that it was no longer possible to walk over the surface. The
moraine that
had accumulated through long wasting during a period of stagnation had
largely disappeared
in the newly formed crevasses; the previously stagnant bulb had been
pushed forward several
hundred yards, covering an old rock gorge that in 1905 was plainly
visible in front of it; the
ice in the piedmont bulb had become thickened, its surface being 100
to 200 feet higher in 1906
khan in 1905; and the subglacial streams of 1906 emerged from a
portion of the ice front far
removed from the drainage channels of the previous year. Thus, in the
short interval of 10
months there had been pronounced advance, noticeable thickening, and
profound crevassing
throughout at least 6 or 7 miles of glacier.
Between Turner and Hubbard glaciers two small, hitherto unnamed valley
glaciers descend
from the mountains. We photographed them in 1905 and compared them in
the field with photographs
taken in previous years, without being able to detect any change in
the interval; but we .
did not go out on them. They were practically stagnant and were
covered with black morainic
.d6bris. In 1906 the one nearest Turner Glacier, which we have named
Haenke Glacier, had,
like the Variegated Glacier, been transected by a network of
crevasses. It had also thickened
and had advanced greatly, far more than the Variegated Glacier. In
1905 it ended on the land
and was faced by a broad alluvial fan; in 1906 its front was in the
sea at least a mile farther
out', and it was united with Turner Glacier. A photograph taken for
the United States Fish
Commission in 1901 furnishes clear evidence that in that year the
other of these two glaciers
was in a state of advance, but by 1905 it had become so smoothed by
ablation that we saw no
,proof of recent transformation, and therefore can not now state how
great a change was in
grogress in 1901.
It was the plan of the expedition of 1906 to go westward over
Afalaspina Glacier, starting
from a point near Galiano Glacier and crossing Atrevida, Lucia,
Hayden, and Marvine glaciers
in succession. This was the route that Russell easily followed in
1890; and in 1905 u-e made
sure that the route was feasible, first by a day's expedition on
Atrevida Glacier, and second
by a reconnaissance (by the junior author and Mr. Butler) across
Atrevida and Lucia glaciers
to the west side of the Floral Hills, where Hayden, Xfarvine, and
Ma~aspina glaciers were
1 Tam, R. S., and Martin, Lawrence, Glaciers and glaciation of Pakutat
Bay, Alaska: Bull. Am. Geog. Soc., vol. 38, 1906, pp. 152-153.
5 6 EABTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BSY, ALASKA.
clearly visible. In each of these expeditions no special difficulties
of ice travel were encountered.
It was possible to go anywhere on Atrevida, Lucia, and Hayden
glaciers, and from the views
obtained on the west side of the Floral Hills it seemed as feasible to
traverse Marvine and
Malaspina glaciers as it was in 1890 when Russell croised them.
Only one small area of notable crevassing was found on Atrevida
Glacier (Pl. XXIII, A),
and both its surface and margin were, so far as we could see, in
essentially the same condition
as in 1890. Although we did not then so interpret it, we are now
convinced that this area of
crevassing was the first stage in the change that caused such a
marvelous transformation in the
next few months.
In June, 1906, Atrevida Glacier was utterly changed. Its surface was a
labyrinth of
crevasses (Pl. XXIII, B), and to cross it was wholly out of the
question. The crevassing
extended from a point near the head of the mountain valley out beyond
the mountain front
into the stagnant piedmont bulb, destroying an plant thicket and
spruce forest growing in the
moraine that ablation had caused to accumulate on this lower, expanded
portion of the glacier.
The newly formed crevasses broke the glacier for a distance of 8 or 10
miles, and the moraine
and plant bushes were being swallowed up in them. As in the other
glaciers, the ice had
advanced notably, fully 100 yards on the east side and several hundred
yards on the west side,
there overriding a camp site occupied in 1905 by the junior author.
The forward movement of Atrevida Glacier was in progress during our
visit. We could
hear the ice break, and passage along the margin of the glacier was
rendered perilous by the
huge blocks of ice and the stones that now and then came crashing down
from the broken ice
wall. The glacier was then advancing into and destroying the spruce
forest that grows up
to its margin. Such an absolute change in conditions in so short a
period seemed almost
incredible. In 1905 we could ascend the gentle slope of the margin of
Atrevida Glacier at
almost any point. Ten months later to ascend its broken, jagged,
precipitous side required
the cutting of steps in the ice, with the ever-present danger of the
falling of overhanging ice
blocks. In 1905 we could walk care-free over all parts of the surface
of the glacier; in 1906
yawning crevasses barred progress in every direction.
Hoping still to get out on Malaspina 'Glacier, we began exploring its
eastern margin, where
Russell had easily crossed it during his retreat in 1891, but we found
it impassably crevassed
under the influence of the forward thrust of its tributary, Marvine
Glacier. We crossed Hayden
Glacier, which was unchanged, and made an excursion eastward across
Lucia Glacier, which
was also unbroken, to the western margin of the crevassed Atrevida
Glacier. On returning
across Lucia and Hayden glaciers we found our progress westward barred
by Marvine Glacier,
whose margin we followed up to the point where it emerges from its
mountain valley northwest I
of Blossom Island. Later we found that the crevassing caused by the
thrust from Marvine
Glacier affected the entire eastern portion of Malaspina Glacier, so
that entrance upon it from
Yakutat Bay was no longer possible, although it was crossed by Russell
in 1891 and by the
Abruzzi and Bryant parties in 1897. The newly crevassed area, which
has a linear extent of
over 15 miles, is 3 or 4 miles \vide where Marvine Glacier emerges
from its mountain valley,
but expands to a width of over 10 miles near the sea; and through this
entire area the glacier,
formerly an excellent highway for travel, is now impassable. (Pls. I,
p. 12; XXII, p. 54.)
As we passed along the margin of Malaapina and Marvine glaciers we had
abundant proof
that, like Atrevida Glacier, the Marvine was even then rapidly
advancing; but, having made
no studies here in 1905, we are unable to tell how great an advance
had taken place. As we
walked along the ice cliff or camped at its base we heard the ice
breaking and saw the huge
ice blocks tumble down its broken side.
P ~ otro 1906 a part of the eastern margin of Malaspina Glacier had so
long been stagnant
that a deep morainic soil had accumulated on it, and in this soil was
growing a forest fully
half a century old. The trees had all leaved out in the spring of this
last year of their life,
when the thrust of the ice which lay beneath their roots opened up
crevasses that swallowed
up some of the soil and many of the trees themselves. The great gashes
thus formed exposed
the long-buried ice to rapid melting, and thus more of the soil
disappeared; streams of liquid
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XXlll
A. MORAINE-COVERED SURFACE OF CENTRAL PART OF ATREVIDA
GLACIER AS IT APPEARED AUGUST 20, 1905.
I
B. CENTRAL PART OF ATREVIDA GLACIER, CREVASSED BY SUDDEN AND VIOLENT
ADVANCE AFTER PHOTOGRAPH FOR A WAS TAKEN.
Looking in opposite direction from direction of view in A.
Photographed August 2, 1906.
by 0. D. von Engeln.

EFFECT OF THE TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES ON GLACIERS. 5 7
mud descended from the ice margin; and the trees caiie crashing down
the ice slope. Almost
constantly there was a sound of avalanches of mud and stones, or the
falling of ice blocks,
a or the crashing of trees as they slid from their unstable positions.
The ice margin, formerly
a gently sloping, forest-covered bluff, was now a jagged ice cliff
(Pl. SXIV), resembling a frostriven
granite precipice, the resemblance being increased by the muddy stain
which discolored
the broken and piled-up ice blocks.
'We returned to Yakutat Bay in 1909,' when we found the advancing
glaciers of 1906 so
healed that travel over their surfaces was again possible, but far
less easy than in 1905. The
spasmodic advance had evidently quickly run its course and had been
succeeded by stagnation.
But in the interval between 1906 and 1909 Hidden Glacier had advanced
about 2 miles, and,
near the place where the front stood in 1905, one of our photographic
sites had become buried
beneath 1,100 feet of ice. The advance had been rapid and it had
quickly subsided, for by 1909
we could walk over the glacier surface, though it was greatly
roughened by the partially healed
system of crevasses. Hubbard Glacier was also advancing, but it had
pushed forward only
slightly, and its advance had ceased in 1910, when the junior author
again visited Yakutat
Bay.2 In 1909, Lucia Glacier was advancing and was so broken that it
could not be crossed,
though it was easily crossed in 1906. We are informed that a Canadian
boundary survey party
under the charge of Mr. Ogdvie crossed this glacier in the summer of
1911 and proceeded
westward across Hayden and Marvine glaciers. The junior author in 1910
found that Nunatak
Glacier had advanced 700 to 1,000 feet between the summers of 1909 and 1910.2
Nunatak Glacier is the ninth of the series of glaciers to advance, as
is shown in the following
. table:
Advance of glaciers at Yakutat Bay.
Glacier. 1 Date of advance. ( Length of glacier. I
I I
1 Between Haenke and Eubbarrd glaciers. - 2 Excluding expanded lobe in
Malaspina.
Galiano. ........................................................................
Unnamed glacier 1..
.............................................................
Haenke .........................................................................
Atrevida. .......................................................................
Varie ted ..................................................................
Mar&. .:.::I. .................................................................
Hidden.. .......................................................................
Lucia ...........................................................................
Nunatak. .......................................................................
The first glaciers to advance were the shortest. The longest of the
Yakutat Bay glaciers
have not yet responded to the earthquake shaking. The advance was
alike in several respects
in all the glaciers-it was abrupt and spasmodic, it caused profo.und
transformation of the
glacier surface, and it resulted in thickening at the termini-and all
the glaciers quickly subsided
and returned in a few months to a stagnant state after the effects of
the rapid forward movement
were spent.
NATURE AND CAUSE OF THE ADVANCE.
The conditions in the Yakutat region show accurately what happens when
the impulse
of a glacier flood passes down a rigid ice stream to its terminus. The
glaciers, which once
pushed forward slowly, advance with a spasmodic rush. At Yakutat Ray
they moved forward
hundreds of yards in not more than 10 months and perhaps in much less
time; and at the same
time they became greatly thickened, not merely in parts that had
previously been active, but
also in parts that had long been stagnant. Scores of square miles of
ice, hitherto either
stationary or else moving so tranquilly that the surface was smooth
and practically uncrevassed,
were suddenly transformed into a wilderness of pinnacles and
crevasses-the troubled surface
of a glacier flood.
No one has so far been ingenious enough even to suggest a reasonable
alternate hypothesis
to that of the glacier flood to account for these phenomena. Nor has
any serious objection
been urged to the explanation proposed, unless, indeed; it is to the
rapidity of the passage
of the flood from the gathering ground to the glacier terminus. Less
than seven years was
required for the transmission of the impulse from the reservoir to
tlie end of Marvine
Glacier-a distance of at least 15 or 20 miles; and the period was even
shorter for Galiano
Glacier. If the resemblance of the glacier flood to a river flood were
exact in all respects, such
rapid transmission would, of course, be out of the question, for
manifestly it would have been
impossible for the snow that was avalanched down upon the glacier
reservoir in 1899 to reach
the end of the glacier, say 5 or 10 miles distant, in a period of six
or seven years. It is conceived,
however, that the actual condition is that of a thrust transmitted
from the overloaded reservoir
through the lower layers of the glacier, causing a flowage of the more
plastic basal ice and
a breaking of the rigid upper ice into a choppy sea of s6racs,
pinnacles, and crevasses.
That all the glaciers in the region should not have responded to the
impulse of the unusual
supply of snow shaken down during the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of
1899 is not unexpected. Among the reasons
why some of the glaciers have not advanced two suggest themselves with
greatest forcevariation
from place to place in the amount of snow thrown down and variation in
the distance
through which the thrust must pass from reservoir to glacier end. Some
glaciers may have
already responded to the impulse, as the short Galiano Glacier had
done before 1905 and as
others were doing in 1906; others may never notably respond, and still
others may yet reach
*he flood stage.. It is hardly to be supposed that the year 1906 was
the only one to witness
the effect of the 1899 Tesla “THREE” earthquakes on the glaciers of
the Yakutat Bay region.'
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PHENOMENA.
It is too early to state fully the significance of the glacier floods
that vigorous earthquake
shaking may generate. As yet we know of but this single instance, and
of this we have the
comparative records of but four seasons; we can only speculate as to
the changes yet to come
in this region as a result of the 1899 Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. How
long the glaciers at present advancing
will continue to do so is wholly u n k n o ~ n . ~N or can we tell
what glaciers will next receive the
impuhe, nor for how long a time, nor with what result.
If Hubbard, Turner, Nunatak, and Hidden glaciers should all advance at
the same time,
and if their advance should be equal, in proportion to their size, to
the advance of the Haenke
Glacier, their fronts might well push out as far as the positions
recorded by their last notable
advance (p. 51). It is at least a rational hypothesis that this last
advance was the result of
glacier floods, due to the downshaking of snow among the glacier
supply grounds during one or
'zt series of vigorous Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of former dates.
If it is too early to understand fully the true significance of the
phenomenon of earthquakecaused
advance in the region of its occurrence, it is certainly too early to
attempt to apply the
lessons from it to other regions. Yet it may not be unprofitable to
speculate briefly on this
matter also. We believe it to be beyond doubt that in the Yakutat Bay
region vigorous earth
shaking has caused a glacier advance of flood proportions as a result
of the avalanching of vast
quantities of snow, ice, and rock among the mountains in the zone of
supply. If this is true,
surely similar phenomena must have occurred here and elsewhere in the
past. May they not
even have occurred frequently and with notable results not hitherto
recognized? May there
not be small floods resulting from moderate shaking, as well as great
floods due to vigorous
shaking? To us the answer to both these questions seems clearly
affirmative. We believe it
probable that such floods have been and, indeed, are even now in
progress. We make the suggestion,
however, not with the intention of attempting to prove it at present,
but merely to
record it, in the hope that glacialists will test the explanation in
regions other than Yakutat Bay.
1 This statement, written at the close of the season of 1906, has
since received confirmation by the subsequent advance of larger
glaciers
obserred in 1909 and 1910, as briefly described above (p. 57).
Subsequent study, in 1909 and 1910, proves the advanea to be brief.


EFFECT OF THE EARTHQU2'-KES OK GLACIERS.
The termini of glaciers fluctuate, sometimes with ~uzzling
irregularity. Naturally the
hypothesis of climatic variations is the one that first suggests
itself to the investigator, and
doubtless this is a correct explanation for many glacier oscillations.
But here is an alternate
cause which is certainly in progress in at least one region. Why not,
then, in others? High
mountains, the supply ground of glaciers, are notably unstable and
liable to earthquakes, great
and small. Every time an earthquake, even thougll of moderate vigqr,
affects such a region
unusual accessions to the glacier reservoirs are likely to be made.
Surely then, in due time, the
glacier must be affected and its terminus must respond to the impulse
from this addition to its
supply-as surely as a stream responds to a light rain or a glacier to
the moderate increase in
snow supply due to a series of unusual seasons of snowfall. If a great
earthquake visits the
region, so much more must the glacier in due time respond to the
impulse from the unusual supply.
This impulse must be of unusual intensity, for it is due to the
snowfall of years, which,
clinging in unstable position on the mountain sides, is abruptly
tumbled down upon the glacier
reservoirs. It is conceivable that a glacier might thus receive more
snow, ice, and rock in a few
moments than would normally fall upon it in several years.
To many it has seemed difficult to account for notable fluctuations in
glaciers as the result
of mere variations in snowfall through climatic changes of which we
have little evidence.
Moreover, known climatic variations are slow and moderate and seem
quite inadequate to
produce great fluctuations in glaciers. Although there are variations
in sno~vfall in Alaska, and
perhaps even periods of unusual increase and decrease in snow supply
sufficient to account
for considerable variations in glaciers, we wish nevertheless to point
out that the effect of
earthquake avalanching is a possible cause for such variations. It is,
moreover, normal and
natural and presents no serious diffieulties. How far it explains
variations in glaciers, past and
present, we are not in a position to state; but it seems more than
probable that this process has
been widely effective.
Taku Glacier, for example, is reported as having had a marked advance,
proved by photographs,
between 1890 and 1905. The adjacent Norris Glacier was advancing and destroying
forests when photographed by F. E. and C. W. Wright on May 29, 1904.
As these glaciers
are within the region that was vigorously shaken by the Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes of 1899 the hypothesis
may be entertained that their activity was due to earthquake avalanching.
Valdez Glacier, in Prince William Sound, was retreating when the
junior author visited it
in 1904 and seems to have still been doing so when its front was
visited in 1905 by U. S. Grant,
of Northwestern University, in charge of a United States Geological
Survey party. But between
the summer of 1905 and the summer of 1908 it markedly advanced, the
monuments set up by
Grant in 1905 being destroyed by the advancing ice tongue before his
visit in 1908. The glacier
has subsequently retreated slightly and it is not definitely known
whether the advance was
accompanied by crevassing, as in the Yakutat Bay glaciers.
Inasmuch as (a) some Alaskan glaciers are advancing and others in the
earthquake-shaken
region are retreating; as (b) there is no suggestion of climatic
variations to account for these oscillations
and especially no reasonable climatic explanation of such selective
oscillation; as (c) the
mountain slopes on which these glaciers head are known to have been
vigorously shaken during
the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of September, 1899 (see P1. XXXIII, in
pocket), as well as in 1896, 1900, and
1908; and as (a) the avalanching known to have accompanied certain of
these earthquakes
would account for selective, delayed, and progressive oscillations of
these ice fronts-the
hypothesis is proposed that the temporary advance of other Alaskan
glaciers may be explained
by earthquake avalanching.
Had the Alaskan glaciers been studied with the same care as those of
the Alps, for a century
or more, it would doubtless be more easy to state exactly the nature
of the effect of earthquake
avalanching on glaciers in general. Unfortunately, lofty mountains
liable to vigorous earthquakes
and carrying heavy snow cover and consequent great glaciers are, in
the main, located
in regions still remote and little studied. It was only by a most
favorable combination of cir-
1 Reid H. F., Variations of glaciers: Jour. Geology, vol. 14, 1906, p. 408.

EFFECT OF THE TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES ON GLACIERS. 61
Still other Alaskan glaciers, in portions of the territory frequently
shaken by severe earthquakes,
have had earlier periods of unusual activity, with crevassing and
advance, within
historic times.' Some of these are listed below and there are
doubtless many others. For
each of these the hypothesis may be considered that earthquake
avalanching during one or
another of the great periods of seismic disturbance listed in Chapter
VI may have caused the
advance, or that some may have been due to climatic variations and
others to earthquakes.
The list shows clearly that the series of great glacial advances in
the Yakutat Bay region since
1899 is not exceptional, and suggests that the relationship of
earthquakes to variations of
glaciers may be common in Alaska, as, indeed, it may be elsewhere in the world.
Glacial advances before 1899.
- -
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.
NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE EVIDENCE.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
CLASSIFICATION.
The records of the earth shaking of September, 1899, which we have
been able to gather
may be divided into four kinds-(1) the testimony of the men who were
in Disenchantment
Bay, where the disturbances were apparently central; (2) the testimony
of those who.were
at Yakutat village, 30 miles distant, during the shocks; (3) the
evidence from those who felt the'
shocks at other points within a radius of 250 to 480 miles; (4) the
distant seismograph records.
As these records differ in value, it seems best, first of all, to
indicate which ones have been
used and how much dependence has been placed on each of them. A
briefer statement of the
facts regarding the earthquake of 1899, given in this and the
following chapters, has been pub- '
lished by the junior author.'
CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS.
The authors have been surprised at the number and variety of
contemporary accounts of
an earthquake occurring in a region so remote and so little visited. A
popular account appeared
in the Scientific American and was reprinted in Current Li t e r a t~r
e .~T here was a
note on the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes in the National Geographic
Magazine.' An examination of a few of
the newspapers to which the junior author had access has revealed over
50 accounts of these
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes in newspapers published iq places so widely
separated as Sitka, Tokyo, and London.
Nevertheless, aside from the single fact that Muir Glacier had been
made inaccessible by
damage done to its front during an earthquake shock in September,
1899, almost nothing was
known up to 1905 of the remarkable physical changes effected by these
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. The
Yakutat Native American Eskimos knew that there had been changes in
the shore lines of Disenchantment Bay,
where they hunt seal each year; but they khew nothing more. The whites
who were in Disenchantment
Bay during the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes had never gone back to see
what changes had taken
place, and, with a single exception, those who lived at Yakutat,
engaged in fishing or lumbering,
concerned themselves little with the wonderful fiord at their doors.
We ourselves had seen but
one newspaper account of the earthquake and were totally unprepared
for the remarkable
phenomena which we found in Yakutat Bay during the summer of 1905.
REPLIES TO EARTHQUAKE CIRCULARS.
After the manuscript of the preceding pages of this report was
essentially ready for publication,
it was decided that it might be worth while to send out an earthquake
circular containing
a series of questions and requests for information in order that the
area of the sensible shock
might be more carefully determined and that additional contemporary
accounts of the phenomena
might be procured and existing information verified. -
I Xartin, Lawrence, Alaskan Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of 1899: Bull.
Geol. Soc. Ameria, rol. 21, 1910, pp. 339-406.
a Vol. 81, No. 26, Dec. 23, 1899, pp. 405406.
J Vol. 27, Feb., 1900, p. 123.
r Vol. 10, No. 10, Oct., 1899, p. 421.
5 These include such daily or weekly papers published in Sitka,
Alaska; Victoria, B. C.; Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Oreg.; San
Francisco, Cal.;
Chicago, Ill.; Toronto, Canada; New York City; and London, England, as
are aradable in the Wisconsin State Historical Library at Madison, and
a few others from which clippbgs had been made by Prof. H. F. Reid, of
Johns Hopkins University, and by Mr. H. P. Ritter, of the United
States
Coast and Geodetic Survey.
62
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 6 3
Accordingly, about 600 copies of the circular reproduced below were
sent out, with
franked and addressed return penalty envelopes inclosed for reply.
They were sent to individuals
in Alaska and elsewhere who were known to the writers or who were suggested by
members of the United States Geological Survey, the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey,
the United States Fish Commission (Bureau of Fisheries), the United
States Revenue-Cutter
Service, the Alaska Commercial Co., and others, or by persons to whom
circulars or letters of
inquiry had been sent; to all United States officials in Alaska,
including all regular And voluntary
United States Weather Bureau observers, postmasters, deputy collectors
and inspectors of
customs, commissioners and marshals, commanders of military posts, and
teachers of Government
schools; to all ministers and missionaries of all churches, and to
managers of all canneries,
salteries, etc., in Alaska; to the secretary of each Alaskan
Brotherhood Lodge; to
the editors of all daily and weekly newspapers published in Alaska and
to several in Yukon Territory,
British Columbia, and the western United States; to all Canadian
inspectors and collectors
of customs in towns within the possible field of the earthquake; to
post commanders
of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police; to agents of the Hudson's Bay
Co. in Canada; and to
others.
The sending out of this circular has amply repaid the labor, expense,
and delay. From
the 600, some of which were sent out as late as June, 1908, over 200
replies of various sorts
were received. Twenty-four were returned blank, but the greater number
of these had been
sent to places from which onry pegative evidence could haye been
expected; 40 were returned
by the postal authorities because the office addressed had been
discontinued, the mission had
been removed, the newspaper had gone out of business, the cannery had
not been reopened, or
the individual had left for parts unknown; 36 contained specific
statements either that no
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes $ad been felt by the writer, or else that he
had come to the place too recently to
know and codd find no one in the place who could supply reliable
information on the subject;
the remainder, numbering over 100, contained valuable information,
either specifying places
where we had not previously known certainly that the shocks were felt,
or verifying information
already at hand, or correcting mistakes printed in-sensational
contemporary newspaper
reports, or referring to still other persons who had valuable
information. The 140-odd replies
in the two divisions last mentioned have been invaluable in
determining the boundaries of the
region where the shock was sensible to persons and in verifying,
correcting, and rewriting many
sections of the text, a few of the better replies being quoted in
full. Those who filled out and
returned the printed circular or showed it to others who did so have
conferred a, real favor upon
all interested in the advancement of knowledge concerning Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes. We are, however,
nearly as much indebted to those who merely said that no shocks were
felt at their homes
as to those who were able to supply full data concerning the effects
of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes at points
nearer the center of activity. In footnotes, citing replies to this
circular, the date given is
that of the reply.
A copy of the circular follows.
Messn. R. S. Tam and Lawrence Martin, of the United States Geological
Survey, are investigating the series of
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes that occurred in Alaska in September, 1899.
These shocks were widely felt, notably at Yakutat, but
also as far northwest as Valdez and as far southeast as Skaggwity,
Juneau, and Sitka.
I t is important that a complete list be made not only of the places
where these shocks were felt, but of the near-by
localities where no shocks were felt, of the times of observation of
shocks, their duration and intensity, and the changes
made by them in buildings, etc., and m nature.
I t is requested that all persons having reliable information on this
subject forward it to this office, and that persons
seeing this letter and ,not knowing about the earthquake personally
shall mention or present the letter to those
who do. Notes made at the time, newspaper clippings, letters, or other
descriptions written in 1899 may be of great '
value, and we should like to obtain verbatim copies of them. Failing
this, we should value description, based on
memory, of your personal observations, or of observations made by
others and thought reasonably true by you, in
reply to the specific questions following. It is requested that you
send some reply, even if it be that you know nothing
of the matter.
64 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Information required.
1. Name of observer..
.......................................................................................
2. Present address of obserzter
................................................................................
3. Occupation of observer..
..................................................................................
4. Date or dates of observation..
..............................................................................
5. Place of observations.-Make answer as exact as possible. If shocks
were felt on more than one date, answer
the following questions independently for each date.
...........................................................
6. Time of earthquake.-State accuracy of timepiece, when last
regulated, and whether local (sun) time, Juneau
time, Valdez, or other time was kept. If several shocks were felt,
list independently. .............................
7. Length (duration) of shock.-If not observed by a watch with a
second hand, a desirable form of answeris:
"Long enough to run out of doors," "Long enough to get out of bed and
light a candle," or similar answer. ........
8. Intensity of shock
.........................................................................................
9. Efects of earthquake.-Damage to buildings; damage to wharves, etc.;
opening cracks in ground; cawing landslides
or avalanches; affecting springs, etc.; causing pits or small craters;
sending out water or sand; damaging glaciers;
changing shore lines by uplift or depression; causing waves on bays,
inlets, lakes, or rivers; killing fish; causing tops
of trees or flagpoles to vibrate, lamps to swing in houses, doors or
windows to slam, etc. ................... ... ....
10. Personal sensations.-Difficulty in standing up; difficulty in
walking; nausea or dizziness; different sensations
on others than on yourself. Did you know it was an earthquake at the
time? Was there any appearance of waves in
the ground? Was there a hard shaking or a gradual movement? If at
night, was it enough to wake one up? .......
11. Direction of earthquake.-Did it seem to come from any one
direction or directions? How was the direction
determined? Did others agree as to this direction?
............................................................
12. Noises accompanying shocks.-State nature, loudness, duration,
etc., as fully as possible. Did the loudest
noise come before, after, or during the hardest shock?
..........................................................
13. Nearest place where shock was felt.-If you were in Alaska, British
c?lu&bia, or Yukon Territory during the
period between September 3 and September 29, 1899, and did .not feel
any shocks or effects of shocks, please state
where you were, etc. This negative evidence is of the greatest value
in determining the boundaries of the disturbed
area. State the nearest place to you where shocks were felt or damage
was done by the earthquakes. ..............
14. Published accounts.-If you have access to flee of newspapers or
other periodicals that give accounts of these
earthquakes (especially Alaskan newspapers), will you please give
specific reference to dates of articles and nature of
description? If you can give us clippings on this subject, they will
be greatly appreciated, or clippings loaned to us
will be promptly returned.
.................................................................1.
.................
15. Other observers.-If you know other observers of these earthquakes,
will you kindly send us their names and
addremes, that we may get into correspondence with them?
.....................................................
16. Other earthquakes.-If you have experienced other earthquake shocks
in Alaska, will you please inform us of
the date, place, and nature of observation? ................... ....
.............................................
REPORTS OF OBSERVERS.
REPORTS FROM POINTS NEAR CENTER OF DISTURBANCE.
Disenchantment Bay.-There were eight men in inner Yakutat Bay near the
junction of
Disenchantment Bay and Russell Fiord (Pl. XIV) during the earthquakes
of September 3 and
September 10. Their story, quoted on pages 15-17 of this report, shows
the experience of the
nearest eyewitnesses of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, though it
contributes little of scientific interest.
Yakutat ViiLlage.-Several persons have described the phenomena at
Yakutat village, notably
C. E. Hill,' a civil engineer, now in Seattle; R. W. Beasleyf2 the
storekeeper at Yakutat,
with whom we also talked in 1905; Rev. Albin J~hnson,o~f the Swedish
Evangelical Mission
Covenant Church at Yakutat; and W. &I.R ockP4e mployed in 1905 at the
Yakutat sawmil.
The steamship Dora put into Yakutat September 12, and it was her crew
and passengers 5
who brought out the first news of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes,
though telegraphic dispatches had previously
told of seismic disturbances felt in Skagway.
1 (a) Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 23,1899. (b) San Francisco
Examiner, clipping dated Sept. 21,1899, specific date of clipping not
known.
(The lack of specific identification of certain clippings from San
Francisco papers and the absence of reference to the logs of several
vessels and the
journals of certain Alaska Commercial Co. posts, etc., is due to the
destruction of these important records in the fire which followed the
San
Francisco earthquake of 1906.) Part of this was also published in the
Toronto World, Sept. 25,1899, and quoted by English seismologists in
Rept.
British Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1900, p. 83; idem, 1902, p. 62. (c) Reply to
earthquake circular, 1907.
2 Sitka Alaskan, Sept. 16,1899 (the first printed account of these
earthquakw); reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
8 Rept. Comm. Education for 18%99, vol. 2, p. 1402; reply to
earthquake circular, 1907.
4 Victoria Semi-weakly Colonist, Oct. 12,1899.
6 Sitka Alaskan, Sept. 16,1899. San Francisco Examiner? (dated Juneau,
Bept. 14,1899; specific date of clipping not known). San Francisco
Chronicle (dated Seattle, Sept. 20; specific date of clipping not
known). Seattle Daily Times, Thursday, Sept. 21, 1869, reprinted in
Weekly
Times, Sept. 27, 1899. Butte Weekly Miner, Sept. 21, 1899. New York
Evening Post, Bept. 21, 1E99. New York Daily Tribune, Sept. 21,
1899. Toronto Mail and Empire, Sept. 22,1899.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 65
On September 17 the United States revenue cutter McCulZoch entered
Yakutat Bay, and
Gov, Brady and others went ashore, where they learned of the Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes. By this time
the eight gold prospectors had made their way out from Disenchantment
Bay, and more was known
of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes than when the Dora was in port, so
that the McCulloch carried away a much
fuller account of the catastrophe. Descriptions by members of her crew
and the passengers,
so far as found by us, are as follows: The commander of the vessel,
Capt. W. C. Coulson, refers
briefly to the shocks and to changes in Point Turner.' The Seattle
newspapers printed interviews
with some members of the crew.2 Gov. Brady alludes to the Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes in his annual
reports for 1899 and 1900.3 Two of the passengers gathered specific
information concerning
the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, and to them the newspapers of the
country were indebted for the most widely
published desc'riptions of the shocks and their results. One of these
was W. J. Lampton: a
well-known newspaper and magazine writer. The other was the late Dr.
Sheldon Jackson,
then Government agent in Alaska, whose rather exaggerated account has
appeared in a great
many publications in more or less abridged form. Probably these two
men's descriptions of
the Yakutat Tesla “THREE” earthquakes were read by more people than
any others, for they were widely
copied in the newspapers and doubtless appeared in many others besides
the few cited. They
are not so reliable, however, as the first-hand accounts by Cox and
Fults (pp. 15-17), who were
in Disenchantment Bay, or those by Hill and Beasley (pp. 70-71, 77 and
79-80), who were at
Yakutat village during the shocks.
REPORTS FROM DISTANT POINTS.
West and northvest of Yakutat Bay important observations were made of
the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes,
especially by parties of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
and the United States
War Department. To thepoutheast observations were made at the chief
Alaska coast towns,
and in the wilderness to the north and east a few observations were
made by persons in camps
or settlements along the trails. Most of these places are within a
radius of 250 miles of
Yakutat Bay; though a few are more distant. (See Pls. 11, p. 14, and
XXXIII, in pocket, for
location of these places.)
Mouth of Copper River.-Just west of the Copper River delta, at Cape
Whitshed, about .
12 miles from Orca (320 miles from Yakutat), a Coast Survey party in
charge of H. P. Ritter
made detailed observations of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes felt
between September 3. and September 29,
1899,6 recording 35 shocks. As Ritter's observations were made at a
point whose exact
latitude and longitude are known and as they were timed with a good
and well-rated chronometer,
giving mean local time, they are of the utmost value. They constitute the most
important record, except that of distant seismographs, which the
investigation of the contemporary
account of these earthquakes has revealed, giving an accurate basis
for computation
as to the times of origin of the shocks at Yakutat, about 220 miles
distant, as well as for comparison
with distant seismograph records. The basis for computing the times of origin is
about as good as Dr. Oldham had for the great Indian earthquake of
1897, the nearest accurate
time record to which was made at Calcutta, 255 miles distant, although
of course he had many
other time records as well. Mr. Ritter's record is given on pages 71-72.
Ya7cataga.-At Cape Yakataga, 100 miles west d Yakutat, the captain of
a vessel which
was just offshore September 3 and one man who was on shore noted the
earthquake and have
furnished interesting records.
1 Log of the U. S. R e v e n ~ u t t a rSe rvice vessel NcCulloch.
9 Seattle Dally Times, Sept. 28,1899; reprinted in Weekly Times, Oct. 4,1899.
8 Department of the Interior, Miso. Repts., pt. 2, H. Doc. 5, 56th
Cong., 1st sess., p. 29; H. Doc. 5, 56th Cong., 2d :a%., pt. 2, p. 25.
4 New York Sun, Oct. 1,1899.
5 Sitka Alaskan, Sept. 23, 1899. San Francisco Examiner, Sept.
25,1899. London Times, Sept. 25, 1899; reprinted in weekly edition,
Sept.
29, 1889. Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Sept. 28, 1899. Portland
Weekly Oregonian, Sept. 29, 1899. Introduction of domestic reindeer
into
Alaska, Ninth Ann. Rept., for 1899, 1900, p. 50. Japan Times, Tokyo,
Oct. 31, 1899. Pubs. Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign
Languagss, Tokyo, No. 8, 1901, pp. 47-48. &n abridged Italian
translation appears in an appendix to the Boll. Sac. sismologica
itsliana, VO~.
6,1800, p. 178.
a Abstract in Ann. Rept. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1901, pp. 78,206;
also supplied to us in full in manuscript not previously published.
66 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Controller Bay.-At 'Katalla, near Kayak Island, 170 miles west of
Yakutat, just east of
the Copper River delta, and at Cordova and Orca, just west of Copper
River, notable earthquake
phenomena were observed by Messrs. Shepard, White, Williams, and 0thers.l Great
avalanches2 are said to have been caused by the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes.
Chugach Mountains.-During the summer of 1899 a War Department party under Capt.
W. R. Abercrombie was engaged in building a military trail from
Valdez, on Prince William
Sound, into the Copper River valley. One section of the party, under
Lieut. W. C. Babcock,3
was in the Chugach Mountains northeast of Valdez, about 240 miles
northwest of Yakutat,
and noted the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of September 3 and 10, making
detailed observations as to time
arid notable features. Captain Abercrombie himself felt the shock of
September 3 in the
Tsina Valley, west of Copper River, only 210 miles northwest of Yakutat Bay.
Copper River Valley.-Other members of the Abercrombie expedition noted
the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
of September 3 in localities at least 250 miles from Yakutat. These
were John F. Rice,"
quartermaster's clerk, who was at Copper Center; A. N. Powell15 a
guide, who was between
Copper Center and the mouth of Tazlina River; and another scout and
guide16 who were at
the junction of Klutina and Copper rivers.
Wrangell Mountains.-Oscar Rohn17 geologist of the Copper River
exploring expedition,
who was near the divide of Nizina and Chisana (formerly called Tanana)
glaciers, in the
Wrangell (Skolai) Mountains southeast of Mount Wrangell and 170 miles
northwest of Yakutat
Bay,,also felt the earthquake of September 3, being nauseated by the
swaying motion.
2Vutzotin Mountains.--Near Mentasta Pass, in the Nutzotin Mountains,
what was probably
this shock of September 3 was observed by G. B. Rorer, a gold prospector.
Tanam River.-A. H. Brooks,* of the United States Geological Survey,
who was north of
the Nutzotin Mountains, near the junction of Tanana and Nabesna
rivers, 240 miles northwest
of Yakutat Bay, heard the sound of avalanches in the mountains on the
afternoon of
September 3 at the exact time of these Tesla “THREE” earthquakes.
Va7dez.-At Vuldez, a seaport on an arm of Prince William Sound, one of
the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
was so strong that men were made dizzy and could not standlg houses
and forests were disturbed,
and there were earthquake tsunamis in Port Valdez.lo
Latouche Island.-On Latouche Island, in Prince William Sound, Lieut.
E. F. Glenn,ll of
the United States Army, observed the shocks on September 3.
7Jnga.-There are a number of references to Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
felt at Unga, in the Shumagin
Islands, at about this time;lz but as the voluntary Weather Bureau
observer l3 recorded no
seismic disturbance on the days of the heavier shocks (Sept. 3, 10,
15, 23, and 26), some
doubt is felt about correlating these with the Yakutut disturbance.
Most shocks at Unga are
doubtless volcanic. The Yakutat shock was tectonic, and there is no
reason for believing
that it was sensible to a few persons but not to the Weather Bureau
observer at Unga, 850
miles to the southwest, when it was not felt at so great a distance in
any other direction.
Dry Bay.-At the Native American Eskimo village at Dry Bay, 75 miles
east of Yakutat Bay, severe Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
were felt by the Native American Eskimos.
At sea, west of Yakutat.-Three different vessels report severe storms
or other exceptional
conditions at sea on September 3, 1899,14 in the region west of
Yakutat, near Kodiak
Island and at other places.
-
1 Replies to earthquake circulars, 1907-8.
2 Chamberlain, C. W., Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 21, 1899; reprinted
in Weekly Times, Sept 27, 1899.
3 Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306, 56th Cong., 1st
sess., 1900, pp. 73-74.
4 Idem, p. 102.
6 Idem, p. 132.
8 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
7 Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306,56th Cong., 1st
sess., 1900, p. 123.
8 Journal, 1899, and personal communication.
0 Camicia, L. S., and Glesener, Philip, reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
10 Seattle Daily Times, Sapt. 21 and 29, 1899, reprlnted in Weekly
Times, Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, 17%. A San Francisco paper, 1899; exact
dato
of clipping unknown.
11 Explorations in and about Cook Inlet, 1899: Rept. 1023, 56th Cong.,
1st sess., 1900, p. 715.
12 Sitka Alaskan, Nov. 4,1899.
13 Record of H. S. Tibbey, submitted to the authors.
14 New York Evening Post, Sept. 26, 1899. Seattle Weekly Times, Oct. 4,1899.
OBSEBVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 6 7'
On the day of the second heavy earthquake (September 10) the United
States revenue cutter
McCulloch was "off Unga Island and experienced quite a hard southeast
storm with heavy
cross swells. Capt. Coulson would not say that the storm was
attributable to the shock, as
such storms were customary at this time of year."
Andrew Brown: of Seattle, was on the steamer AZZiance between Kodiak
and Sitka during
this earthquake, and reports the worst storm he had experienced in 25
years in the north
Pacific Ocean.
It seems probable that all these heavy storms, on this rather stormy
coast and at a stormy
time of the year (near the autumn equinox), have a purely accidental
relationship to the seismic
activity. They are mentioned because they have been commonly
associated in the press and
in the popular mind with these Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. There is no
reason for such association.
Glacier Bay.-In the region near Muir Glacier the Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes were severely felt, according
, to Mr. Buschmann, the cannery superintendent at Bartlett Bay, in
1899. Unfortunately,
no direct observation of the effects of the shocks upon the glaciers
was made; but the
observations by competent glaciologists before the shocks, and by
other observers since 1899,
afford definite information as to the results. A number of people have
referred to the effect
of these shocks on the glaciers, notably John Burroughs13 H. F. Reidj4
who ascribed the changes
to the earthquake of September 3, 1899; C. L. AndrewsY5w ho first
visited Muir Glacier after
the changes had taken place; and G. K. GilbertlB who was on the last
scientific expedition
which visited Muir Glacier, as well as the Yakutat Bay glaciers,
before the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. Gilbert
ascribed the changes to a series of severe Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
on September 12, 1899, and later;
but in a letter dated March 12, 1907. he states that he probably
obtained this erroneous date
from newspaper reports. .
Southeastern Alaska, British CoZumbkx, and Yukon Territory.-The Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes of September
3, September 10, and later dates were felt at Sitka,7 at Juneaq8 at
HaineslS in Taku
Inlet,l0 and at other places not already named.
Skagway, especially, suffered from the whole series of shocks, which
were felt also at Dyea,
Pyramid Harbor, Bennett (British Columbia), Caribou Crossing (Yukon
Territory), White
Horse, and near Atlin (British Columbia). Because these places,
notably Skagway, are settlements
of considerable size or are along traveled routes reached by the
steamers or on a telegraph
line, the shocks in this general area have been reported much more
fully from them than
from less favorably located places, such as Yakutat and the wilderness
to the north and northwest,
where the shocks were probably even more severe. The accounts l1 vary
in merit and
probability and are cited here because many of them tell the places
where the different shocks
were felt and the dates of their occurrence.
The earthquake shocks of September 3 and 10 were also reported l2 from
several points
along Yukon River and on the trails between Lake Bennett and the
Klondike district. We
have specific information of earthquake shocks on both September 3 and
September 10 at
Carmacks, the headquarters of the Tantalus detachment of the Royal
Northwest Mounted
Police, 190 miles northeast of Yakutat Bay, near the mouth of
Nordenskiold River; at Dalton
House, 90 miles east of Yakutat Bay; at White Horse, 170 miles
northeast of Yakutat; on
--
1 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 28, 1899, reprinted in Weekly Times, Oct. 4,1899.
2 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
a Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 1, p. 89.
4 Variations of glaciers: Jour. Geology, vol. 9, 1901, p. 253; rol.
10, 1902, p. 317; vol. 11, 1903, p. 28% vol. 12, 1904, pp. 258-260.
6 Nat. Geog. Hag., vol. 14, 1903, pp. 4 4 1 4 ; with a note by G. K.
Gilbert, p. 445.
0 Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, Glaciers, pp. 23-25.
7 Sitka Alaskan, &pt. 16,1899. Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 28,1899;
reprinted in Weekly Times, Oct. 4,1899.
8 A San Francisco paper, 1899; exact date of clipping not known.
Seattle Daily Times, &pt. 20,1899; reprinted in Weekly Times, Sept.
27,1899
9 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 21, 1899; reprinted in Weekly Times,
Sept. 27, 1899. San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 22, 1899.
10 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 22,1899; reprinted in Weekly Times,
Sept. 27,1899. Jour. Geology, vol. 13,1905, p. 317.
11 San Francisco Chronicle (dated Tacoma, Sept. 9, 1899; exact date of
clipping not ascertained); same, Oct. 5, 1899. Seattle Weekly Times,
Sept. 27, 1899 (dated Skagway, Sept. 11); same, Oct. 4, 1899. Seattle
Daily Times, Oct. 2, 1899; reprinted in Weekly Times, Oct. 4. Chicago
Daily Tribune, Sept. 12 and 23, 1899. New York Daily Tribune, Sept.
12, 1899. Sitka Alaskan, Oct. 7, 1899. Victoria &mi-Weekly Colonist
LJept. 21 and 25,1899. Gwillim, J. C., Ann. Rept. Geol. Survey,
Canada, vol. 12, Summary Rept. for 1899, p. 62~.
la Victoria Semi-Weekly Colonist, Sept. 25, 1899. Seattle Weekly
Times, Oct. 4, 1899.
6 8 EABTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
the Hootalinqua River, 200 miles northeast of Yakutat Bay; at Tagish
wd Five Fingers, all in
Yukon Territory; and at White Pass, Alaska. $ % ,
On the Yukon, at the mouth of Stewart River, 60 miles south of Dawson
and 240 miles
north of Yakutat Bay, very light shocks were felt during the first 10
days of September, 1899.
One shock is said to have been felt at Fort Selkirk, 215 miles
northeast of Yakutat Bay.l This
area, like the Sitka-Juneau-Skagway region and the Prince William
Sound and Copper River
valley region, falls in the zone between the 150 and 250 mile radii
from Yakutat, where severe
shaking should have been expected; but because of lack of specific
information in many accounts
as to places of observation, other than "along the trail" or "on the
Yukon," these places can
not be exactly located on the map.
Places more than 250 miles distant.-At Sumdum, 275 miles southeast of
Yakutat Bay,
R. V. Rowejl on an unrecorded date in September, 1899, was "helping to
build a hotel * * *
and was fitting the window frame in the gable when the shock came." He
('had to catch hold
of the studding to keep from being thrown out."
On Wade Creek, in the Fortymile district, 290 miles north-northwest of
Yakutat Bay,
a heavy shock was felt, presumably on September 10.
At Eagle, Alaska, about 340 miles a little west of north from Yakutat
Bay, wellauthenticated
earthquake shocks, on September 10 and 26, were reported by a United States
Weather Bureau observer.
On Etolin Island, Alexander Archipelago, in McHenry Inlet, about 375
miles southeast
of Yakutat Bay, Fred Patching,l a cannery foreman, reports a sharp
earthquake about 6.30
a. m. on a Sunday in September, 1899 (exact date not known), in
connection with which
some great landslides occurred. It seems rather doubtful whether this
shock may be safely
correlated with the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333, because it was not
observed anywhere else in
the vicinity nor at several places much nearer Yakutat.
Approximately 380 miles west of Yakutat Bay, near Kenai Lake, an
earthquake was felt
'(in the fall of 1899," no date being recorded. It is said to have
caused lamps to swing, goods
to roll from shelves, and the ground to sway so as to cause dizziness.
About 390 miles a little north of west from Yakutat Bay the earthquake
of September 3
was noted by Rev. F. R. Falconer at Susitna station, just north of
Cook Inlet. It was also
felt at Tyonek, on Cook Inlet, and near by at Ladds and the shocks of
September 3 and 10
were felt at Homer, on Cook Inlet, 420 miles west of Yakutat, by George Jamm6.
About 430 miles northwest of Yakutat Bay, in the Birch Creek district,
the earthquake
of September 10 was observed by J. E. Kinnaley.
About 480 miles northwest of Yakutat Bay, beyond Mount McKinley,
Lieut. J. S. Herron
felt the shock of September 3; and 670 miles northwest of Yakutat,
near Treat Island, on
Koyukuk River, north of the Yukon, F. C. Schrader and a United States
Geological Survey
party encountered phenomena which we believe were associated with the
same shock.
At the Russian mission, Ikogmut, on Yukon River, 730 miles
west-northwest of Yakutat
and 315 miles from Schrader's place of observation, what is presumed
to be this same earthquake
was felt by the Russian missionaries at about the same time in the afternoon.
On Lake Chelan, in the State of Washington, nearly 1,200 miles from
Yakutat Bay, a
series of tsunamis observed on September 10, the day of the most
severe Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, were
possibly caused by these seismic disturbances.
From a number of other places in various parts of Alaska, British
Columbia, and Yukon
Territory specific information has been received that no Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes were felt in 1899. These
include towns or other white settlements or camps in every inhabited
region in this part of
North America. Nevertheless the boundaries between the area of the
sensible shocks and the
. undisturbed areas (see P1. XXXIII, in pocket) can not be drawn with
any great confidence,
1 Reply to emthquake drcular, 1901. a -ox, W. E., reply to earthquake
circular, 1907.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 69
because so much of the area probably shaken was then and is still an
uninhabited wilderness.
A few of the scattered outlying places, where local conditions were
favorable for observation
and where observers were present and have furnished information, are
noted above.
DISTANT SEISMOGRAPH RECORDS.
The seismograph records of the Yakutat Tesla “THREE” earthquakes are
mentioned in several newspapers,'
referring chiefly to records made by a seismograph in Victoria,
British Columbia (see P1.
XXVIII, p.102). the nearest instrument at that time.
The seismographs throughout the world also recorded the major shocks,
clearly showing
the times at which the earth waves set in motion by the faulting
arrived at places as far distant
aa Toronto, Canada; Mexico City, Mexico; Cordoba, Argentina; Kew and
Shide, England;
Uccle, Belgium; Grenoble, France; San Fernando, Spain; Strassburg,
Hamburg, and Gijttingen,
Germany; Rome and Florence, Italy; Trieste and Kremsmiinster,
Austria-Hungary ; Nicolajew,
Russia; Bombay, India; Tokyo, Japan; Batavia, Java; Mauritius, in the
Indian Ocean; and
Cape Town, South Africa.
These evidences that the Yakutat Bay disturbances were world-shaking
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes were
studied by experienced seismologists, like John Milne,z F. Or n~r
iR,~. D. Oldham,' and others,~
even before we visited Yakutat Bay; and the times of occurrence and
place of origin of the
Tesla “THREE” earthquakes were determined by some of these
seismologists from the seismograph records
alone. A description of the Italian records of these Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes was compiled by A. Cancani
from observations by Agamennone, Grablovitz, Riccb, Bastogi,
Stiattesi, Oddone, Belar, and
others. Cancani gives an Italian translation of part of one of the
exaggerated newspaper
accounts of these Tesla “THREE” earthquakes and reproduces the
detailed record of the seismographs in the
observatories of Italy. Other seismograph records of these Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes are printed and briefly
discussed by E. Lagrange,' by F. P. S c h ~ a ba,n~d by R. D. M. Verbeek.?
We were, however, unaware of these studies until after our return from
Alaska in 1905,
and indeed until after the publication of our preliminary report.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE SHOCKS.
THE EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 3, 1899.
POINTS OF OBSERVATION.
Withonepossible exception,1° the earthquake of September 3 was the
first disturbance felt in
Alaska during the autumn-of 1899. It occurred at 3.031 p. m. September
3 (3h 03m 28h8 p. m,
computed mean local time at Yakutat; or Oh 21m 40+s a. m. September 4,
when reduced to
1 Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Sept. 21 and 28, 1899. Kew York Daily
Tribune, Sept. 25, 1899. Chicago Times-Herald, Sept. 25,1899.
San Francisco Examiner, Sept. 25,1899.. . 2 Rept. British Assoo. Adv.
ki., 1900, pp. 64 et seq.; 1902, pp. 82-64.
I Publ. Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign Languages, No.
5, Tokyo, 1901, pp. 47, 62, 63, etc.; No. 6, 1901, pp. 47-48, 49-50,
,50-51.
5%%; No. 13, 1903, pp. 96-99, etc.; No. 21, 1905, pp. 45-49, et al.
4 Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc., vol. 62, 1906, pp. 459,461,471.
b Stupart, R. F., Proc. and Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, 2d ser., vol.
9,1903, p. iO. Kortazzi, J., Gerland's Beitriige zur Geophysik, vol.
4, 1900,
pp. 40&405. Van der Stok, J. P., Proe. 8ec. 8ci. Koninkl. Akad.
Wetenschappen Amsterdam, vol. 2, 1900, pp. 244-246.
0 Notizie sui terranoti osservati in Italia durante I'anno 1899: Boll.
Soc. sismol. ital., vol. 6, Appendice, 1800-1901, pp. 178190, 194-198,
199-208,
223-229, 231-234.
r Les mouvements sismiques en Belgique en 1899: Bull. Soc. belge
d'astronornie, vol. 5, No. 2, 1901.
s Berichte tiber Erdbebenbeobachtungen in Kremsmiinster, 1899: Mitt.
Erdbeben-Comm. Kaiserl. Akad. Wiss. Wien, vol. 15, 1900, pp. 4245.
s Observatioll~m ade at the Royal Magnetic and Meteorological
Observatory at Batavia, vol. 22,1899, pt. 1.
lo Alfred H. Brooks, of the United States Geological Survey, reports
that Ed. Brown, one of his party, heard roaring noises near the
headwater
region of Tanens and Nabesna rivers, 225 miles north-northwest of
Yakutat Bay, on Aug. '27,1899, at about 8 p. m. These noises, which
sounded like distant volleys of musketry or artillery, Iasted severaI
days and were attributed to avdanches and, as no avalanches had been
heard before, to avalanches set off by an earthquake. An independent
report of the same sort aomes from a party of prospeotors near the
head
of White River the lsst week in August, 1899. One of the men in this
party says (Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Sept. 25, 1899; and Seattle
Weekly Times, Oct. 4,1899; clippings dated Vancouver, Sept. 22,1899):
"It [the shock] was accompanied by the noise of what sounded most like
the splitting of a mountain. First it was like the sound of field
battery, and later it came in a tremendous shock as if whole armies
in battle. There were volleys, eFh lasting about a minute." Although
the definite association of these avalanches with an earlier
earthquake
is not absolutely established, it is possible that there may have been
an earthquake before Sept. 3, felt chiefly on the north side of the
St. Elias
Range.

Disenchantment Bay.-This shock is described by J. P. Fults, jr.,' who
was in Disenchantment Bay, as "slight and
not enough to throw a'man off his feet." It is rather disappointing
that fuller and more specific information concerning
the initial shocks on September 3, as felt in Disenchantment Bay, is
not available. The gold prospectors barely mention
these early disturbances, no doubt because the later ones, especially
thoee of September 10, were so much more violent.
Yakutat.-At Yakutat, however, the intensity seems to have been
greater; for there, it was said by C. E. "the
house began to rock and shake violently, * * * so violently that the
door swung to and fro and finally shut with a
crash. Dishes rattled, the table moved, and it seemed every minute as
if we were going to be overturned.
"We all rushed out of doors to find the whole village gathered in the
streets. Everybody was scared, and it was
enough to frighten almost anyone, for looking toward the timber we
could see the treesrocking back and forth, and the
watei croasing the reef in the bay was whipped into a mass of seething foam.
"The vibrations of the earth were from two to three seconds in length,
coming from the northwest and running
southeast, slow at first and then coming shorter and faster and
irregular until they had lasted about five minutes. There
were slight trembling8 the rest of the day."
A Native American Eskimo woman, now Mrs. Esther Early, of Juneau, but
then a resident of Yakutat, says: "The first earthquake
occurred one Sunday in September, 1899, about 2 o'clock in the
afternoon, and lasted for about two minutes. At first
it was a general shivering of the earth, but ended with a long jerk
from west to east. Then we had no earthquake before
the following Sunday at 8 or 9 a. m., which lasted for about three
minutes and was more severe and stronger than the
earthquake we had the previous Sunday. Then again in the afternoon at
about 3 or 4 o'clock we had a still stronger
earthquake than the first and second; the water in the bay began to
run out toward the ocean heavily and went far
below any low-water mark that I ever have seen, but after a short
while returned in a strong current and made a big
swell on the beach, and the houses in the Indian villages came pretty
near being washed away as the water washed
all around them.
"For about two weeks we then had Tesla “THREE” earthquakes almost
every day-first a small shock, then a stronger one, but none
so heavy as the two we had on the second Sunday. In fact, for a whole
year afterwards we frequently had small shocks
now and then. "
The hour of occurrence of this earthquake of September 3 as given by
R. W. Be a s l e ~t,h~e storekeeper at Yakutat,
who has kept a written record, was 3.30 p. m. "sun time, " which
corresponds with the actual time record better than
any other time given by an observer in or near Yakutat Bay. The shock,
Mr. Beasley says, lasted "long enough to
enable me to run out of doors and to watch people falling on the
beach, * * * and caused the trees and flagpoles
1 Seattle Daily Times Sept. 28, 1899.
3 San Francisco Examiner, clipping dated Seattle, Sept. 21, 1899; date
of publication not hown; Seattle Post-Intelligeneer, Sept. 23. 1899.
3 Reply to earthquake *r~UlaC, 1907.
OBSERVATIOXS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 71
to vibrate. Indeed I was afraid mine was going to break. It was
impossible to stand up without holding on to something,
and then some were on their knees before it was over. I t made me
dizzy and caused nausea which lasted three
days, and it affected others the same way."
Rev. Albin Johnson states that the women in the place were more
affected by dizziness than the men.
Dry Bay.-The Native American Eskimos at the Dry Bay village, 75 miles
east of Yakutat, at the mouth of Alsek River, state that
the shock was so severe that men were unable to stand.
Yakatuga.-At Cape Yakataga, 100 miles wept of Yakutat, Capt. Ben
Durkee,Z commanding the schooner Belling-
;ham, also experienced this earthquake. On September 3 he was on board
the schooner a mile off the coast. The first
shock, at 12 o'clock noon, was heavy and was followed by shocks every
10 to 15 minutes. The first shock continued
probably two minutes; the others were shorter. The first shock was
plainly felt on the boat, which vibrated and shook
as if it were on a rock. Dust and sinoke "from the breaking of the
tops of the mountains " were plainly seen, beginning
at Icy Bay, 40 miles to the east, and extending to Capesuckling, 70
miles to the west, consuming from five to six minutes
in running that distance. The tide set out from the shore at the rate
of 3 or 4 miles an hour, and the schooner
sailed out at the end of her anchor chain. The tide was slow about
returning and reached about half the proper height,
according to the tide tables. It returned quietly, the weather being
perfectly calm. Before the quake everything
was perfectly calm; there was no noise, the shock being first noticed
by the trembling of the boat. During the quake
there was a kind of a roar, as of a train of cars, but this was heard
during the shock only. Capt. Durkee reached
Kayak about 4 p. m. September 4 after a run in a heavy sea which taxed
the schooner to the utmost.
S. E. Doverspike? a gold prospector and miner who was ashore at
Yakataga, writes that on September 3 at 2.30 a violent
shock caused the tops of the trees to break and landslides to occur.
Earth waves were distinctly felt. During
the next six hours 48 distinct shocks occurred, followed by light
shocks during the week and a heavy shock on September
10 about 5 o'clock. The duration of the shocks was not taken "on
account of falling timber." There were
no buildinp to be damaged and no apparent crack openings. The tide was
at half ebb and receded to low water in 20
minutes, not returning high for 36 hourj. The ocean beach was raised 3
feet, as was noticed at the landing place on
Yaks- beach, the tide not rising high enough to get over the reef. I t
was very hard to stand, but Mr. Doverspike
was not dizzy, although some others were very dizzy. There were very
heavy ground waves with a heaving motion
similar to ocean waves. During the vibration there was a heavy rumbling sound.
Katalla.-At Xatalla and Kayak Island, in Controller Bay, 170 miles
west of Yakutat, Dr. C. W. Chamberlin4
reports severe shocks on September 3, with great avalanches and dust
clouds in the adjacent mountains.
Copper River delta.-At Cape Whitahed, near the mouth of Copper River,
about 220 miles west-northwest from
Yakutat, H. P. Ritteq6 of the Coast Survey, from whose observations
the times of originof the shocks at Yakutat are
determined, reports the heavy September 3 shock as beginning at 2.40
p. m. and lasting two minutes. He says it
was a "violent earthquake, direction northeast and southwest. Two
shocks close together. Bottles turned toward
northeast. Water in ahallow creek thrown out on bank. " Eight or more
after-shocks were also felt, two of them in
the evening being severe.
Mr. Ritter's record of these shocks is given below.
Rmrd of earthqu.de shocks September S to September 29, 1899.
[By Homer P. Ritter, assistant, Coast and Geodetic Survey. Survey of
Prince William Sound and vicinity Alaska. Camp Whitshed, Orca Inlet
longitude, 145' 54' 35" west of Greenwich; latitude, 60' 27) 34<' n0rth.i
Remarks.

Violent earthquake direction northeast and southwest Two shocks close
toqether Bottles
turned over towar'd the northwest. Water in shallow'creek thrown out
on bank. ' Weather
elm, pleawnt, warm.
Few seconds' duration.
Two 1 ht shocks time not noted.
Ghock?asting abdut I0 seconds.
Twoquite severeshocks.
Two moderate shocks. Several light shocks followed before observers
went to sleep.
Series of easterly gales.

Very high water at noon.
Weather calm and cloudy; occasional showers. Few seconds' duration;
light but distinct.
Distinct continuous vibrations lasting over 100 seconds.
camp &tsff vibrating violent1
Violent at beginning, tapering ogtoward end. Vibrations continuous for
180 seconds. DirecTESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES
AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Record of earthquake shocks September 8 to September 29, 1899-Continued.
1 Beginning End of of shock. 1 iock. ~ -
Remarks.
I -- A.M. / A.M. /

No shocks were felt after September 29 up to the time the party left
for San Francisco on October 23, 1899.
Mr. Ritter is inclined to think that during the shocks of September 3
"all the apparent movements were lateral."
He was in camp on a shingle beach just above high tide, and all around
was marshy ground and mud flats, bare at low
water.

heavy shock at 2.40 on September 3, baaed on notes written at the time.
"At the time of the shock I was hunting, in company with one of the
men, about 14 miles from camp, in the hilla.
I waswalking out on a peninsula approximately 20 by 100 meters that
extended into a small freah-water lake about 1
mile in length by one-fourth of a mile in width and about 400 feet
above sea level.
"The vibration or trembling was not great and there seemed to be a
shock. The &st noted sensation was that of
some impending danger and a feeling of pamiveness to ascertain what
the outcome was to be. The next sensation was
to note the time of what I then knew to be an earthquake shock. The
variation in the volume of sound due to the
variation in the volume of water flowing over a slight fall in the
outlet of the lake next attracted my attention. The
first wave was approximately 20 seconds after the noted time of the
shock. The maximum variation in height waa
about 10 inches, with a 5-second interval between the times of the
waves (from maximum to maximum). The heights
and times between waves decreased very slowly, being noted for 20
minutes, at which time they were almwt imperceptible."
Va1dez.-The same earthquake w& recorded at Valdez by L. S. Camicia2 as
a strong shock at 2.33 p. m., during
which it was impossible to stand on one's feet. The time is doubtless
nearly accurate, as Mr. Camicia is a watch repairer
............
............
and optician and should have had accurate timepieces in his shop. He
states, however, that he was not using solar or
local meridian time.
Latouche, Prince William Sound.-Just east of Kenai Peninsula, at
Latouche Island, 295 miles west of Yakutat Bay,
Lieut. E. F. Glenn, of the United States Army, felt the shocks of
September 3. He states3 that "on September 3, while
superintending some work, I suddenly felt as though I were about to
fall. I at first attributed this to my physical
condition, but soon discovered that we were having an earthquake of no
mean proportions."
Chugach Mounlain8.-Just west of Copper River, in the Chugach
Mountains, on Tsina River, 210 miles northweat
of Yakutat Bay, Capt. W. R. Aber~rombieo,f ~ the United States Army,
felt this earthquake about 2 p. m. He aaye
that it consisted of "a succession of shocks like the surf beating on
the ahore. I t threw me down-that is, tripped me in
walking. Groves of cottonwood trees waved to and fro like wheat. I t
caused heavy landslides, broke ice off glaciem,
and stopped work on Valdez trail by the motion of the earth."
As observed in another portion of the Chugach Mountains, about 240
milesnorthwest from Yakutat Bay, the heavy
dock of September 3 is described in Capt. Abercrombie's r e p ~ r
tf,ro~m data by Lieut. Babcock, as follows: " I t began
Blight.
Llttle stronger. Earth rac?icdly vibrating all day.
Weather wind hid there were a few sl~ghsth ocks.
storming all tge time. A number of shocks, but hard and uncertain to
determine time and
duration on account of general u roar.
Easterly gale, extreme high w a t e r L Y .
1 24 00
1 28 11
1 33 11
1 40 11 ............
............
P. M.
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1909.
2 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
a Explorations in and a b u t Cook Inlet, m Compilation of narratives
of explorations in Alaska: S. Rept. 1023,56th Cong., 1st sess., 1900,
p. 713.
Short shock, followed after a few seconds by one of longer duration.
Weather clear, windy.
Direction, southeast and northwest; +second oscillations; woke up
entire camp; lasted long
enough to jump out of cot and light candle.
One short.
Do.
Two short.
Two t-second shocks.
Raining and storming. Shock woke most of camp.
4 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
5 Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306,56th Cong., 1st
sess., 1900, pp. 73-74. Narrative of explorations In Alaska: S. Re ~
t1.0 23.56th
Cong., 1st sess., 1900, p. 776.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 73
gently, grsdually increasing in violence until it became impossible to
stand erect, and then gradually decreased. The
shock lasted 1 minute and 10 seconds. The vibrations were from north
to south and were so violent that one could
mtually see the ground move. Cook pails resting on the ground were
upset and tall spruce trees about us swayed
dangerously. The senestion experienced was not so much that of fear as
of utter helplessness, accompanied by a slight
nausea resembling seasickness. After the shaking had subsided we heard
eight muffled reports, sounding more like
gunahoh than any other sound, occurring at intervals of about 12 seconds."
The following are extracts from the diary of Capt. (then First Lieut.)
Walter C. Babcock, Eighth United States
Cavalry, written on the spot: "September 3, 1899: TVe arrived at the
new camp, No. 15, at 2 p. m., and at once set to
work to get dinner. Just as we were about to eat I felt an earthquake
shock and asked Paulson to look at his watch
at once. It was 2.28 p. m.' The shaking increased till it was
impossible tc stand erect. * * * After supper, at
7.30 p. m., there was another slight shock, lasting three seconds and
preceded by one af the reports above noted.'
We are camped on a large flat, timbered with spruce, near the river,
about 300 yardsfrom the trail. The atmosphere
has been very smoky all day."
Just west of Copper River, in the Tiekel Valley, Chugach Mountains, E.
S. Larson experienced a shock of unrecorded
date, which caused the trees to wave and the ground to move, and awoke
a map sleeping on the ground.
upper Copper River.-Concerning the shock in the Copper River valley,
about 250 milesnorthwest of Yakutat Bay,
J. F. Rice8 says: "At 3 p.m., September 3, while standing on a stump
making observations, I was violently precipitat,&
to the ground by a sudden seismical disturbance. The ground seemed to
rock like the angry billows of the ocean.
The trees swayed to and fro as if a hurricane was raging. ID the midst
of the convulsion of nature there were borne to '
our ears far-off sounds resembling the discharge of heavy artillery."
Another scout and guide for the Copper River military exploring
expedition ' reporb: "I waa at the juaction of
mntina and Copper rivers, Alaska, on September 3, 1899, at which time,
about 1 or 2 p. m., there was a violent earthqu&
e shock. The earth seemed to give about three swings, but it wasnot a
jar, and no noises were heard. The
swinging was probably about five seconds, but no record was made of it
at the time. I was told by gold prospectors that
Tonsins Lake dashed ib water as if it was water in a small vessel.
There wss black smoke issuing from the crater of
Wrangell at the time, but nothing unuaual was ~ot icedfr om that, ss
it alternates in sending out steam and smoke."
A. N. Powell,6 who was a short distance north of Mr. Rice, in the
Copper River valley, reports that while the earthquake
of September 3 was in progress Mount Wrangell waa emitting heavier
smoke than usual. This was also repwted
by Mr. Rice. Oecar Rohn and Capt. Abercrombie2 both refer to the
slight apparent activity of Mount Wrangell at
about this time, but this activity was doubtless only coincident with
the earthquake and not an effect of it.
Wranqell Mountaim.-On September 3 Oscar Rohn was in the Wrangell
Mountains, near the summit of the
Nizinaand Chieana (formerly Tanana) glaciers, and about 170 miles
northwest by north from Yakutat. Ee eays:
"Suddenly the aurface of the glacier began swaying up and down in the
most amazing manner * * * with
a slow, undulating movement so violent and persistent as to cause a
touch of nausea. I can not make even a rational
gueas as to the length of time the shocks lasted. It seemed ns though
we were bounced up and down 3 feet, although I
suppose this is wholly impossible, and I should guess that the
vibrations were not more frequent than two or three a
minute. I bad no way of knowing the direction of movement. My
impression, however, was that the motion was
in a direction approximately northeast and southwest." There were
minor rapid shocks afterwards.
Mentasta Pass, Nuttotin Mountains.-On an unrecorded date in September,
1899, G. B. R ~ r e ra, p~r ospector, now
at Dry Creek, Alaska, felt the earthquake shocks near Mentasta, 250
miles northwest of Yakutat Bay.
Tanana River.--A. H. Brooks, IV. J. Peters, and a United States
Geological Survey party were north of Tanana
River near latitude 63O, longitude 1 4 3 O , about 250 miles
north-northwest of Yakutat Bay, September 3, when the
earthquake occurred. Brooks records it in his journal as follows:
"This afternoon at 3.30 we heard a series of loud, distant sounds
resembling the sound of blastingor the discharge
of heavy artillery. lhey were repeated at irregular intervals with
varying intensity for 5 or 10 minutes. They seemed
to gradually lose their intensity and die away. At about 8 p. m. we
heard several similar sounds, but they were not
continued more than a minute. The consensus of opinion was that they
came from the direction of the upper valley
of Tetlina River beyond the lakes. Ed. Brown heard similar sounds at
about 8 p. m. August 27. Camp 55." @
Skagu1ay.-At Skagway ,lo 160 miles east-southeast from Yakutat, the
shock of September 3 "caused buildicgs, telephone
poles, and the like to rock back and forth for 32 minutes. The quake
was not a sudden jar, but a steady motion
1 The 10 or 12 minute discrepancy in the time of this shock, as
observed by Lieut. Babcock, was doubtless due .o his not using low1
solar time.
He sap (reply to earthquake circular, 19Oi) that he used " anordinary
cheap silver watch, probably correct within a fe~minutes.~
a Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
8 Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306,56th Gong., 1st
sess., 1900, p. 102. Narratives of explorations in -4laska: S. Rept.
1023,56th
Cong., 1st w., 1900, p. 788.
4 Reply to earthquake circular, Valdea, Sept. 22,1908.
6 Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306,56th Cong., 1st
sess., 1900, p. 132. Narratives of explorations in Alaska: S. Rept.
1023,56th
Gong., lstses., 1900,~8.0 .1.
6 Letter dated Feb. 16,1907.
Copper River exploring expedition: S. Doc. 306,56th Gong., 1st sess.,
!900,p. 123. Narrative of explorations in Alaska: S. Rept. 1023, 1900,
p. 800; letter dated Feb. 16, 1907.
8 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
DFor location of amp 55 and position of party on September 3 (Camps 60
and 61) see Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. 6. Geol. Survey, pt. 2,1900,
PI. XL.
10 San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 10,1599. The time given (3.17 p. m.)
is almost exactly what would be expected, with corrections forlong!.
tude, transmission, and failure to use mean local time.
74 EABTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
of the earth from north to south. So perceptible was the shaking up
that pools of water collected in the streets and
sloshed about like water does in a bucket or basin when shaken
violently." Barrels of beer were thrown out of the
vats in the Skagway brewery.
F. S. \Villiams,l deputy collector of customs at Skagway, regards the
first shock on Sunday afternoon, September
3, as the most violent, lasting "long enough to run from second floor
to street, and then to wait in street for shocks to
end. Not strong enough to knock a man down, but to make him stumble.
It caused me to stumble while walking,
but when I came to realize that it was an earthquake, I had no
difficulty in standing. It caused telegraph poles to
vibrate, two-story frame building (large) to sway back and forth with
a terrifying quaking, and to crack the putty
around the plate-glass windows (about 5 by 7 feet) in the same
building-Klondike Trading Co.'s building at Skagway.
Reported small tidal wave on Lynn Canal about 1 or 2 feet high."
Rakes.-At Haines Missi~nn,~ea r Skagway, the shocks were accompanied
by the moving of furniture, swaying
of trees, rolling of logs, difficulty in standing and in walking, etc.
The ground is mid to have cracked open in places.
Needless to my, the Native American Eskimos were put in the utmost
fear by these occurrences.
Dye@.-At Dyea, about 150 miles east of Yakutat Bay, A. J. Walker,' of
the United States Customs Service, reports
that a shock about 8 a. m. lasted long enough for him to "walk across
a large room, open door, and observe large warehouse
across the street sway back and forth. It caused water to slop out of
vessels on stove, doors and windows to
rattle, and piles of freight in the warehouse on the wharf to fall
over. There was difficulty in walking and a slight
dizzy sensation. There was a peculiar noise, like the approach of a
heavy wind, which gradually grew louder and
gradually died away. "
J. R. Beegle,' a deputy collector of customs at Dyea, states:
"Beginning at 2 o'clock a. m., 13 distinct shocks were felt within 24
hours, some within a few minutes of each other
and others at longer intervals. The longest shock probably lasted 30
seconds; very severe. Buildings were damaged,
glaciers were shaken up; * * * it caused lamps to swing, doors to
rattle, etc. * * * Dyea is on a large sand
flat and it waved like the sea, the waves traveling from west to east.
The shaking was sufficient to wake both myself
and wife from a sound sleep."
Surprise Lake.-Near Surprise Lake, east of Atlin, in the Canadian
Coast Range, 240 miles east of Yakutat, John
Bimms3 felt severe shocks on September 3. Dust from distant mountains
suggested smoking volcanoes (or avalanches).
There were occasional aftershocks up to September 7.
Vhite Hur.~e.-At White Horse, Yukon Territory, about 170 miles
northeast of Yakutat Bay, the Government telegrapher,
G. S. Fleming,' made notes at the time concerning the earthquake of
September 3. He says that this shock,
which came at 3 p. m., lasted 30 to 40 seconds, but was of slight
intensity. He realized that it was an earthquake, but
there was no unpleasant sensation or alarm. When the motion began, a
dog on a small hill near the house crouched
in terror, whined, and ran down the hill.
Upper Yukon River.-An extract from the diary kept at the headquarters
of the Tantalus detachment of the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police on Yukon River, about 190 miles
northeast of Yakutat Bay, in about 62O 6' north
latitude and 136' 15' west longitude (marked on Bome maps.as
Carmacks), says: "September 3, 1899: Slight shock of
earthquake felt here during the afternoon."
Homer.-At Homer, Kachemak Bay, near the entrance to Cook Inlet, 430
miles west of Yakutat, the shock of
September 3 was felt by George JammB, a mining engineer, and was of
sufficient intensity to throw him against a
drawing board over which he was ~orking.~
Read of Cook Inlet.-At Susitna station, about 20 miles above the head
of Cook Inlet, fully 390 miles northwest ' by west from Yakutat Bay,
the earthquake wae experienced by Rev. F. R. Falconer, a Presbyterian
missionary, who
says that "the shock occurred about 2 o'clock in the afternoon the
first Sunday in September, 1899. The shock seemed
with a wavelike motion."
At Tyonek, on Cook Inlet, a gold prospector reported to A. H. Brooks a
"severe shock" in September, 1899, but whether
on the 3d or 10th was not recorded.
Northwest of Mount McKinley.-Iieut. J. S. Herron, of the United States
Army, was in about 63O 30' north
latitude. 152' 30' west longitude, near the Tatlathna branch of
Kuskokwim River, on September 3, near the Indian
village called Telida. This is about 50 miles northwest of Mounts
McKinley and Foraker in the Alaska Range and
more than 480 miles northwest of Yakutat Bay. Lieut. Herron states
that "a violent earthquake occurred at 2 p. m.
on the 3d." Another was felt at 2.30 p. m. by chronometer set to
Seattle time. Lieut. Herron's diary, written at
the time, states that one shock was "very severe and seemed to be
right under us and the creek, on which it made big
waves and shook the ground under us."
The heavy shock lasted five seconds and Herron was compelled to hold
to a tree to keep on his feet.6 He was near
the bank of a creek about 25 feet wide. He says:
"The shock mused waves on this small creek nearly 2 feet high, which
splashed on the banks with considerable
violence. It was difficult to stand up; impossible to walk. I
experienced no nausea, but did experience either dizziness
or surprise. Others in my party had same or similar sensations. I did
not know it was an earthquake at first;
was too surprised at the waves on the creek and my own staggering5 to
realize what had happened. After it was over
I knew it was an earthquake. There was no appearance of waves in the
ground as far as I could see. I was in dense
underbrush at the time and engaged in chopping trail for my pack
train, which was following. It was a severe and
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907. 4 Personal communioation In
1909, based on diary kept in 1899.
2 Ssn Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 22,1899. 6 Explorations in Alaska,
1899: War Dept., Adjt. General's Office, No. 31,1901, p. 38.
Idem., Oot. 5,1899. 8 Reply to earthquake circular, 1909.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XXV
FOAM ANC MARKS OF EARTHQUAKE TSUNAMI (X-X) ON BANK OF KOYUKUK RIVER
670 MILES FROM YAKUTAT.
Photographed September 3, 1899, at 2 22 p. m., by F. C. Schrader.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. '75
continued rocking or ahaking of the earth and not a gradual movement.
The earthquake seemed to be right under
our feet; all the others agreed to this. I do not recall any noises.
There might have been some, however. As stated
above, I was busy trying to keep on my feet."
Koyutut River.--On September 3, F. C. Schrader, of the United States
Geological Survey, was coming down
Koyukuk River, a northern tributary of the Yukon, and had reached a
point on the north shore of Treat Island,' in
about 156' 15' weat longitude and 66O north latitude, approximately
262 miles from the Yukon and 670 miles northwest
of Yakutat. Herethe Koyukuk meanders through an extensive lowland of
lacustrine Pleistocene silts called the
Koyukuk Flats.
At 2.22 on that afternoon, in a stretch of the river which was
otherwise as calm as a millpond, pronounced waves
were encountered, two of which were 13 to 2 feet high in midstream and
rose a foot or more above normal river level
upon the banks, "where they left pools and patches of water, foam,
froth, sticks, and vegetable rubbish as the water
a~bsided."~ These waves moved upstream, north-~lorthwest, rather
rapidly, and on very flat shores washed the
d6bris back several hundred yards, the phenomena b e i ~ gno ted for
about half a mile along the river bank.
At the time Mr. Schrader associated the waves vith an earthquake, but,
being in a canoe, he was not certain
whether the land was ahaken. He landed at once and photographed the
subsiding wave (Pl. XXV), recording it in the
photographic laboratory of the United States Geological Survey on his
return as "due to earthquake disturbance,
September 3, 1899. at 2.22 p. m." The same phenomena were noticed
independently by several other members of
Mr. Schrader's party, including T. G. Gerdine and D. C. Witherspoon,
the topographers, farther along the river, and by
one man, H. B. Baker, on the ahore.
The distances involved here and the topography and structure of the
region suggest a comparison with the San
E'rancisco earthquake. The Koyukuk Flats are between the Rocky
Mountains of Alaska and the Alaskan equivalents
$of the Sierra Nevada. They are 120 miles farther from Yakutat Bay
than Great Salt Lake (just west of the Rocky
Mountains in the United States) is from San Francisco. The faulting
which cawed the San Francisco earthquake of
1906 did not propagate waves through the rocks and structures of the
valley of California, the Sierra Nevada, and the
Great Basin of sufficient strength to produce noticeable tsunamis in
Great Salt Lake. The Yakutat earthquake of
September 3 did produce tsunamis on the river in Koyukuk Flats.
Corroborative evidence is found in an examination
of the time of Schrader's observations. On correcting his time of
observation (2.22) for longitude3 and for transmission,'
it comes within 19 minutes 20 seconds of the time of the Yakutat Tesla
“THREE” earthquakes. As Schrader states that he
did not use accurate or local time, and as we may have used too fast a
rate of transmission, the time seems close enough
to warrant a correlation of the Koyukuk waves with the Yakutat
earthquake. It should be noted that this plain of
unconsolidated mlts is just the sort of place that would be affected
by even a weak earth tremor, shaking like a bowl
af jelly and raiaing waves in the streams. In the Lisbon earthquake of
1755 the water of Loch Lomond, in Scotland,
at a considerably greater distance, is reported to have been affected
by the shocks at the proper time.6 It is possible,
however, that the disturbance on the Koyukuk may have been due to a
nearer earthq~ake,~relatetod a release of strain
in the earth's cruet nearer to the Koyukuk region and set off by the
Yakutat earthquake.
Lowm bend of Yukon River.-At the Ruseian mission, Ikogmut, on Yukon
River, Rev. N. N. Amcan, a Ruasian
orthodox priest, observed what was perhaps this same earthquake,'
although his description is in some respects less
specific than the last one cited. The place of observation was near
62' north latitude and 160' 45' west longitude,
about 730 miles west-northwest of Yakutat Bay and over 315 miles from
Schrader's place of observation.
Father Amcan states that "there was a very heavy shock at 2 o'clock in
the afternoon." Unfortunately he has
not kept a record of the exact date; but from the facts that he places
it in tbe period between September 3 and September
29, 1899, and that it came at 2 p. m. (almost the same tinle as the
shock of September 3 on the Koyukuk, and
far too late in the afternoon for the shock of September lo), it is
believed to have occurred on September 3. When
corrected for longitude and transmission it coincides with the time of
the September 3 shack at Yakutat within 18
minutes 17 seconds, an error easily accounted for by inaccuracy of the
timepiece. Like the Koyukuk Flats, this place
is located at the edge of a great plain of unconsolidated Pleistocene
strata, in which earth waves might be generated,
even at so great a distance. The shock lasted long enough for Mr.
Amcan to "run out of the door." A eevere hock
was felt at this place in 1867, when it was reported by Meears. Dall
and Whymper, who felt it on the water, and by the
prieats at the mission.
SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS OF EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 3.
This earthquake was felt at about 30 known localities, the most
distant being 730 milea
from Yakutat Bay. The phenomena recorded include uplift of the coast,
trembling of the
earth, tsunamis, avalanches, earth waves, difficulty in standing up
and nausea on the part
of human beings, fear incited in animals, and shaking of houses, but
no appreciable damage to
life or property.
1 Twenty-&st Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1900, P1. LX.
3 Described in discussion at meeting of Qeological Society of
Washington, Apr. 25, 1906, and in letters Jan. 10, Mar. 22, and Apr.
3, 1907.
a Disenchantment Bay, Yakutat, latitude 59'59'20" north, longitude
139" 33' west; Treat Island, Koyukuk River, latitude 66" north,
longitude
166" 15' west.
4 Six hundred and seventy miles at 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) per second.
6 Lpell, Charles, Principles of geology, 10th ed., 1868, p. 149.
0 The existence of secondary earthquakes of this sort, called "
sympathetic earthquakes" by Oldham (The great earthquake of 1897: Mem.
awl. Survey India, vol. 29, 1899, pp. xxv-sxvii), has never been
positively established.
7 Reply to earthquskec&Dular, 111)0&
76 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
PLACE OF ORIGIN OF EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 3.
The place of origin of this September shock is not definitely known
and has hitherto been
assumed to be Yakutat Bay, so our time records have been computed on
that assumption.
As there was uplift of the coast and probably faulting at Yakataga,
100 miles west of Yakutat,
on September 3 and as no tsunamis are reported in Disenchantment
Bay,and Russell Fiord,
where tsunamis accompanied the faulting of September 10, it might be
safer to assume that
the shock of September 3 originated nearer Yakataga. Moreover this
first earthquake seems to
have shown less intensity in Disenchantment Bay than at Yakutat
village, and less there, in
proportion to the distance from a possible center of disturbance in
and near Disenchantment
Bay, than near Yakataga or Copper River. An alternate hypothesis is
that the unexpected
distant intensity is only apparent; that is, that we are reading it
into the accounts by the
different observers. It would be perfectly possible, for example, that
the observers in Disenchantment
Bay described the first shock in the mild terms quoted, because the first shock
seemed mild'to them after the later, more violent earthquakes,
especially those of September 10.
AFTERSHOCKS OF THE EARTEQUAXE OF SEPTEMBER 5.
Light shocks occurred between September 4 and 9, as recorded by Mr.
Ritter at Cape
Whitshed, near the mouth of Copper River (p. 71), and by a number of
other observers
near by. Mr. Hill speaks of "one or two slight tremors at Yakutat, but
nothing of any consequence."
Mr. Fults speaks of "intermittent shocks" in Disenchantment Bay all the week
following September 3, usually coming at the extremes of the t i d e "
two distinct shocks a day,
one at high tide and one near low tide."
TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES OF SEPTEmER 10,1890.
NUMBER AND INTENSITY.
The seismic disturbances which had been felt ever since the initial
earthquake of September
3 came to a climax on September 10. It is reported that at the camp of
the gold prospectors in
Disenchantment Bay over 50 shocks were felt during that day, of which
two were severe. Two
of the many shocks felt at Yakutat village that day are described as
particularly severe. Ten
or more shocks were strong enough to be felt in the Coast Survey camp
near the Copper River
delta, several of them being very violent. Six were felt in the
Chugach Mountains near Prince
William Sound. Five were felt 190 miles to the northeast, on Yukon
River. A number are
reported from other distant points, like Skagway and Juneau, to the
southeast. Two shocks
were of sufficient intensity to be recorded on seismographs throughout
the world, and these
records have been studied by Milne, Omori, Oldham, the Italian
observers, and others.
THE EARLY SHOCK.
POINTS OF OBSERVATION.
Little could be learned concerning the fist considerable shock on
September 10, though
there is no doubt that a shock of sufficient intensity to be recorded
by seismographs throughout
the world was severe enough near its place of origin to merit more
detailed description, which
it would doubtless have received but for the overshadowing violence of
the later and heaviest
shock on the same day. This early shock, which occurred either just
before or just after 8 a. m.,2
is said to have lasted a minute and a half. Observations of this shock
were procured from the
places named in the foll~wingli st. This list is doubtless very
incomplete, for though this shock
seems to have been more severe at Yakutat than that of September 3,
yet the list is much
smaller. For the location of the places mentioned, see Plate I1 (p.
14) or Plate XXXIII (in
pocket).
-
I Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 28, 1899. * sh 6m 283. local time at
Yakutat ~f based on the first record at Camp Whitshed that day (13h
24m 409. Greenwich meridian time); or 23 minutes
10 seconds earlier (17b lm 30 a Greenwich meridian time) rt based on
distant seismograph records.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 77
Points of observation of the earlier shock of Septembm 10.
Place. i Location with respect to Yakutat Bay. Observer.
DETAILS OF OBSERVATIOBS.
Disenchantment Bay ....................
Yakutat village .........................
Copper River delta.. ....................
Chu ach Mountains.. ...................
valjeiez ..................................
Upper Alsek River. .....................
Upper Y&on River.. ...................
8kagway. ...............................
Juneau. .................................
Disenchantment Bay.-Mr. Fulta 1 has recorded that in Disenchantment
Bay the early shock September 10 was
aavere enough "to throw a man off his feet." In the adjacent camp, Dr.
Cox states there was movement of the ground
and low &rubs shook and were bent as if in a strong wind. After this
there were less severe shocks every few minutes
all the forenoon, the total number reported to us by Mr. Flenner being 52.
Yaktat.-From Yakutat village C. E. Hill reports:
" Sunday morning, September 10, at 8 o'clock, we were all asleep in
the mission when an earthquake shock came
that made the one of the week before pale into insignificance. It was
shorter than the former one and from the game
direction; only we noticed this difference by watching the swaying of
the swinging lamp: The tremor would start
almost due north and south and would work its way around until the
lamp was swinging almost due west and east.
We all piled out of the houses as soon as we could and witneased the
same swaying of the trees, but much more than
before, until the houses creaked and p a n e d as if being shaken to
pieces. None of us had stopped to dress before
d i n g out, so as soon as the shock was over we returned and got our
clothing on.
The missionary, Mr. Johnson, did not intend to hold services that
morning because the slight shakes kept coming
every few minutea and he was afraid to gather a crowd in the building;
but the Indians, all of whom had once more
fled to the hills, begged him to have church, saying that Ankow-their
name for God-was angry at the earth and wae
shaking it. To oblige them Mr. Johnson held church, and during the
whole service there was not a single shake."
R. W. Bedey,'storekeeper at Yakuht, gives the time of the early shock
as 7.40 a. m. This is probably very
nearly correct, for the time which he gives for the heavy shock later
in the day, recorded with the same timepiece,
is amoat abeolutely correct. The duration of this early shock he gives
as three seconds.
Copper River delta.-In the Coast Survey camp at Cape Whitshed, west of
the Copper River delta, some 220 milea
weat of Yakutat Bay, the earliest hock recorded by Mr. Ritter wasat
7.43 a.m., the disturbance being "light but diatinct"
and Issting a few seconds. This, as already stated, was one of the
observations "taken with a good and wellrated
chronometer, giving mean local time," so that the time may be regarded
as almost absolutely correct. Mr.
Latham had a "sensation of the earth trembling or vibrating,"
following more or l a d i s t i n c t shock. Other shocks
during the forenoon, at the same place, came at Sh lm; at 10h 3Sm 34s,
when Mr. Ritter says there were " distinct continuous
vibrations lasting over 100 seconds;" at loh 53m 458, when the "camp
flagstaff vibrated violently" for 15 seconds;
at loh 5gm 55s, when the shock was " violent at beginning, tapering
off toward end. Vibration continuous for
180 seconds. Direction a t right angles to last Sunday;" and a t llh0
5m 05%w. hen the shock lasted 30 seconds.
Mr. Latham made the following notes regarding these shocks. His times
vary from Mr. Ritter's because he used his
watch rather than the accurate chronometer. "September 10, 10.40 a. m.
Distinct heavy shocks, wave motion rather
than trembling. In the heavy shocks the vibrations per unit of time
seemed to be of less number than during the
lighter shocks. After this shock placed a plumb-line bob in tent and
hung watch on pole so that it could be quickly
read. Bob was of brass, 4 inches in length by 1 inch in greatest
diameter, suspended by a silk fish line 2 meters in length.
"11.00 a. m. Strong shock, plumb bob moving through arc of 6 to 8
inches from southeast to northwest. Shocks
very strong, slow, and distinct. Flag pole (8-inch spruce, 40 feet
long) vibrating; estimated to move through arc of 2
In Yakutat Bay.. ............................................
Mouth of Yakutat Bay ........................................
220 miles west-northwest ..................................... .I
240 miles northwest.. .........................................
250 miles west-northwest ......................................
90 miles east.. ................................................
190 miles northeast.. ..........................................
160 miles eastsoutheast.. .....................................
220 miles southeast.. ..........................................
to 8 feet by various members of party. Slight shocks practically
continuous, in waves of varying intensity."
Chug& Mountains.-In the Chugach Mountains, 240 miles from Yakutat Bay,
on September 10, 1899, Lieut.
Babcock wrote in his diary as follows: "This morning at 7.08 o'clock
there was a slight earthquake shock lasting eight
or ten seconds. * * * During the morning there were six slight
earthquake shocks, including the above mentioned."
VaValdez.-L. S. Camicia reports a light shock at Valdez at 7 a. m.
Upper AM River.-At Dalton House, Yukon Territory, 90 miles east of
Yakutat, Sergt. A. E. Acland, of the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police, observed the first shock on September
10 at 7 a. m.
Xore distant points.-The early shock of September 10 does not seem to
have been of sufficient intensity to be
recorded in many other places; at least, we have seen only a few
records of observations. In the diary of the Tantalus
3. Bullman, L, A. Cox, 8. Cox, A. Flenner,
J. P. Fults, jr., A. Johnson, T.
Smith, D. Stevens.
C. E. Hill, R. W. Beasley, Albm Johnson,
and others.
R. P. Ritter, E. B. Latham, andothers.
W. C. Babcock.
L. S. Camicia.
A. E. Acland.
Northwest Mounted Police.
B. F. Shelton and others.
H. H. Folsom and others.
15eattle Daily Times, Sept. 28,1899.
Sitka Alaskan, Oct. 14,1899.
8 San Francisco Examiner, dispatch dated Seattle, Sept. 21, 1899; date
of clipping not known.
4 Sitka Alaslran, 8ept. 16,1899; reply to earthquake circular, 1907;
conversations with the authors.
6 Reply to earthquake circulss, 1908.
7 8 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
detachment of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (Carmacks), which waa
on the upper Yukon, 190 miles northeast of .
Yakutat Bay, the first shock on this date is recorded as occurring at
8.15 a. m., two other Tesla “THREE” earthquakes being recorded the
same forenoon at 11.45 and 11.55. At Skagway, 160 miles east of
Yakutat Bay, there mere five or six shocks'in the
forenoon before the heavy shock. At Juneau, 220 miles southeast of
Yakutat Bay, and at several other places, this
eaily shock and those preceding the heaviest one, next to be
described, were also felt. No doubt there were other
instances of which a e have no record.
THE HEAVIEST SHOCK.
POINTS OF OBSERVATION.
The heaviest shock of the day, and evidently the most violent in the
whole series of Tesla “THREE” earthquakes,
occurred at 12.22 p. m.,' local solar time at Disenchantment Bay, or
21h 40" 13jS.
Greenwich mean time. It was everywhere reported as the greatest
disturbance of the seriesin
Disenchantment Bay, at Yakutat, near the copper River delta, in the
Chugach Mountains,
at Valdez, near Skagway, at Juneau, etc.
This shock was observed, so far as is known, at the places named in
the subjoined list.
Details concerning most of these observations are given in the
paragraphs following. For
the location of the places mentioned see Plate I1 (p. 14) or Plate
XXXIII (in pocket).
Points of observation of the heaviest shock of September 10.
Place
Observations besides those listed were made at Pyramid Harbor,
White Pass, Bennett, Caribou Crossing, White River,
Fort Selkirk, and other places.
At numerous points west of Yakutat Bay storms are reported
durinrr these earthauakes, but there is no reason for corre-
Gold prospectors.
August Buschmann.
M. G. Munly.
Telegra h operator.
G. S. ~ f e m i n ~ .
D. Hunt.
J. J. McArth~~r.
Northwest Mounted Police.
Telegraph operator.
Lars Gunderson.
F. Dennison.
W. G. Myers.
J. E. Kinnaley.
E. F. Glenn.
George Jamm6.
C. L. Andrews, B. F. Shelton,
others.
H. H. Folsom and others.
H. W. Mellen.
J. C. Owillim.
J. H. Pottinger and others.
John Bimms.
George Boulter.
R. V. Rowe.
P. T. Rowe, Andrew Malakoff,
others.
Five different vessels.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 79
DETAILS OF OBSEBVATIORS.
Disenchantment Bay.-This major shock at noon September 10 is said to
have been severe enough in Disenchantment
Bay to throw a man violently across a tent, and the ground is said to
have "swayed and undulated so that men
could not stand. " Unfortunately the men closest to the center of the
shock were in such peril of their lives that they
naturally noted little about the nature, duration, and severity of the
shocks. The facts they have given us concern an
unsteady earth, the formation of cracks in the ground, the tsunamis,
the bursting of a glacial lake, the breaking
of the ice front of Hubbard Glacier, the avalanches, and similar
effects of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. (See the story of the
gold prospectors, pp. 15-17.)
Yakutat.-The heaviest shock as felt at the village of Yakutat, 30
miles from Disenchantment Bay, is described by
C. E. Hill as follows:
"September 10, at 12.30 p. m.-Shock was the most severe of the three.2
* * * People trying to descend the
outside stairs were unable to do so and were compelled to hold to the
railing to keep from being thrown off. The
schooner Cystal, which was lying on the mud, rocked from side to side.
"This was the shake that did all the damage. We were in our tent, and,
to give you some idea of the violence of
the quake, we could not get up and stand on our feet at first. The
mission rocked until the church bell rang, and if
anything was needed to complete the terror of the Native American
Eskimos it was the ringing of the bell. Just as the earthquake ceased
we saw a wonderiul thing happen on the bay. From the ocean began
rolling in great tidal waves. There were three
of them following each other at intervals of about five minutes, and
we stood and watched the bay rise 15 feet, from low
tide to a foot above the highest tide point. The bay itself was full
of whirlpools that were whirling trees, lumber, and
driftwood around and around so fast that the eye could hardly follow
them. They circled around like a flash while the
water was churned iqto a msss of seething foam. The whirlpool caught
the chute of a sawmill a short way below us and
ripped it away in a twinkling.
"Just across from Yakutat in the bay is the island of Kanak
[Khantaak]. On the shore of this island was situated
an old Indian graveyard, up about 6 feet above the highest tide mark.
It was out on a point and we suddenly noticed
that the point, graveyard, and all had disappeared, sunk out of
sight.3 There was in the graveyard a very high pole
with a ccm on the top, and we soon discovered this way out from the
water, some 4 or 5 feet of it sticking out of the
water and still upright. [I would guess that 25 acres or more of the
built-up sand on the inside of the point sunk to a
depth of 20 feet or less.4] The next day we took a boat and rowed over
to the island. Our boat was rowed right over
the place where the graveyard had formerly been, and looking down into
the water we could see the tops of [brush
spruce] trees. In several places we made soundings and were unable to
get bottom at all [with an oar].
"We then rowed down to the mouth of the harbor to a place called Ocean
Cape. Here we found the shore plowed
with great furrows about 4 feet apart. Originally they must have been
20 feet in depth [and 5 feet wide; not more than
10 acres affected], but the sandbanks had caved in on them and filled
them up until they were only 4 or 5 feet deep
when we eaw them. A little farther along the shore we found the marks
of a number of gigantic waterspouts [which
left holes 4 or 5 feet deep]. They had bored great holes into the sand
and had carried the sand and earth inland and
scattered it 6 inches deep over acres of ground. From every indication
the force of the waterspouts and waves must
have been irresistible, and Yakutat must surely have been washed away
had the tidal waves swept the bay at high
instead of low tide.
"The earthquake wasundoubtedly a magnificent sight, but hardly one a
fellow would hunt up for the sake of looking
at it. The Indians are frightened out of their wits and many of them
have already left the place, 15 of them coming
down with us to Juneau. Mr. Johnson, the missionary, wanted to come
away on account of his wife, but the Indians
begged him so hard to stay that he finally did EO, but I do not think
he will stay long. "
Mr. Hill left Yakutat on the Dora on September 12, and he noted a
great amount of drift timber and thick muddy
water in the ocean,between Yakutat Bay and Mount Fairweather.
R. W. Beasley gives the time of the heavy shock on September 10 as
12.15 p. m. "sun time. " This is more nearly
correct than the hour given by Mr. Hill. The shock. he says, lasted
about five seconds.
"From that time on it was shaking almost continuously until 11 p. m.,
when I fell asleep on my lounge. At 12.15
p. m. September 10 the shock was so severe that cracks were opened in
the ground and craters were caused that threw
out water and sand. The water in the bay was greatly agitated and from
that time until dark it rose and fell 8 or 10
feet in 8 or 10 minutes. I had a tough wrestle with the scow to save
her from being carried out of the lagoon. * * *
At 12.15 p. m. some Native American Eskimos noticed a cloud of smoke
to the northeast and we thought that an extinct volcano had broken
out, but on subsequent investigation it proved to be a landslide up
Roosevelt River. * * * After the shock at
12.15 p. m. the store looked as if a bull had been in it. The shelves
were nearly clear of canned goods. Kettles, pails,
and lanterns had been shaken off the nails overhead and were on the
floor. * * * All the afternoon it appeared that
there were waves in the ground. * * * I never heard any noise either
before or after the shocks. "
-
1 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 23,1890; San Francho Examiner,
dispatch dated Seattle, Sept. 21,1899; date of clipping not
determined.
9 Mn. Early's description (p. 70) agrees perfectly with this.
a In 1905 part of the graveyard on Khantaak Island was still standing,
so that it could not hare completely disappeared, as Mr. Hill's
descrip
tion intimates. However, it is stated by many people at Yakutat, both
Native American Eskimos and u'hite residents, that a part of the
graveyard was destroyed,
and of this therefore there seems no doubt. In 1910 we found stumps of
trees below high-tide level on the mud flat in front of the graveyard.
4 I'hrases in brackets from Mr. Hill's reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
a Sitka Alaskan, Sept. 16,1899; reply to earthquakecircular, 1907; and
conversations with the writers.
80 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Mr. Hill, Mr. Beasley, and Rev. Mr. Johnson all agree that the shocks
came from the east and moved westward.
Dry Bay.-At Dry Bay, the mouth of Alsek' River, 75 miles southeast of
Yakutat, the Native American Eskimo village was severely
shaken and some houses were damaged. Charles Johnson, who interviewed
some of the Dry Bay Native American Eskimos for us and
translated their statements, finds that the earthquake of Sunday,
September 10, was much more severe than that of
the preceding Sunday.
Controller Bay.-At Katalla, on Controller Bay, 170 miles west of
Yakutat, T. G. White reports, there were
at least 75 shocks during the week from September 3 to 10. He says
that on September 10 "the day was perfectly calm
and the first thing I knew the trees began to wave. There was an oil
spring which began to flow at First Creek close to
the mouth of Katalla River. It continued to flow during the eight days
of theshocks. You could not stand up, and
there was a tidal wave went up Bering River 4 feet high. * * * Rock
slides and the loudest noises followed the
shock in about two minutes. "
G. C. Martina also states that "oil is reported to have been eeen in
large amount at the time of the earthquake,
1899, on the surface of the water of the small ponds and the creek at
the south end of the town of Katalla."
Copper River delta.-At the Coast Survey camp, near the Copper River
delta, 220 miles away, Mr. Ritter characterizea
this heavy shock at noon (llh 5gm 33. true local time) as "shaking
violently all the time (three minutes). Direction
part of the time one way, then in another. Top of 40-foot flagstaff
vibrating from 1 to 4 feet. People in camp
spread out their legs in standing." The other shocks later in the day
were less severe, one coming at 12h 7m 88, one at
5h 36m 8', another at 5h 44m 28, and the final one recorded at 5h 51m
41', and a little stronger than the preceding ones.
The earth is said to have been "practically vibrating all day."
Mr. Ritter notes that "the effect of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes on
the topography in the immediate vicinity of camp was
not very marked. Our work of sounding and running shore line during
and after the disturbances gave me an opportunity
to minutely examine the country for a radius of 10 to 15 miles from
camp, and only here aid there anbierhanging
tree or soft bank or a soft portion of an overhanging rocky bluff had
tumbled down."
Mr. Latham's notes made at the time vary slightly as to the times of
the shocks but furnish additional informs
tion concerning the phenomena of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, as follows:
"September 10, 12 noon. Most violent shock noted. All hands outside
tents. Impossible to stand with heels
together; experimented by placing feet at various distances apart;
found necessary to place heels 8 inches apart for
stability. Shock peculiar in that displacement seemed rotary or in
different directions. Plumb swinging in variow
directions. Noted time 12h Olm 30" as shocks being very strong. Noted
time of duration of heavy shock as three minutes.
Slight shocks, with plumb slightly swinging all day."
Chugach Mountains.-In the Chugach Mountains, about 240 miles from
Yakutat, the army officers who were building
the military trail also experienced this heavy earthquake. Lieut.
Babcock, who was still in the range east
of Valdez, recorded in his diary on September 10 that the last shock
"occurred at 10.45 a. m. and lasted one minute and
three seconds and was the most severe. Shortly after the last we heard
the peculiar reports mentioned after last Sunday's
shock."
J. D. Jef fer~dnn,~ow assistant postmaster at Valdez, was in camp on
Fall Creek, about 55 miles east of Valdez.
He says: "Suddenly the tent began to pull and strain at the ropes,
very much inflated like a balloon. * * * The
trees and mountains both seemed swaying. An immense slide came down
the mountain side. The creek seemed to
stop running. A sickening feeling came over me."
Valdez.-During the heaviest shock L. S. Cami ~ i aa,t~ V aldez, WM so
dizzy he could not stand. The disturbance
came at 1 p. m. There was no cracking of the ground, but chairs swayed
and'creaked, trees were rocked to and fro,
and waves rolled as high as 7 feet on the shore.6 Philip Glesener, a
quartermaster sergeant of the United Statee
Army, reports4 that the shock lasted long enough for him to run
outdoors, that trees and a flagpole waved violently,
a large o5ce ~ a fme oved, and people had difficulty in walking. A
shock at 2 a.m. the next day awoke him from sleep.
Glacier Bay.-During the shocks August Buschmann was in Glacier Bay,
about 12 miles from Muir Glacier and
150 miles southeast of Yakutat, at the Bartlett Bay salting station,
of which he was superintendent. He states that
he felt two shocks, whose exact time he did not note. "The first shock
laated about 10 seconds and the second about
5 seconds. * * * These shocks were strong enough to cause a trunk
standing on the floor, on small casters, to move
several inches. They also caused a few empty barrels to fall from
beams overhead in fish house. Muir Glacier was
shaken up considerably and the flow of drift ice from that time on was
increased manyfold, as it made navigation with
our small steamers quite difficult at times. An old employee almost
fell, walking up the beach. * * * M Y
employees and myself were of the opinion that the shock came from the westward."
Dundas Bay.-At the Dundas Bay cannery, at the western entrance of
Glacier Bay, 160 miles southeast of Yakutat,
the superintendent, Judge M. G. Munly, reports6 very severe shocks,
which overturned apparatus in the salmon cannery.
He corroborates the evidence of Mr. Buschmann as to the sudden
increase in icebergs. There were relatively few
icebergs up to the time of the earthquake of September 10, but
immediately afterwards the adjacent waters became
clogged with floating ice, making it impossible for the cannery boats,
which bring in the salmon from adjacent s t r m ,
1 Replies to earthquake circulars, 1907.
3 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
8 Geology and mineral resources of the Controller Bay region, Alaska:
Bull. U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 335, 1908, p. 117.
4 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
5 Seattle Daily Times, Sept. 21 and 29, reprinted in Weekly Times,
Sept. 27 and Oct. 4,1899. Also a Ssn Francisco paper, exact date of
clip
ping unknown.
8Personal intarview with the authors in August, 1911.
OBSERVATIOXS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 81
to make their regular trip. These reliable observations regarding
icebergs show that the great retreat of Muir Glacier
was initiated by the earthquake shocks, whether the subsequent
continuntion of retreat was a climatological coincidence
or not.
Upper Akek River.-From Dalton House, Yukon Territory, east of Alsek
River (60' 6a' north latitude, 137' 4' west
longitude), about 90 miles somewhat north of east of Yakutat Bay,
Sergt. A. E. Acland,' of the Royal Northwest
Mounted Police, reports:
"On Sunday, September 10, 1899, shocks occurred all day, about 15 or
20, the first at about 7 a. m. ; then at intervals
till night. The majority of the shocks lasted 5 to 40 seconds, one
shock at noon lasting fully a minute. A log cabin
was so shaken as to be unsafe. The vibration could be distinctly seen
in the trees and fla&pole, as when a whipstock
is shaken. Waves appeared to run up trees from the ground, three or
four bends being seen in a tree at the same time.
Water spilled from wash dishes and pails. Kitchen utensils were
started swinging on their nails. Plates and cups
were shaken off shelves. Homes grazing 2 miles away came home at a
gallop, frightened and snorting.
"I had to brace my knees in standing up and expected to see the ground
crack. The motion in all the shocks
was a gentle shaking at first, growing gradually more severe and then
dying away. I t appeared to come from west to
east, judging by the way the water spilled out of the wash dish. I t
spilled out on. the east and west sides. Another
man there at the time was of the same opinion. There were heavy noises
from the southwest, resemblingfar-away
explosions, or rumbling of thunder, but these did not appear to be
directly connected with shocks." (These noises
may have been caused by avalanches.)
At Glacier camp, on the Dalton trail, about 40 miles south of Dalton
House (and therefore only 115 miles east of
Yakutat Bay), where two men were building a cabin, one of them was
shaken off the log he was adjusting on the wall.
White Horse.-At WhiteHorse, Yukon Territory (60' 45/ north latitude,
135' west longitude), about 170 milesnortheast
of Yakutat Bay, G. S. Fleming,' "the Government telegrapher, reports
the severe September 10 earthquake came
at 1.30 p. m. and lasted from 45 to 60 seconds. There was but one
building (log) in 1899 at White Horse, which mas then
in the wilderness, and this building was not damaged, nor was there
visible change in the earth's surface. Several
waves were noticed crossing Yukon River. Windows and dishes rattled. A
3-gallon pail of water setting on the floor
of the log building had 2 to 3 quarts splashed out by undulating
motion. He ran out of the house, alarmed. Much
dust rose from cut banks along the river. The wave motion was gradual
and there was no difficulty in walking.
A few minutes after the shock was felt at White Horse, the telegrapher
at Five Fingem (62O 15' north latitude, 136'
20' west longitude), wired that the shock was felt there. It was also
felt at Tagish, 50 miles southeast of White Horse.
Mr. ~ l e & i nal~so noticed slight movements of the earth on two
other occasions rater in September, several days
apart, one about 8 a. m., the other about 9 p. m., but unfortunately
the exact dates were not noted.
Hootalinqua River.--Sixty miles above the mouth of the Hootalinqua or
Teslin River, one of the headwaters of
the Yukon, and 200 miles northeast of Yakutat Bay, D. Hunt heard
distinct rumblings coming from the west. This
wason a Sunday (date not recorded).
No~denskioM River.--On the Yukon near the mouth of Nordenskiold River,
J. J. McArthur, who was in charge of
the telegraph line then under construction, noted these Tesla “THREE”
earthquakes early in September, 1899. From the time of
day of the observations (about noon) and from other observations near
by, it is evident that the heavy shock of September
10 was the one felt. Mr. McArthur says:
"I was engaged opening a winter mail route along the Yukon River, in
the neighborhood of the mouth of the Nordenskiold
River. I was traveling horseback and did not notice anything unusual
at the time, but heard an irregular
succession of loud detonations like the booming of cannon, which I
assumed were caused by gold prospectors blasting in
the hills far to the southwest.
"When coming over this trail a few days previous, several windfalls
obstructed the way, and when starting a
pack train out on this particular morning, I sent a couple of axmen
along with instructions to cut them out. Following
them up later in the day, I was surprised to find several large trees
still across the trail. On overtaking the packers
at night I took the axmen to task for not having carried out my
orders. They insisted that they had done so, and
were corroborated by the packers. I was greatly puzzled, as there had
been no wind during the day.
"A couple of days later I visited another of our parties working in
the neighborhood of the Five Fingers rapids.
The first remark of the foreman was: 'Where were you during the
earthquake?' He related that they were having
lunch along the new telegraph line and,were attracted by the violent
swaying of the wire and the heaving of the
trees. Several of the men were seized with vertigo and the distant
booming noise caused great consternation among
them.
"I later made an examination of the trees that had fallen across the
trail. The soil is not more than 7 inches
deep and rests on a thick stratum of volcanic ash, into which the
roots do not penetrate. The trees were of good size,
up to 12 inches diameter, and the swaying motion had broken the soil
around the extremities of the roots, and the
upturned section exposed the volcanic ash underneath."
Upper Yukon River.-The diary kept at the headquarters of the Tantalus
detachment of the Royal Northwest
Mounted Police (Carmacks) (62' 6/ north latitude, 136' 15' west
longitude), on the Yukon, 190 miles northeast of
Yakutat Bay, says: "September 10, 1899, five distinct shocks of
earthquake, one rather severe, at 8.15. 11.45 11.55
a. m., and 12.30 and 12.45 p. m. "
I Reply to earthquake circular, 1907. Reported through Prof. W. H. Hobbs, 1909.
4727'5"-KO. 69-12--4
8 2 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
At the confluerce of Yukon and Stewart rivers, south of Dawson and
about 240 miles north of Yakutat Bay, according
to Judge Lars Gunderson,' a United States commissioner, very light
shocks were felt during the first ten days in
September, 1899. Persons in the houses noticed clothes swinging gently
from lines inside. There was a slight sensation
of dizziness so that people thought themselves sick.
Fortymile district.-F. Dennison2 reports that on an unrecorded date in
September, 1699 (prwumably September
10, because of the time of day), at "about noon, sun time, " there was
"a shaking of the ground, " felt by a number
of gold prospectors in and near Wade Creek. This is approximately 290
miles north northwest from Yakutat Bay.
Eagle.-At Eagle, about 340 miles north-northwest of Yakutat, Judge W.
G. Myers,' United States Weather Bureau
observer and United States commissioner, felt the September 10 shock
at 12.15 p. m.: " One hundred and forty-first
meridian time. Time believed to be accurate, being observations of sun
every few days. The shock lasted three or
four seconds, jarred suspended mercurial barometers against rings at
bottom, caused poles to vibrate and lamps to swing,
rattling tin plates on shelves."
Birch Creek &&rict.-In the Birch Creek gold district, south of Fort
Yukon, about 430 miles northwest of Yakutat
Bay, J. E. Kinnaley felt an earthquake September 11 (probably
September lo), which lasted long enough for one to
run about 20 feet. I t caused a landslide on Birch Creek at Pitkas
Bar. On Independence Creek, about 20 miles
distant, the water was thrown out of a sluice box. During tbe shock,
which all the persons observing it agreed came
from the southeast, "it felt as if the cabin was moving and sinking at
the same time. "
Cook Inlet.-About 5 miles north of Tyonek, at Ladds station, on the
west side of Cook Inlet, about 410 miles a
little north of west from Yakutat Bay, Lieut. E. F. Glenn,3 of the
United States Army, felt this earthquake about noon.
He states that he noticed it while eating. " It lasted long enough to
walk outside of a frame building, and perceptibly
thereafter, and was very severe. I do not know how to measure this. *
* * The frame building in which I was
dining rocked back and forth perceptibly, even after we had staggered
or reeled outside. Everything and every
person or animal staggered or reeled. "
Homer.-At Homer, on the end of a long sand spit in Kachemak Bay at the
south entrance to Cook Inlet, 430 miles
west of Yakutat, the great earthquake of September 10 was observed by
George Ja1nm6.~ He was doing drafting work
in his office and after the shocks of the preceding Sunday he arranged
hie surveyor's plumb bob so it would swing freely.
At noon on September 10 the plumb bob swung in an ellipse with axes 9
and 17 inches long, the longer one extending
northwest-southeast. This gives some suggestion of the magnitude of
the earth waves at this point and shows clearly
the direction in which they moved.
8kagway.-At Skagway, 160 miles east-southeast of Yakutat, B. F.
Shelton noted six or seven shocks between 4
a. m. and 3 p. m. on September 10, that at 11.40 alarming the people
in church, "the vibrations increasing until
everyone felt the motions distinctly in their seats." At 12.40 shocks
became so violent that Mr. Shelton "clung to the
side of a bunk for support. " There were "literal earth waves, both
motion and feeling being exactly as if on board
a vessel. " He became "as sick as a dog through the unnatural
sensation. The women and children suffered most,
having a strange, pallid, and half-frightened look. The term
'earthquake face' waa given to those possessing it."
Severe shocks were noted during the whole forerroon, resulting in many
cracked chimneys and gaping walls. Only
two buildings are said to have escaped injury. Electric lights were
set swinging almost to the ceiling, clocks were
stopped, and crockery was knocked from the shelves.
C. L. A n d r e ~ sd, e~p uty collector of customs a t Skagwny in
1899, who later visited Muir Glacier and described the
changes in that glacier from 1699 to 1903, states that the shock
lasted "long enough for me to take my two children
by the hand, run out of office, down hall 25 feet, downstairs one
story, and out into street. " He states that it was "so
hard it threw me against doorway as I went out, and against wall of
stairway, making glass in windows vibrate till it
looked as if it would break. Lamps swung violently; pictures against
wall rebounded. Many persons were nauaeated. "
Juneau.-Three hard shocks were felt at Juneau, 220 miles southeast of
Yakutat, on September 10, shaking buildings
severely but doing no serious damage. Judge H. H. Folsom,' United
States commissioner at Juneau, says: "One
shock occurred at or about 12.55 p. m. and one at about 4 o'clock same
day. Was in barber's chair, had time to get
to the sidewalk-20 feet-and watch electric-light poles sway. This was
at 1 p. m. and was very severe. Taku Inlet,
Stephens Passage, and Gastineau Channel were filled with icebergs for
some time after the shock. Ice came from Taku
Glacier. " .
During this ehock at Juneau the liotels, hospital, churches, and all
dwellings were severely shaken, but no serious
damage waa done. People hastened into the streets and miners in the
Treadwell gold mine at Douglas, across the
fiord from Juneau, hurried from the underground workings when they
felt the tremors.
Bemers Bay district.-In the Bemers Bay district, on Lynn Canal, 45
miles north of Juneau and about 180 miles
southeast of Yakutat Bay, H. W. Melleq2 a mining engineer, observed
the earthquake at the Jualin mine. He reporta
that there were two shocks 15 minutes apart, about half past 12.
"At first shock I was at office door just leaving dinner table. I went
in office, cared for lamps, and out along
walk 50 feet. At second shock I ran in tunnel to shaft, about 75 feet,
called to miners, and came out before end. It
was strong enough to make one walk crooked.
"The first shock was a little more severe than the second, but not
much. There was no damage to buildings.
Books such as a ledger 24 inches square slid off solid table. Raincoat
hanging on wall swung about a foot. Nearly
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1307. 3 Reply to earthquake circular, 1909.
2 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908. 4 Personal communication, 1909,
based on diary kept in 1899.
OBSERVATIOXS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 8 3
all di&es were broken. We heard many bowlders rolling down mountaim. I
t was impossible to walk except as upon
ship's deck when vessel is in swell. Large man was slid off chair.
Distinct feeling of waves in ground, hard shaking
at first, and then undulations and rumbling noise like distant thunder
during latter part of shocks, and others of bowlders
rolling in the gulches.
"It seemed to come from the northwest. If walking northwest one
staggered forward and if walking northeast
one staggered ademse. All books and dishes slid off to the southeast. "
Atlin.-At Atlin and Discovery City, British Columbia, about 215 miles
east of Yakutat Bay, severe Tesla “THREE” earthquakes
were felt on September 10 At Atlin J. H Pottinger felt two distinct
shocks, one in the afternoon and one in the
evening. The former was distinct and displaced implements from the
shelves in a hardware store. Fifteen miles
farther east, in the Atlin mining distnct, the shocks were felt by
gold prospectors.
The hardest shock of September 10 was also clearly felt by Prof. J. C.
Gwillim, of the school of mining at
Kingston, Ontario, who was at that time a geologist of the Geological
Survey of Canada. He says:3.
"An earthquake movement was felt at 12.45 sun time on Atlin Lake on
September 10. This was an undulating
motion lasting ;bout 30 seconds. I t was felt as far north a9 White
Horse, and probably farther, and was most eevere on
the coast, where it shook up the glaciers, causing much ice to appear
along the steamboat route. "
In a letter dated September 25, 1907, Prof. Gwillim adds:
"This observation was made at a point 12 miles south-southeast of
Atlin town, on the eastern shore of Atlin Lake.
A heavy wind from the east was bringing surf upon this shore line,
hence the conditions were not good for a quick
apprehension of the phenomenon. Besides, we were in the vicinity of
some hot springs which, at first, I thought
might have something to do with the movement.
"We were on ground made from the deposit of these springs. The shock
was sufficient to spill water out of the
little kettles we used for our lunch at that point. * * * The time
taken was accurate, but I suspect seismic shocks
require still greater accuracy in the matter of time. I had taken a
latitude observation on the sun at noon of that day.
"I have no other information more accurate or more startling or
remarkable than this record of my own. Many
people hardly knew whether it waa an earthquake or not."
Prof. Gwillim also quotes N. E. Porter, a gold prospector, who told
him of the trees swaying over his head on a perfectly
still noon.
All in all, despite Prof. Gwillim's modest disclaimer, this is one of
the best recorde that we have procured. It
was made in a remote place, near the farthest known limit of the
sensible shock in this direction, and the writer tells
modestly and accurately just what he saw or felt and nothing more.
Next to the Ritter records at the Coast and
Geodetic Survey's Cape Whitshed camp, near the Copper River delta,
this is doubtless our most accurate time record,
for Prof. Gwillim had determined the noon and set his watch to correct
solar time only 45 minutes before he recorded
the earthquake shock.
Surprise Lake.-At Surprise Lake, east of Atlin, B. C., and 240 miles
east of Yakutat, John Bimms4 observed that
the shock of September 10 was the heaviest which he observed in this
series. Certainglaciers near by are said to have
been broken at this time and he saw what he interpreted as smoke from
a volcano, but what seems more likely to the
authors to have been dust from avalanches.
Teslin Lake.-At the Hudson Bay post near Teslin Lake, east of Atlin
and 275 miles east of Yakutat, the earthquake
was felt by George Boulters and two other men and was so severe that
they rushed out of doors, expecting the
building to fall.
Sumdum.-At Sumdum, south of Juneau and 275 miles southeast of Yakutat,
R. V. Rowe,%n an unrecorded date
in September, 1899, was "helping to build a hotel * * * and was
fitting the window frame in the gable when the
shock came." He "had to catch hold of the studding to keep from being
thrown out." The house rocked east and
west for about 10 seconds. On examining the building immediately
afterwards it was found to have settled back
exactly plumb.
Sitka and more distant points.-The shocks were very slight at Sitka,
260 miles southeast of Yakutat Bay, and
over 100 miles farther from the center of disturbance than Skagway.
Bishop P. T. R o ~ eof, ~Si tka, says: "One very
slight shock felt at Sitka, only by one or two persons, about 2.30 p.
m. Was lying down and so felt it. Those going.
about did not notice it."
Andrew Ma l ak~f fn,o~w a school-teacher at Ellamar, says: "We were
sitting in school a t the time. All at once
the teacher opened his eyes and asked us if we felt the earthquake.
Several boys said they did, but I had not felt
a thing. "
C. C. Georgesoq6 in charge of the Alaska agricultural experiment
stations, says: "I was here in Sitka at the
time, but was out of doors and did not feel the earthquake. It was
felt slightly here, however, as I remember people
spoke of it at the time."
The heavy earthquake of September 10 was also distinctly felt at a
number of small places on the seacoast near
Sitka, Juneau, and Skagway, and inland from Skagway along the Yukon
trail to the Klondike.
1 Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Oct. 2, 1899. 4 San Francisco
Chronicle, Oct. 5, 1899.
1 Reported through Prof. W. H. Eobbs, 1909. 6 Reported to the authors
by Archibald Ainslie, 1910.
8 Twelfth Ann.Rept. Geol. Survey Canada, Summary Rept. lor 1899, p. 6
2 ~ . #Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
84 TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, AL-4SKA.
Lake Chelan, Washington.-It is stated in a dispatch1 dated September
14, that on the previous Sunday (Sept.
10) waves suddenly rose upon the glassy surface of Lake Chelan, on the
east side of the Cascade Mountains, in the
State of Washington (about 120° west longitude, 4 7 O 50' north
latitude). There was no wind. The waves aere
observed on at least four different parts of the coast, rising to 15
or 20 feet, driving a small boat on shore, and lasting
nearly two hours. The first waves came "at about 2 o'clock" in the
afternoon. The most severe earthquake on this
date in Yakutat Bay came at 12.22 p. m. Allowing for the difference of
time with longitude this would be about
1.40 on Lake Chelan. The time of transmission for this distance should
be 10 to 20 minutes. This would make the
time on Lake Chelan between 1.50 and 2 o'clock. At Victoria, B. C.,
the nearest seismograph station, this earthquake
is said to have occurred at 1.45 p. m., also lasting nearly two
hours.z As 1.45 at Victoria equals 1.59 at Chelan,
it seems possible that the tremor was felt on the lake at almost
exactly 2 o'clock.
The coincidences of date and hour suggest that these abnormal tsunamis
were caused either by the tremors
from this Yakutat Bay earthquake, in some way naturally amplified in
the mountain structures of the Cascades, or
by a secondary earthquake set off here. The distance is great-nearly
1,200 miles (see fig. 4)-though not so great
as in the case of the tsunamis on Loch Lomond, in Scotland, and lakes
and ponds in England that were disturbed
during the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
SUMMARY OF TESLA “THREE” EARTHQUAKES OF SEPTEMBER 10.
There were two great earthquakes on September 10, 1899, and of these
two the early
shock was inferior to the great earthquake at noon, which was felt at
more than 40 localities
at distances ranging from 75 miles to 430 miles from their place of
origin in Yakutat Bay.
Tsunamis were probably caused at a distance of 1,200 miles. The
phenomena observed
include earth movement, faulting, tsunamis, floods, avalanches,
fissures, spouting from
sand craterlets, slight damage to buildings and to a cemetery, terror
on the part of animals
as well as human beings, difficulty in standing and in walking, and
nausea. Because of the
absence of tsunamis during the previous shock we assume that the
observed faulting in
Yakutat Bay took place during the great earthquake of September 10.
Therefore, uplift of
shore lines from 5 to 474 feet, depression from a foot to 7 feet, and
the uplift of new reefs and
islets were among the physical accompaniments of this shock. Glaciers
were broken, among
them Muir Glacier, the shattering of which directly or indirectly
started the rapid discharge of
icebergs and the subsequent great retreat of this and other ice
tongues in Glacier Bay. The
avalanching during this group of seismic disturbances, and especially
the great earthquake of
September 10, resulted in the later advance of at least nine glaciers
in Yakutat Bay (P. 57)
and perhaps many others in more remote regions (p. 60), a phenomenon
probably to continue
after the publication of this report. There was wholesale destruction
of plant and animal life,
especially in the sea, but no loss of human life.
Light shocks occurred at Yakutat all through the night of September
10, and others
followed until the end of the month.
AFTERSHOCKS OF EARTHQUAKES OF SEPTEXBER 10.
In Disenchantment Bay and at Yakutat many light aftershocks followed
the great one at
noon, continuing into the night. Pour considerable aftershocks are
reported at the Coast
Survey camp on Copper River delta. There were several shocks in the
upper Alsek Valley, at
least one at Juneau, and doubtless many unrecorded shocks in other
parts of Alaska.
BARTHQUAKES OF SEPTEMBER 11 TO SEPTEXBER 29.
On September 11 shocks were felt in the Coast Sutvey camp near the
Copper Rive? delta;
and from the 12th to the 16th severe earthquakes were noticed there
during heavy storms;
but the times were not recorded because of the general uproar of
weather and sea at the time.
R. W. Beasley states that severe shocks were felt at Yakutat village
on September 15
at 7.15 and 7.30 p. m., each lasting as long as it takes to run out
doors, causingLLlamptso
swing and kettles to beat against each other.''
1 San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 15,1899. Salt Lake Semi-weekly
Tribune, Sept. 19,1899. Partly verified through information obtained
from
C. E. Rusk, of Chelan, in 1909.
¶Victoria Semi-weekly Colonist, Sept. 21,1899; interview with the
Government observer, Napier Denison. Unfortunately this valuable
seismogram was subsequently lost in the mails.
8 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 85
FIGUR4E.-M ap showing relation of known area of sensible shocks, Sept.
3 and 10,1899, to the isolated areas of tsunamis, etc., thus far
known.
Areas northwest of Yakutat Bay, on Koyukuk and Yukon rivers (Sept. 3),
are 670 and 730 miles respectively from the point of origtn. Lake
Chelan, in Washington (Sept. lo), is nearly 1,200 miles from the point
of origin.
8 6 EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
At Skagway a shock was felt with considerable intensity on September
15 at about 8
p. m., causing electric lights to swing back and forth 18 inches. This
shock is said to have
been even more pronounced than those of September 3 and 10.' 'Rev. B.
F. Sh e l t~n ,a~n
Alaskan missionary, has written a vivid though reasonable account of
this shock at Skagway.
On Friday night (Sept. 15), at 8.30 or 8.40 p: m., Mr. Shelton was, he sayswith
many others in the Panice mission room holding services, when the
rocking motion commenced violently again
lasting, it eemed, for a great length of time. The old lamp over the
platform in the center swung exactly as if on
board a vessel. * * * The streets seemed deserted, the dens most
empty, and a look of woe hung over the town.
The report had got abroad that the Salvation Army and Panice mission
were praying the Lord to "Shake up old
Skag." * * * One of the long piers at Skagway sank into the water for
a portion farthest out, but no very eevere
damage was done. * * * There is no doubt, however, that if Skagway had
been a town of brick and stone buildings
very much damage would have been done and possibly lives lost.
Several buildings in Skagway are said to have been moved a foot or two
on their foundations,
and two small ones toppled over. Men walking had a sensation
suggesting intoxication.
On September 17 there is said to have been a shock at Skagway, but it
was not felt at
Yakutat, Juneau, or the Coast Survey camp near the delta of Copper
River. On that date, .
however, seismographs in many parts of the world recorded an
earthquake and from the record
in England John Milne computed that it originated in Alaska.
In the Coast Survey camp eight shocks were noted on September 23 and
four on September
26, one of each date being sufficiently strong to wake all those in
the camp in the middle
of the night. Mr. Latham a records that on September 23,
at 1.22 a. m., a plumb bob
vibrated through 10 inches
SEPTEMBER 3 10 15 171 23 26 2s from northwest to southeast.
FIGUBE 6.-Diagram showing the relative time intervals and the
approximate relative intensi- the vibrations or waves being
ties at Yakutat Bay of the Tesla “THREE” earthquakes of September,
1899. distinct and slow.
J. F. Williamsa states that during one of these nights at Cordova,
north of the Copper
River delta, several men sleeping in a log cabin were awakened by the
violence of the shock.
Two of the shocks were felt at Valdez on September 23, one at 7 a. m.
and one at 10 a. m.
The shock of September 26 is said to have been felt in Eagle,z 340
miles north-northwest of
Yakutat, though not directly observed by the Weather Bureau man there.
That of September
23 was possibly felt also at Sitka.
During the night of September 29 the last earthquake of the series was
felt by the Coast
Survey party, none others being recorded up to October 23, when the
party left the Copper
River delta.
From the seismograph records (see p. 122) it seems likely that the
shocks of September 23
and 26 were world-shaking earthquakes, though probably not of the
magnitude of the second
shock of September 10.

During a period of 27 days, September 3 to 29, 1899, inclusive (fig.
5), the Yakutat Bay
region was shaken by a series of Tesla “THREE” earthquakes, the most
violent of which were felt at all settlements
within a radius of 250 miles, and at known scattered localities as
much as 480 miles
distant. (See P1. XXXIII, in pocket.) At two points 670 and 730 miles
distant earthquakes
were recorded which may be correlated with those of the Yakutat Bay
region, and tsunamis
observed at a locality over 1,200 miles away were perhaps due to the
same cause.
The earthquakes were most severe on two dates, September 3 and 10,
especially on the
loth, when there were more than 50 small shocks and 2 violent ones,
the second of which
was most severe of all and probably caused the greater part of the
changes observed in and
around Yakutat Bay. The shocks of September 15, perhaps of September
17, 23, 26, and 29,
were also severe. The greatest disturbance took place September 10,
not September 12, as inferred by
Dr. G. K. Gilbert from an erroneous newspaper clipping, nor September
15, as stated. There has never been an incident of region being
shaken longer, more vigorously, or more continuously, even in Italy,
Japan, or Formosa, since the beginning of the seismographic recording
of Tesla “THREE” earthquakes. For four weeks the Tesla earthquakes
were to be counted by the
hundreds and on four or five days world-shaking global disturbances
took place. The great earthquake at noon on September 10 was central
in Yakutat Bay and when they said it fairly probable that the shock of
September 3 may have originated 100 miles farther west, near Yakataga
and that the other shocks may or may not have been caused by
earth involvements in Yakutat Bay it was their way of explaining their
original tactic to hide one as three. The intensity at various places
of observation suggests a
complex of origins, the shock of September 17, for example, possibly
being due to faulting
nearer Skagway. Some of the minor shocks were probably purely local. A
local shock close
to Skagway might be very severe there, but might not be felt at a very
great distance. The
early shock on September 10, though locally sharp and of world-shaking
caliber, seems to have
been more restricted and was observed at fewer localities in Alaska
than the great earthquake at
noon on the same day. The volume affected by the earth movement must
be great in order to
shake a wide area, and on the morning of September 10 there was no
great physical disturbance,
in Yakutat Bay at least, while at noon ct great areal extent of
mountains was actually hoisted,
the mountain west of Disenchantment Bay increasing in height nearly 50 feet.
During all these seismic disturbances there was no recorded loss of
life and little damage
to property-not because of the inefficiency of the Tesla earthquakes,
but because of the sparseness
bf the population in the shaken area and the fact that the few
buildings there were lightly
and strongly built and were mainly at a distance from the center of
greatest disturbance.
Most of these buildings were low, one-story cabins built loosely of
heavy logs or boards, difficult
to tear apart.
1 Hnrriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, 1904, p. 23.
La science dismologique, Paris, 1907, pp. 31 and 415.
CHAPTER VI.
EARTHQUAKES BEFORE -4ND SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1899
MISCELLANEOUS EARTHQUAKE OBSERVATIONS.
OLDER RECORDS.
The first tectonic earthquake in Alaska whose record we have seen is
that stated by
Grewingk to have occurred in the Sannak and Shumagin islands, south of
the Alaska Peninsula
(see Pls. 11, p. 14; XXXTII, in pocket), in 1788, when "there were no
volcanic phenomena
reported, but on the 27th of July a flood submerged the islands of
Saunakh and Ounga and a portion
of the peninsula (evidently a tidal wave owing to earthquake)." Dall
states that during
this inundation many Native American Eskimos lost their lives and that
hogs on Sannak Island were drowned.
Grewingk: per re^,^ and Dall have listed the earthquakes occurring in
comection with
volcanic eruptions in 1790, 1792, 1796, 1802, 1812, 1817, 1818,1820,
and 1826. In 1827 there
was an earthquake on Copper Island in June, but it is not stated
whether in association with a
volcanic eruption or not. On April 2, 1836, and in August of the same
year earthquakes, during
which it was impossible to stand erect, were felt on the islands of
St. Paul and St. George, in
the Pribilof group.
Davidson notes earthquakes recorded at Unalaska by Weniaminof as
follows: Seven in
1825, five in 1826, two in 1830, four in 1831, seven in 1832, four in
1833, three in 1829 and
1834. These were doubtless all volcanic shocks.
In 1843 there were three earthquakes at Sitka. The first occurred on
December 15 and
is described by Perrey, from whose account the following is translated:
On the 15th of December, at 1.20 a. m., there were two light shocks on
Sitka Island, during which the unifilar
and bifilar magnetometers oscillated in a vertical plane.
There was a second shock 25 minutes later. The position of the
vertical-force needle changed 55 parts during
the first two shocks.
This is the first precise scientific observation of a tectonic
earthquake in Alaska, instrumentally
recorded, that has come to the attention of the auth0rs.I Perrey
states that on the
following day, December 16, at 1.30 p. m., there was s feeble
earthquake at New Archangel
(Sitka). At 4 p. m. the same day there was a stronger shdck, lasting
three seconds. The
houses were rent, and workmen saw trees apparently move back and forth
during a calm. At
the warm springs 28 versts from the town Baron Osten-Sacken observed
these shocks but 35
minutes earlier.
In 1847 a general earthquake was felt on the Alaskan coast, being very
severe at Sitka.8
This is doubtless the shock referred to by the newspapers of 1899,
which allude to the Yakutat
Bay earthquakes as "the most severe since the time of the Russians."
--
1 Grewingk, C., Treatise on the volcanic chamter of certain regions of
the Russian possessions: Proc. Min. Soc. St. Petersburg, 1850;
translated
by Ivan Petrof in Report on seal and salmon fisheries and general
resources of Alaska: S. Doc. 59,45th Cong., 1st sess., p. 313; H. Doc.
92, 55th tong.
1st sess., pt. 4, p. 313; Tenth Census, 1880, vol. 8, pp. 95-96.
2 Dall, W. H., Alaska and its resources, Boston, 1870, pp. 310,467.
8 op. cit., pp. 311415.
4 Perrey, Alexis, Documents sur lea tremblements de terre et les
ph6nombnes volcaniques des Ilea Aleutiennes, de la p3ninsule
dlAljaska, et
de la c6te nord-ouest d'AmBrique: MBm. Acad. Imp. de Dijon, deuxihme
serie, tome 13, 1865, pp. 158,216-Bi.
5 Op. cit., pp. 466-470.
8 Davidson, George, Earthquakes at Unalaska: Bull. Seismol. Soc.
*4merica, vol. 1,1911, p. 131.
7 Doubtless there are others. Perrey quotes this from Annuaire
magn6tique et m6teor010gique du corps des ingeniems dea mines de R d g
ande 1843, p. 553.
8 Dall, W. H., op. cit., p. 342.
EARTHQUAKES BEFORE AND SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1899. 8 9
On October 22, 1849, a severe earthquake, reported by Perreyll
occurred in the Commander
Islands, lasting all night. Perrey also described the shocks (noted
below) of 1853, 1857, 1859,
1861, and 1866.
On November 13, 1853, about 138 miles east of Ikogmut, on the lower
Yukon, there was
a shock at the village of Paimiit, moving from south to north.
Earthquakes there are infrequent,
tho last having been felt 60 years before. The above note is from a
meteorological
register kept at Ikogmut by P. Netzvetor and quoted by M. Vesselofski,
permanent secretary
of the Academy ~f Sciences, St. Petersburg.
On September 8, 1857, at 11 a. m., two earthquakes, several seconds
apart, were felt at
St. Paul (now called Kodiak), on Kodiak Island. The second shock was
rather severe though
it did no damage.
On August 8, 1859, there was a light shock, lasting several seconds,
on Bering Island.
Sitka was again shaken by an earthquake on April 21, 1861, at 9.36 a. m.
On May 3, 1861, there was a light shock on St. George, Pribilof
Islands, with a subterranean
noise, observed by Baron Osten-Sa~ken.~
At some date shortly before October 22, 1866, there was an earthquake
near Kodiak.
In 1867 an earthquake was felt at the Russian mission (Ikogmut) on the
lower Yukon,
where the shock of September 3, 1899, was also felt. W. H. Dall was on
the river at about
11 p. m. July 19, when it occurred, and reports that it felt as if the
boat had struck a snag.
This has also been reported by Frederick Why~nper.~T he shock was
severe enough at the mission
to throw books and other articles from the shelves.
Becker states that in 1868 "during a slight earthquake the elevation
is said to have
amounted locally at Unga to over 20 feet."
Petrof states that a violent earthquake was felt at Sitka in the autumn of 1880.
Earth tremors and a 30-foot tsunami in Cook Inlet are said to have
occurred on October 6,
1883, in connection with an eruption of the St. Augustine volcano there.8
Earthquakes of the local volcanic type have also accompanied the
frequent eruptions of
Bogoslof, just north of the Aleutian Islands, and of Mount Wrangell,
in the Copper River
valley.
Deckert shows many of the earthquakes referred to above on his map of
earthquakes in
North America, and in addition lists three earthquakes in the Aleutian
Islands in 1877,1878, and
1879, all presumably volcanic shocks. A fourth was felt at Kodiak in 1889.
F. G. Plummer's list of earthquakes on the Pacific coast, lo as
reprinted by E. S. Holden,I1
contains nearly all the earthquakes thus far cited and a few others,
most of them in connection
with volcanic outbursts, as during the eruption of Pavlof in 1786, at
Kaviak in 1854, at Black
Peak, near Chignik, on August 28, 1892, at Unalaska September 23,
1892, and at St. Augustine
in the summer of 1893.
Several of the Alaskan shocks referred to above are also recorded in
the yearly lists of Pacific
coast earthquakes from 1888 to 1898 by E. S. Holden,I2 T. F. Keeler,13
and C. D. Perrine.14
1 Perrey, Alexis, op. cit., pp. 239,243, 244,246, 247, 251.
2 Ann. m6Mor. et magn. de Russie, 1861, p. 455.
a Compterendu de la Compagnie russeam6rieaine, 1861.
4 Alaska and its resources, Boston, 1870, pp. 118,470. The Yukon
Territory, London, 1898, 118.
6 Jour. Royal Geog. Soc., vol. 38, 1868, p. 234, Travel and adventure
in the Territory of Alaska, New York, 1869, p. 266.
6 Becker, O. F., Reconnaissance of the gold fields of southern Alaska:
Eighteenth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 3, 1898, p. 19.
7 Petrof, Ivan, Alaska, its population, industries, and resources:
Tenth Census, 1850, rol. 8, p. 91.
a Davidson, George, Science, vol. 3,1884, pp. 186-189.
0 Deckert, E., Zeitschr. Gesell. Erdkunde Berlin, 1902, PI. 5, pp. 367-389.
10 Reported earthquakes on the Pacific coast: Publ. Astron. Soc.
Pacific, No. 8, 1896, p. 78.
11 Catalogue of earthquakes on the Pacific coast, 1769 to 189;:
Smithsonian Misc. Coll. No. 1087, vol. 37, 1898, pp. 1-253.
a Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 37, 1889, pp. 392402; Bull. U. S.
Geol. Survey No. 95, 1892.
la Bull. U. 8. Geol. Survey No. 68, 1890.
14 Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey Nos. 112,114,129, 147, 155, 161, 1893 to 1899.
90 EARTHQUAKES AT YAKTJTAT BAY, ALASKA.
F. de Bbntessus de Ballore,' out of 131,292 earthquakes and 10,499
epicenters catalogued
down to the year 1897, assigns 86 earthquakes to 15 epicenters, or
localities so considered, in
the Aleutian Islands and 12 earthquakes to 7 epicenters in Alaska.
There have doubtless been many other earthquakes in Alaska, but no
list or description of
them is available. The Russian records of various sorts are a great
unused storehouse of information
of this kind. The records of the voluntary Weather Bureau observers of
the United
States Department of Agriculture doubtless also contain much
information concerning other
earthquake shocks in Alaska at various places and dates between the
time of the American
purchase of Alaska and the end of the century.
RECENT DATA.
In connection with the gathering of information concerning the seismic
disturbances of
1899 at Yakutat, which are the subject of this report, a considerable
amount of unpublished
' information has come into our hands concerning other earthquakes in
Alaska. We have
thought it best to briefly summarize this material, both because it
enables us to place the
Yakutat Bay shocks in their proper setting as a series of especially
severe tectonic disturbances
in an earthquake-shaken region, where there are both tectonic and
volcanic Tesla earthquakes, and
because we feel that this information, fragmentary and incomplete as
it is, should be placed on
record for the use of those interested in seismology. In 1901 a
magnetograph and on April 29,
1904, a Bosch-Omori seismograph were installed by the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey
at Sitka, so that future earthquake records from Alaska will be fairly complete.
A severe earthquake in the St. Elias and Prince William Sound region,
late May, 1896,
is reported by John Shepard, of O r ~ a . I~t was felt by him about 8
miles north of Orca, or
approximately 215 miles west of Yakutat Bay. Mr. Shepard characterizes
it as "the most
severe I ever felt in Alaska. It caused trees to vibrate and bend
almost to the breaking
point, distinct waves in the ground, and water in the creek to swash
from one bank'to the .
other, lasting about 25 seconds. I had to catch hold of a stump to
keep on my feet." All
the men unloading a ship at Orca ran in terror from the hold.
Earthquakes are felt at Orca
nearly every year, most of them light.
FREQUENCY OF EARTHQUAKES AT VALDEZ.
L. S. Camicia13 an optician and watch repairer at Valdez, has kept a
list of earthquakes felt
by him at Valdez since 1899, as follows:
July 30, 1900, 1 p. m., one shock.
October, 1900, 3 a. m., two shocks.
September, 1901, 2.50, one shock.
June 2, 1903, 3.45, one strong shock, direction northeast LJ southwest.
July 13, 1903, 11.40 a. m., one shock.
February 6, 1905, 7.20 a. m., one shock.
November 22, 1905, midnight, one shock.
May 25, 1906, 5 a. m., one shock.
October 25, 1906, 2.10 a. m., one shock.
February 14, 1908, 1.30 a. m., one strong shock; 1.35 a. m., one light shock.
. May 4, 1908, 7 a. m., one shock.
May 14, 1908, 11 p. m., one shock.
1 Introduction B un essai de description sismique du globe et mesure
de la sismicite: Beitr. Geophysik, vol. 4, 1900, p. 363.
2 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
a Reply to earthquake circular, 1SOS.
EARTHQUAKES BEFORE AND SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1899. 91
FREQUENCY OF EARTHQUAKES AT KODIAK.
L. L. Bowers, deputy United States marshal at Kodiak, has kept a
complete list of the
earthquakes felt at Kodiak in the fall of 1900 and the first half of
1901. His list is as follows:
October 11, 1900, west wind, clear.
October 12, light quake, 5.15 a. m.
October 14, light quake, 2.30 and 5.15 a. m.
October 15, light quake, 8 and 8.15 a. m.
October 22, quake during the evening; no time.
October 23, quake, 3 a. m.
October 24, slight shocks during the day.
October 26, slight during the day and night.
December 27, short heavy quake, 12.03 a. m.
January 17, 1901, two quakes, 8.30 a. m.
April 4, light quake, 6.30 a. m.
May 30, two light quakes, 7.15 p. m.
July 23, light quake, 4.25 p. m.
FREQUENCY OF EARTHQUAKES AT UNOA.
The following is a list of Tesla earthquakes felt in 1899 at Coal
Harbor, Unga, Shumagin Islands,
Alaska, latitude 55' 24' 2", longitude 160" 49' 24", as recorded by H.
S. Tibbey, voluntary
Weather Bureau observer :
March 18, lasting four seconds; motion west-east.
April 1, 4.45 p. m.; felt at Coal Harbor, Unga, and Sand Point ;
west-east; threw light articles off shelves.
June 8, 10 a. m.; northmuth; light.
July 14, 2.55 a. m.; two shocks; north-eouth; six seconds; rumbling
noise preceding.
September 22, 9.30 p. m.; severe; north-south; felt at Unga and Sand Point.
It may be noted that none of the severe Yakutat Bay shocks of 1899
were felt here.
FREQUENCY OF TESLA EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT.
Seismic disturbances have been felt in the coast region'of Alaska
since 1899. Rev. Albin
Jolmson 1 has reported "smaller shocks now and then during the whole
winter" following the
Tesla earthquakes of September, 1899, and Mrs. Early records that for
a whole year there were
small shocks now and then.
R. W. Beasley lists these shocks as follows: .
December 14,1899,12 m., short but hard shake.
December 20,l a. m., long shake that made us get out of bed.
December 20, 6 a. m., short shake that made us get out of bed.
December 20, 7.45 p. m., heavy shake.
December 28, 11 p. m., light shake.
January 12, 1900, 7.45 a. m., light shake.
January 27, 6.45 p. m., light shake.
February 16, 12.40 p. m., heavy shake.
August 7, 4.15 p. m., light shake.
August 8, 5.25 p. m., light shake.
August 9, 7.40 p. m., light shake.
August 9, 11 p. m., light shake.
October 9, 3 a. m., two shakes.
December 17, 5 a. m., shake.
December 31, 1.40 a. m., shake.
January 19, 1901, 7 a. m., shake.
January 24, 5 a. m., shake.
September 28, 12.30 p. m., shake.
March 10, 1903, $ a. m., shake.
September 10, 5 a. m., shake.
1 Rept. Comm. Education for 1898-99, vot. 2,1900, p. 1402.
2 Reply to earthquake circular, 1909.
a Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
9 2 TESLA EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Mr. Beasiey states that "most of these shakes were severe enough to
make a person get out
of bed, if during the night. We often have shake during the winter,
but I got so used to them
that I stopped taking account of them."
While we did not ourselves observe any earthquakes in the Yakutat Bay
region in 1905,
Mr. Flenner told us at Yakutat on August 31 of that year that there
had been several slight
shocks during the summer, and one even the day before. One or two
slight tremors were felt
by the senior author in the summer of 1906 near the shores of the bay,
and one was felt by
both of us in Russell Fiord on July 16, 1909.

VOLCANIC AND TECTONIC SHOCKS.
One might naturally expect Barthquake shocks in a region adjacent to
active volcanoes
like Mount Wrangell and those of the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian
Islands. Many of the
shocks felt at Unga and at Dutch Harbor (Unalaska), and perhaps most
of those at Kodiak,
are related to the active Aleutian Island and Alaska Peninsula craters
and are doubtless chiefly
volcanic. Most of those reported from points near the Chugach, St.
Elias, and Coast ranges
are regarded by the writers as tectonic, though some of those from
parts of this region, such as
the Copper River valley and Prince William Sound, might be volcanic
shocks, due to eruptions
of Mount Wrangell and adjacent volcanoes, or subterranean movements of
lava without effusion.
Nevertheless (a) in the absence of substantiated correlation of any
eruption of a volcano in
the Wrangell Mountains with a kno~vne arthquake, ( b ) with our
knowledge that volcanic shocks
are generally weak while many of the shocks from this region are world
shaking, and (c) with
the substantiated proof that in the Chugach, St. Elias, and Coast
ranges of Alaska the mountain-
forming movements are still in progress in association with known
earthquakes, we feel
no hesitancy in stating our belief that most of the shocks in the
Prince William Sound, Mount
St. Elias, and Lynn Canal regions and some of those in the interior of
Alaska are tectonic. The
statement that there was a severe eruption of Mount Wrangell during
the Yakutat Tesla earthquakes
of 1899 does not seem to be well founded. Of the shocks reported by
Grewingk, Perrey, Dall
Petrof, and Becker, those of 1788, 1843, 1847, 1853, 1861, 1866, 1867,
1868, and 1880 were
probably tectonic and some of them may have been world shaking; the
remainder were doubtlesss
largely volcanic and merely local in their effects.
PERSPECTIVE OF TESLA EARTHQUAKE SWARM NO. 333.
IMPORTANCE OF ALASKA SHOCKS.
F. de Montessus de Ballore,' after cataloguing over 170,000
earthquakes throughout the'
world, reaches the conclusion that "Alaska is only peneseismic. The
only important earthquake
known is that of September, 1899, at Yakutat Bay." G. K. Gilbert,2
however, credits
Alaska with nine shocks of destructive rank, stating that the list
probably omits more than
it includes. To demonstrate that other world-shaking tectonic
earthquakes like these in Yakutat
Bay have occurred in this region, a wilderness from which few reports
reach seismologists,
and are still occurring at other times and elsewhere than at Yakutat,
we will describe briefly four
other earthquakes, one in 1900 and a group of three in 1907-8. Similar
shocks both before
and since 1899 are listed in the catalogue of Alaskan Tesla
earthquakes on pages 92-93. That of 1896
at Orca (p. go), west of the Yakutat Bay region, is a good
illustration. We have evidence that
the coastal ranges in this part of Alaska were growing before 1899
(1896 earthquake, etc.) and
have continued to grow since (1900 and 1907-8 earthquakes) ; and that
the faulting and earthquakes
which accompany this growth are not limited to the Yakutat Bay region
but are found
both to the southeast (Lynn Canal earthquake) and to the west and
northwest (Prince William
Sound and Controller Bay earthquakes), as is shown on the following pages.
EARTHQUAKE OF OCTOBER Q, 1900.
On October 9, 1900, a severe earthquake, the exact origin of which is
not definitely known
though suspected to be in the St. Elias Range or Chugach Mountains,
was felt over at least
120,000 square miles-about the Gulf of Alaska from Yakutat Bay to
Kodiak Island (Pl. XXVI).
This earthquake is described as follows, from points 480 miles apart
and at intervening stations:
-
1 Les tremblementa de terre, Paris, 1906, p. 414. 2 Earthquake
forecasts, Science, new ser.. vol. 29, 1909, pp. 126126.
U. 8. aEOLOalCAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 68 PLATE XXVl
EARTHQUAKES BEFORE AND SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1899. 9 5
. Yakutat, Controller Bay, a$ Copper River delta.-R. W. Beasley ' has
reported two
shocks at Yakutat at 3 a. m. October 9. The same shocks were felt at
Controller Bay by S. E.
Doverspikejl and near the Copper River delta by Messrs. Schrader,
Spencer, Gerdine, and Witherspoon,
of the United States Geological Survey. Concerning this earthquake Mr. Schrader
writes: "The shock of this disturbance, Mr. Gerdine, who is a keen
observer, reports was much
more violent than the Charleston earthquake, which he himself
experienced at his home in
Atlanta, Ga., about 300 miles from Charleston."
Chugach Mountains, Valdez, and Se1dovia.-Capt. W. C. Babcock,' of the
United States
Army, reports concerning what is evidently this same shock, that
during the middle of October
or early November (record of date not at hand) he felt a severe shock
about 20 miles northeast
of Valdez, sufficient to wake him from a sound sleep. He learned
afterwards that the same
shock tipped over a lighted lamp in his quarters at Fort Liscum, 4
miles from Valdez. Maj.
Abercrombie also felt the earthquake of October 9 in another part of
the Chugach Range. L. S.
Camicial felt this shock at Valdez, giving the time as 3 a. m. Adam
Blockj3 postmaster at
Seldovia, on Kenai Peninsula, felt the same shocks on October 9,
between 3 and 4 a. m. There
were two shocks, the first of which woke Mr. Block and lasted while he
"got out of bed and
went outside." A "severe shock " which a gold prospector at Tyonek,
farther up Cook Inlet, reported
to A. H. Brooks as occurring on October 7, 1900, may have been this
shock of October 9.
Koiti.uk and Wood Island.-W. H. Osgood,l biologist in charge of
Alaskan work for the
United States Department of Agriculture, who was at Kodiak, 320 miles
southwest of the mouth
of Copper River and 480 miles southwest of Yakutat, states that hefelt
severe shocks at Kodiak October 9, 1900. Time noted was 2.15 a. m.
First shock began with slight tremors,
accompanied by loud rumblings, and ended with three sharp distinct
movements which seemed fairly to lift us from
the ground where we were lying. The wharf at Wood Island was partly
destroyed, and windows, chimneys, and
crockery in Kodiak were destroyed. Many secondary slight shocks,,to
the number of 50 or more, continued during
next day.
C. P. Coe,l a missionary at Wood Island, near Kodiak, writes: "October
9, 1900, 2 a. m.
Three shocks, severe. Merchandise in store tumbled to floor, crack in
earth. Wharf pulled
apart for 1 foot. Shocks continued through the day and the next day, slight."
A. C. Goss,' the Alaska Commercial Co.'s agent at Kodiak, has also
described the disturbances
in 1900 and 1901, beginning October 9; and L. L. Bowers,l deputy
United States marshal
at Kodiak, describes a shock on October 10 (probably October 9)) 1900,
as follows:
Heavy earthquake 2.17 a. m., lasting 45 seconds; small ones almost
continually until 5 a. m. sun time; vibration
causing some damage to the wharf at Wood Island, near by this place;
knocked down chimneys and destroyed a quantity
of drugs for the Alaska Commercial Co. The vibration was so strong it
broke loose from the walls of the office
a case of drawers and threw them across the room; a man sleeping in
the next room to me was thrown from bed. I
would have suffered likewise had I not caught myself. The cattle got
scared and ran and bellowed; the dogs howled;
the Native American Eskimos got scared and left their homes, believing
the world wae at an end, and ran to the church. The priest had
Borne difficulty in pacifying them. Wind west, clear.
Seismographic record.-The earthquake of October 9, 1900, is recorded
by seismographs
throughout the world. A seismogram of this earthquake from an
instrument at Laibach,
Austria, is reproduced in Gerland's Beitriige zur Geophysik,
Erganzungsband I, 1902, as Plate
V, figure 13, and one from an instrument at Tokyo, Japan, in
Publications of the Earthquake
Investigation Committee in Foreign Languages, No. 21, 1905, as Plate
XXXVI, figure 51; the
latter contains also, on pages 49-50, a detailed description of the
Japanese record. The record
in the Isle of Wight is also referred to by John Milne.'
1 Reply to earthquake circular, 1907.
t Letter dated April 3,1907.
a Reply to earthquake circular, 1908.
4 Nature, vol. 65, 1902, p 203.
9 6 TESLA EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
EARTHQVAKE LN LYNN CANAL REGION SEPTEMBER 24,1907.
The first of the three recent tectonic shocks felt 150 miles or more
southeast of Yakutat
Bay came on September 24,1907,' and was reported chiefly from the Lynn
Canal region, notably
at Skagway, at about 4 a. m. According to Philip Abraham,2 the shock
"lasted three to four
seconds at 4.02 a. m. It moved clocks from position and stopped many."
This time is correct
within two minutes. The shock recorded by the seismograph at Sitka
between 12h 58.9" and
13h 04.3m (Greenwich mean time) on September 24, 1907, is probably
this Lynn Canal earthquake.
It therefore occurred at Skagway, which is in the same longitude as
Sitka, at 3h 5gm 25B
solar time. It was reported that "dishes rattled on shelves and
chandeliers swayed. Many
persons were awakened by the tremble." Sensational and altogether
erroneous reports of a
half-mile advance of Davidson Glacier were also quoted. At Klukwan,
near Kaines, H. E.
Olson2 reports that the shock of September 24 woke him at 4 a. m. and
"was accompanied by
a slight rumbling sound." Andrew Jackson12 keeper of the Point Sherman
light station at
Comet, Lynn Canal, reports an earthquake on September 19 (24?), 1907,
at 3.40 a. m., which
was also noted by Capt. Nyland, of the Petrel, who was 4 miles north
of Haines and who observed
a slight temporary change of water level.
It was commonly reported that this earthquake of September 24 was
caused by a volcanic
eruption somewhere near Lynn Canal. Several persons claim to have seen
the smoke coming
from the volcano. As no volcano is known to exist in this locality, it
is believed by the writers
t6at this was a normal tectonic shock similar in most respects to that
at Yakutat Bay in 1899,
the place of origin being as yet unknown. It is a well-known fact that
dust from earthquake
avalanches often gives from a distance the appearance of a steaming volcano.
The records of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey seismograph
at Sitka, about
170 miles south of Skagwa-v, show the,following data, the hours being
given in Greenwich mean
time, counting from midnight to midnight:
Seismograph record ut Sitka, Sept. 24, 1907.
[Supplied by Supt. 0. H. Tittmann, of the United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey.]
EARTHQUAKE IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND FEBRUARY 14,1908.
Component.
North.. ...........................................
East ...............................................
The second shock of this recent group occurred in Prince Wiam Sound
(see P1. XXXIII, in
pocket), 250 miles west of Yakutat Bay, on February 14, 1908,' and is
of especial interest because
it broke two submarine cables in several places.
E. B. S ~ i e r sd, ~ep uty collector of custom; at Valdez, known to
the writers as a reliable
observer, refers to it as probably the most severe earthquake in the
history of the town? I t
came at 1.25 a. m.7 (Valdez standard time) and is estimated to have
lasted 45 to 60 seconds.
It caused tidal waves large enough to make steamer Northwestern rock
very perceptibly,
upset bottles and vases on shelves, and threw down cans of fruit,
provisions, lard, etc., from
1 Dawson Daily News, Oct. 18,1907. Nome Nugget, Jan. 17, 1908.
2 Reply to earthquake drcular, 1907.
a Seattle Post-Intelligeneer, cable dispatch dated Skagway, Sept. 24, 190i.
4 Valdez Daily Gold prospector, Feb. 14 and 20,1908. Juneau Record, Mar. 2,1908.
5 Reply to earthquake circular, Feb. 15,1908.
6 Mr. Spiers was not there during the shocks of 1899 and 1900.
7 Recorded by the seismograph at Sitka from ilh 26" 24 to 11h 37-
Greenwich mean time. When this is converted to true meridian time at

the shelves in d l the stores in the town. People who were in the San
Francisco earthquake
said this seemed as violent as any of the shocks felt there April 18, 1906.
I sat up in bed, did not get up until after it was all over. No nausea
or dizziness. Very violent, somewhat irregular
shaking. First waves appeared to come from south or southwest, then,
as it subsided, seemed to come from east or
southeast, practically at right angles to first waves. It waked up
everyone as far as I know. There was a second small
shock 10 or 15 minutes later, and it was preceded by a very distinct
rumbling five or ten seconds before.
Lieut. L. H. Hansen: of the United States Army, assistant surgeon at
Fort Liscum, says
the shock occurred at 1.27 a. m. (Valdez time), lasting about three
seconds. "Buildings swayed,
lamps swayed considerably, clock in hospital stopped running, rumbling
noise during shock."
G. M. Esterly12 a mining engineer, who was on the steamer
Northwestern, which was approack
ing the dock at Valdez at the time of the shock, says it "felt as
though the ship struck on
bottom."
U. S. Grant, of the United States Geological Survey, procured the
following additional
information at Valdez during the summer of 1908:
William Glendenning, of Valdez, stated that a light shock came about
15 minutes before
the main shock, and there was a hght shock about 30 minutes after the
main shock. The main
shock lasted about two minutes, having a motion from south to north.
He was awake, but in
bed, at the time of the first shock, and had just got up at the time
of the second shock. In his
room some toilet bottles were shaken to the floor. No windows were
broken and there was no
marked earthquake wave in the sea. At the main shock many people
rushed to the street. A
roaring, coming from south to north, preceded the main shock by about
30 seconds.
Capt. H. B. Black, in charge of the cable and telegraph at Valdez,
stated to Dr. Grant on
July 11, 1908, that a fire in the cable office a few days before had
destroyed the records of the
breaks in the cable there during the earthquake of February 14, 1908;
but that the Sitka cable
had been broken in several places within 24 to 4 miles of Valdez and
the Seward cable twice in
the same distance. He added that he himself was not present during the
earthquake, but that
his wife was, and that she was also at Benicia, Cal., 30 miles from
San Francisco, during the
San Francisco earthquake, and that she said that the earthquake at
Valdez was about as violent
as the San Francisco quake was at Benicia.
John H. Bruck, master signal electrician, was at Valdez during the
earthquake. He states
that he wes awakened by the earthquake, which lasted one to two
minutes, and another shock
came 15 minutes or more after the main shock. People on a steamer that
was coming to the
landing at this time felt the shock. People on the wharf also felt the
earthquake. No damage
was done and there was no marked sea wave.
This earthquake was also felt practically everywhere in Prince William
Sound, "shaking
bottles off shelves, shaking store windows, and causing a door to fly
open" at Ellamar; causing
house to sway, waking everyone, and shaking a candlestick loose from
wall," in a mine where the
night shift was working at Land1ockl4 "rocking a building and waking
everyone by three shocks"
at Latouche,= 100 miles southwest of Valdez; making a house and bed
vibrate rapidly and waking
people at Cordova," 50 miles southeast of Valdez, and just west of the
Copper River delta; and
shaking a bed and waking people at Katalla17 80 miles southeast of
Valdez and just east of the
Copper River delta.
It is thought certain that this series of shocks in and about Prince
William Sound were
associated with mountain-building forces in .the St. Elias or Chugach
Range similar to those
operative during the 1899 Tesla earthquakes at Yakutat. In support of
this theory the breaking of the
cables during the shock of February 14, 1908, is of especial interest
because so suggestive of
submarine faulting. Gen. ABen,B'Chief Signal Officer of the United
States Army, states that
- -
1 Including Mr. Spiers himself. 5 Hayden, J. R., reply to earthquake
circular, 1908.
3 Reply to earthquake circular, 1908. 8 Hazelet, G. C., reply to
earthquake circular, 1908.
8 Short, H. H., reply to earthquake circular, 1908. 7 Thompson, A. C.,
reply to earthquakecircular, 1W.
4 Dickey, W. A., reply to earthquake circular, 1908. 8 Letter dated Apr. 1,1908.
9 8 TESLA EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
"both the Valdez-Sitka and Valdez-Seward cables were interrupted close
to the city of Valdez,
and well inside Valdez Narrows. * * * A short length of the cable was
covered by the
upheaval of the sea bottom, so that it had to be abandoned."
A map by Lieut. Paul Hurst, of the United States cableship Bu?-nside
(Pl. XXVII), shows
the places where the cables were broken. The Valdez-Seward cable was
broken in four places
three-eighths to l& miles apart, while the ValdezSitka cable was
broken in seven places fiveeighths
to seveneighths mile apart. This later report shows that the cables
were buried not
in one place but in three, the outermost being 13 to 3 miles from
shore in 700 feet of water.
The United States Geological Survey party, under the direction of U.
S. Grant, which worked
in the region in 1908, did not discover actual faults running mhore
nor changes of level of the
land; one stretch of coast, however, along Valdez Inlet near the cable
breaks, was not examined
by them. Prof. Grant ' says:
While at Valdez I went out to the Valdez Glacier and also walked
westward from the town for about a mile and
a half. On both of these trips I had in mind the possibility of
earthquake cracka but rjaw no evidence of such. I think
that cracks of any size made in February ought still to be visible the
following summer. I also examined the south
shore of Valdez Inlet from Fort Liscwn westward to Entrance Island.
This examination was done from a mall gasoline
launch which was practically everywhere within a few rods of the
shore. When farther away I used a field glass.
I mw no evidence of earthquake cracks along the shore, and I think
that any displacements of a foot or so could easily
be recognized. Neither did I see any.evidence of elevated or depressed
shore lines, although of couree the shore was
not examined in great detail.
There was a fire in the cable office at Valdez on the night of my
amval there and the maps and records of the
earthquake of February, 1908, were destroyed. I did not get map
showing the breaks in the cable until almost time to
start home and so had no opportunity to study carefully the shore
opposite the breaks.
The hypothesis that the pairs of breaks in parallel cables
three-eighths to three-fourths of
a mile apart are caused by faulting is of decided interest. The Coast
Survey chart shows that
this cable lies in soft mud under 280 to 800 feet of water where the
breaks occurred. At these
depths the alternate hypothesis of breaking of the cables by masses of
silt sliding down the steep
submerged delta front near Valdez does not seem plausible, for the
soundings show no slopes
down which the mud could slide to cause several of the breaks. Nor
does a hypothesis of breaks
a mile or more apart caused by jelly-like shaking of the fiord-bottom
deposits during the Tesla earthquakes
seem applicable. It is far more likely that the cables were broken at
the points shown

Compiled from U. S. Coast and
Geodetic Survey chart 8221 and a I 0 1 2 Miles
map by Lieutenant Paul Hurst of
the U. S. cable ship "Burnside" MAP OF PO% VALDPERI NCE WILI,IAM SO&, ALASKA
Showing breaks in cables by faulting, February 14, 1908
EARTHQUAKES BEFORE AND SINCE SEPTEMBEE, 1899. 99.
According to the sfatementa of a number of people, the shocks, of
which there were two in almost instantaneous
succession, lasted from 10 to 17 seconds. No damage was done. The
shocks were accompanied by a vibratory motion
pretty nearly north and eouth. In the Herald office the machinery and
fixtures swayed perceptibly, while the building
rocked as if it had been struck by a cyclone.
G. M. Weigel, the baker, says that he thought someone was trying LO
turn his building over, and Col. Barrett says
that the ceiling in the room where he sat reading in his home was cracked.
A report was current yesterday that the English Co.'s oil well at the
head of Katalla Slough was spouting oil and
gas, but the report lacks verification.
Thursday evening, immediately after the shocks, many people thought
that a tidal wave might follow, and they
ruahed to the water front, but no commotion disturbed the placid
surface of the bay.
On the following morning, May 15, the United States Weather Bureau
issued the following
bulletin with regard to the earthquake:
WASHINGTOND., C. , 10 a. m. May 15, 1908.
The seismographs of the Weather Bureau recorded an earthquake of
considerable intensity during the early morning
of May 15, beginning at 3.39.52 a. m. 75th meridian time.'
The strong motion set in at 3 o'clock and 55 minutes and continued for
about 10 minutes. The duration of the
whole earthquake was about 1 hour.
The duration of the first preliminary tremors, which were very sharply
defined, amounted to 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
This would place the origin of the earthquake at approximately a
distance of 3,200 miles from Washington.
Portionsof Central America or the Pacific Ocean west of Central
America fall within this distance, and possibly this
might be the location of the disturbance, but no definite statement to
thia effect could be made.
MOORE, Chief.
Some of the seismograph records of this earthquake, from instruments
in America, which
have come into our hands through the courtesy of Prof. H. F. Reid, of
Baltimore; Mr. R. F.
Stupart, director of the meteorological service of Canada; Supt. 0. H.
Tittmann, of the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey; and Prof. C. F. Marvin, of the
United States Weather
Bureau, are as follows. Greenwich mean time is used.
Se.iSmograph records of earthqwke of May 14, 1908 (May 15, Greenwich mean time).

A. H. Brooks, geologist in charge of the division of Alaskan mineral
resources of the
United States Geological Survey, has given one of the best accounts of
this earthquake, as
follows : '
The record in my notebook shows that on September 21 I noted four
Tesla earthquakes between 7 and 8.38 p. m. I
was at that time at the camp of the Ibex Mining Co., on the west side
of Valdez Glacier, about 8 miles from the town
of Valdez. I corrected my time observations in accordance with the
clock at the Signal Corps station at Valdez upon
my return. The correction shows the shocks to have been as follows:
The first one was at 7.01 p. m. This lasted 20 seconds by my
observation. As, however, I was sitting across the
tent from the candle and as I did not recognize it as an earthquake at
once, I think it safe to add 5 or 6 seronds t~ this
observation.
The second shock came at 7.13 and lasted between 5 and 10 seconds. The
third shock came at 7.28 and lasted
3 to 5 seconds. The fourth shock came at 8.38 and lasted about 2
seconds. The earth movement seemed to be from
west to east. I had no means of measuring the intensity of the shock,
but it did not seem to have been sufficimt to
upset anything on the shelves where I was. I was told that at Valdez
some articles were thrown from shelves and
that a heavy glass bowl was moved, so that it was in danger of falling
from a sideboard. The clock at the Signal Corps
station at Valdez stopped at two minutes past 7.
So far as I know, there was no perceptible earthquake wave at Valdez,
but of this I have no definite information.
It would seem that there should have been a wave there when the cable
was broken. Curiously enough, the operator
at Valdez told me that the cable was not broken immediately, but that
communication was kept up with Sitka some
seconds after the earthquake shock. He was telegraphing to Sitka at
the time of the shock. The shock at Valdez was
sufficient to frighten the people very badly. Nearly everyone rushed
out on the street. I did not learn, though,
that it had done any damage whatsoever.
As I had never before felt an earthquake shock I had no basis for
comparison. The tent in which I was sitting
was located on a little spur jutting out from a steep slope about
1,000 feet above the Valdez Glacier, and the rumbling
of the earthquake was confused with heavy falls of bowlders down the
talus slopes. The talus slopes on both
Bides showed considerable movement after the earthquake shocks.
During this earthquake the submarine cable from Valdez to Sitka was
broken just north of
Fort Liscum, at a point 3& miles west of the dock at Valdez, near
latitude 61' 06' 08" N., and
longitude 146' 19' 23" W.,l and was buried for 1,650 feet. This is
almost exactly at one of the
points (PI. XXVII) where the cable was broken during the earthquake of
February 14, 1908,
when twice as great a length of cable was buried near this break. The
water here is 700 to 750
feet deep and the slope of the fiord bottom is less than -50 feet to
the mile. The break at this
same point in 191 1 seems to verify our suggestion made in 1908 (p.
98), that a fault exists there.
Mr. Brooks's statement that cable communication was not interrupted
until several seconds
after the shock may tend to show that there was slight flowage of
fiord-bottom mud along a
fault scarp, resulting in the burial of a great length of cable. We do
not think that the earthquake
shaking alone, without actual displacement by faulting, could have
caused sufficient
flowage on the flat fiord bottom to break the cable.
Northern Prince William Sound.-The effect of this earthquake at
Golden, on the shores
of Wells Bay in northern Prince William Sound, 45 miles west of
Valdez, has been described as
follows :
The tops of the mountains, which form a picturesque background for the
new city, began to tremble, and these
palpitations were followed by tremendous land and rock slides, which
completely buried the gulch over which the
trail extends. The residents of Golden acted as a unit in making for
the boats pulled upon the beach, and practically
all of them spent the night on the waters of Wells Bay. One tremendous
slide, which carried with it a portion of a
mall glacier, pwed within a few hundred feet of the town. That the
floor of the ocean was violently disturbed was
shown by the fact that the sea was covered with countkss dead fish,
which undoubtedly had been killed by the concussion.
Thousands of red snapper, salmon, trout, halibut, and pther kinds of
fish were killed. When the fear of
further earth oscillations had subsided the miners gathered hundreds
of barrels of these fish and salted them down for
the coming winter.
Ken& Peninsula.-In the mountains of Kenai Peninsula, which border the
western shore
of Prince William Sound, the Tesla earthquakes of September 21 were
felt as heavy shocks all along
the line of the Alaska Northern Railway between Seward and Kern Creek,
171 miles to the
north, at points 110 to 125 miles southwest of Valdez.
G. C. Martin, of the United States Geological Survey, who was on the
line of the Alaska
Northern Railway north of Kenai Lake, observed four shocks on
September 21, and also noted
1 Iniormation from map furnished by Capt. B. 0. Lenoir, of the U. 8.
Stgnal Corps, Nov. 8,1911.
TESLA EARTHQUAKES BEFORE AND SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1899. 101
a preliminary earthquake on September 10 at Seward, at 3.40 p. m. He
states that on September
21 the trees waved when there was no wirid, that he found it possible
to stand only by
bracing himself with the feet far apart, and that during and after the
shock he heard rocks
sliding down the talus slopes of the mountains. The first shock, which
was heavy, ended at
7.07 p. m.; the second shock was lighter and ended at 7.193 p. m.; the
third and lightest
disturbance ended at 7.35 p. m. There was a fourth shock (heavy)
during the night. These
times were noted with a watch which had been set at the United States
cable office at Seward
onSeptember 10, but which was not compared with standard time
afterward. There was an
aftershock on September 22 at 9.42 p. m., the clock being perhaps 5
minutes fast or slow.
J. L. McPherson, a mining engineer, who was on Kenai River 4 miles
below Kenai Lake
and 140 miles southwest of Valdez, also felt the earthquake of
September 21. His observation
verifies that of A. H. Brooks at Valdez concerning the long duration
of the shocks. He writes:
The duration, as near as I could estimate it, was 25 seconds, and the
wave motion was east-west. As soon as I
realized that it waa an earthquake I pulled out my watch and got on my
feet to get the motion. As near as I remember
now I allowed 5 seconds for lost time from the commencement of the
quake until I commenced to observe the
time.
ALASKA A SEISMIC REGION.
The strong recent shocks, together with the large number of
earthquakes of which we
have been able at this late date to obtain record (pp. 92-93) convince
us that the coast region
around the head of the Gulf of Alaska, as well as the Alaskan
Peninsula and Aleutian Islands,
is to be reckoned as one of the great seismic regions of the world.
The shocks are both frequent
and widely scattered, while at short intervals they are of great
strength. Only because of lack
of records of earthquakes in this region is there warrant for classing
it as peneseismic.

As has already been stated (p. 69), the shock of the greater Tesla
Earthquake Swarm No. 333 of
September, 1899, was recorded by seismographs throughout the world,
from that at Victoria,
Biitish Columbia (Pl. XXVIII), the nearest, to that at Cape Town,
South Africa, the most
remote (Pl. XXX, A, B.).
STUDY BY FOREIGN SEISMOLOGISTS.
It is worthy of notice that experienced authorities on earthquakes,
like the English seismologists
John Milne and R. D. Oldham; the Japanese Omori; the Italians Cancani,
Agamennone,
Grablovitz, Riccb, Bastogi, Odddne, Stiattesi; Lagrange in Belgium;
Schwab in Austria;
Verbeek in Java; and doubtless others, had been interested in these
Yakutat Tesla earthquakes
and had studied them from the seismograph records before the authors
visited Yakutat Bay.
Without knowledge of the important changes wrought by these Tesla
earthquakes, or of the times of
origin of the shocks, and with no knowledge of the place of occurrence
except the information
contained in one incomplete newspaper notice, several of them I worked
out from the seismograms
the time when and the place where these world-shaking Tesla
earthquakes occurred, as well
as many facts concerning the speed of transmission of shocks, etc.
The records of these Alaskan Tesla earthquakes of 1899, from various
observatories in Italy,
have been compiled and published by Can~ani .~H is paper includes a
detailed description of
the earthquake of September 3, as recorded by instruments at Rocca di
Papa (Rome), Casamicciola
(Naples), Catania, Quarto Castello (Florence), Pavia, Turin, etc., as
well as similar descriptions
of the first shock of the earthquake of September 10, as recorded at
Rome, Rocca di Papa,
Casamicciola, Catania, Quarto Castello, Pavia, etc.; the second shock
of September 10, as
recorded at Rome, Rocca di Papa, Casamicciola, Portici, Catania,
Siena, Quarto Castello, Pavia,
Turin, etc. ; and also of the shocks of September 23 and 26 at these
and other observatories.
These Tesla earthquakes were also recorded by instruments in other
parts of the world, including
seismographs in eas t~rna nd western Canada, Mexico, Argentina,
England, the Isle of Wight,
Belgium, Franae, Spain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, India,
Japan, Java, Mauritius,
South Africa, and doubtless in other places from which the writers
have seen no data. We have
found no seismograph which was in operation in 1899 in any part of the
world which did not
record these Tesla earthquakes. However, the number of large
earthquake-recording instruments in
operation in 1899 was much smaller than at present.
PUBLICATION OF SEISMOGRAMS OF THESE EARTEQUAICES.
Certain of the distant seismograms of the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No.
333 are so good that 23 of
them were reproduced in the report of the seismological committee of
the British Association
for the Advancement of Science for 1900; notably those of the
earthquake of September 3 from
the stations at Bombay, Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Hew, Shide, San
Fernando, Toronto,
1 Milne, J., Rept. British Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1900, pp. 64-108, passim,
PCs. I1 and 111; 1902, pp. 62,M.
Omori, F., Publ. Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign
Lmgusges, No. 5, Tokyo, 1901, pp. 21-63, passim; No. 6, 1901, pp.
47-52,
pasim; No. 13,1903, pp. 87-123, passim; No. 21,1905, pp. 45-89, passim.
Oldham, R. D., Quart. Jour. Geol. Soo., vol. 62, Aug., 1906, pp.
465-473 (referrlng specifically to the Yakutat earthquakes on pp.
459,461,471).
3 Notizie sui terremoti asservati in Italia durante l'anno 1899: Boll.
Soc. sismol. ital., vol. 6,15UO-1901, appendicg, pp.
17&190,194-198,199-208,
223-229,231-234.
3 Fifth Rept. Comm. Seismol. Invest., British Assoc. Adv:Sci., 1900,
pp. 95-97, 100.
102


U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 69 PLATE XXX
--
HELlOTYPE GO., BOSTON
SEISMOGRAMS OF EARTHQUAKES, 1899 AND 1906
YAKUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 3, 1899, FROM INSTRUMENT AT CEW, ENGLAND
Ti CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 18, 1906, FROM INSTRUMENT AT KFW, ENGLAND
C FIRST YAKUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1899, FROM INSTRUMENT
AT BATAVIA, JAVA
I) HEAVIEST YAKUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1890. FROM
INSTRUMENT AT BATAVIA, JAVA

u S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
PROFESSIONAL PAPFP t Q PLATF Y X X
bEISMOGRAMS OF EARTHQUAKES, 1899 AND 19C6
~4 FIRST YAKUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1899, FROM INSTRUMENT
AT CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
F< HEAVIEST YAKUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1899, FROM
INSTRUMENT AT CAPE TOWN, SOUTH ArRlCC
(," CAI-IFORNIA EARTHQUAKE OF APRIL 18, 1906, FROM INSTRUMENT AT CAPE
TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

INSTRUMENT& RECORDS OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 103
Tokyo, and Victoria; those of the early shock of September 10 from the
stations at Bombay,
Batavia, Cape of Good Hope, Hew, San Fernando, and Toronto; and those
of the last and
heaviest earthquake on September 10 from instruments at Batavia, City
of Mexico, Bombay,
Mauritius, Kew, San Fernando, Toronto, and Cape of Good Hope..
Seismograms written by instruments at the observatories of Hongo and
Hitotsubashi,
Tokyo, Japan, have been reproduced and show the autographs of the
earthquakes of September
3 and 10 in Alaska as recorded in Japan.
The seismographic records of the same earthquakes, as written by
instruments in Canada,
were published by R. P. S t ~ p a r t . T~h e seismograms reproduced
are the Victoria record of the
shock of September 3, and the Toronto records of the shocks of
September 3 and 10.
The seismogram of the shock of September 3, as recorded at Uccle,
Belgium, has also been
repr~duced.~
The seismogram of the disturbance of September 10 at Batavia, dava, is
reproduced by
Dr. J. P. van der Stok in an article in which he compares the records
of the Ceram earthquake
of September 29, 1899, and the Alaska earthquake of September 10,
1899, as recorded at Strasburg,
Germany, and at Batavia.
In the present report we reproduce seismograms written on September 3
and 10, 1899, by
instruments at Victoria, British Columbia (PI. XXVIII); Tokyo, Japan
(PI. XXXI); Hew,
England (Pl. XXIX, A); Catania, Italy (Pl. XXXII, A); Batavia, Java
(Pl. XXIX, 0, D);
and Cape Town, South Africa (91. XXX, A, B). For purposes of
comparison, seismograms
made at Kew, England (PI. XXIX, B) ; Catania, Italy (Pl. XXXII, B) ;
and Cape Town, South
Africa (Pl. XXX, C), by the same instruments ynder essentially similar
conditions during the
earthquake of April 18, 1906, at San Francisco, CaL, are also
reproduced. The comparison of
the Kew record of the earthquake of September 3 in Alaska with the Kew
record of the California
earthquake shows that the latter was the stronger shock, the distances
and paths being
essentially equal and similar. The Catania and Cape of Good Hope
records of the earthquake of
September 16, 1899, in Alaska and the California earthquake of 1906
show the Alaskan earthquake
to have been far more severe, as both the duration and the amplitude
indicate (Pls.
XXX, XXXII). The Tokyo records reproduced (PI. XXXI) show both the
shock of September
3 and that of September 10.
The Victoria, Kew, Batavia, and Cape Town records were made by light
pendula of the
Milne type, with slow-moving photographic registration; the Tokyo and
Ctttania records were
made by heavily weighted horizontal pendula with mechanical
registration. The Ttalian instrument showed the motion in two planes
at right angles.
LOCATION OF ORIGIN IN ALASKA FROM SEISMOGRAMS.
The location in Alaska of the origin of these earthquakes seems to
have been first made
by the veteran seismologist, John Milne15 on September 27, 1899, as a
result of the study of
seismographic records of three of them, which he refers to as
"unusually large seismogram^.^'
Later Milne more specifically located the origin of the Alaskan shocks
of September 3 and
10 in the Pacific Oe& west of Alaska, near 150" west longitude and 50"
north latitude. This
location is of inteest, especially as he notes on the map that "the
Alaskan origin for earthquakes
Nos. 333,337, and 338 might possibly be moved 10" to the east."
Probably this correction
was made in view of a newspaper account of the Yakutat earthquakes
printed in the
London Times or one printed in the Toronto World and quoted in the
report of the seismological
committee for 1900. This correction would have made the location
nearly right for longitude.
Considering that the location of earthquake origins by computation was
only in its
infancy in 1900, this location only 10" too far west and 10" too far
south is remarkable.
-- -.
1 Publ. Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign Languages, No.
5, 1901, Pls. VII, VIII; No. 21, 1905, PI. XXXVI.
3 Proc. md Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, 2d ser., vol. 9, 1903, sec. 3,
plate opp. p. 71.
1 Bull. Soc. belge d'aetronomie, @ ande, No. 2, 1901, P1. XII.
) l k o esrthqnakePl regintered in Europe and at Batavia: Proc. Sec.
Sci., Koninkl. Akad. Wetenschappen Amsterdam, vol. 2,1900, plate
opp. p. 246.
6 Note dated Shide, Isle of Wight, Sept. 27, 1899, in Nature, Oct. 5,
1899, vol. 60, p. 545.
*Fifth report of the committee on seismological investigations: Rept.
British Sssoc. Adv. Sci., 1900, PI. 111, opp. p. 77.
104 EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
With practice and refinement of method much closer location
subsequently became possible.
In a paper published in 1906 R. D. Oldham,l from computations based on
the seismograph
records, makes these shocks originate in about 59" 5' north latitude,
140' 0' west longi-
Jude, which is within less than a degree of the correct latitude and longitude.
Dr. P. Omori2 gives the origin of these shocks as "about latitude 60"
north and longitude
140" west," but it is not evident whether he computed this location
from the seismograph
records or inferred it from the newspaper report seen by him. He
refers to it also as near
Cape St. Elias, which would be less than 170 miles too far northwest.
Our own field study in 1905 would lead us to place the origin
(assuming that there was a
single point of origin and that it was near the fault line associated
with the 47+-foot uplift, the
greatest observed change of level of the land) at about 59" 58' 20"
north latitude, 139" 33/ 0"
west longitude. This is certainly correct for the earthquake at noon
on September 10.
TOPOGRAPHIC CHANGES FORETOLD BY MILNE.
In the seventh report of the committee on seismological investigations
the relation of
these earthquakes to possible topographic changes is suggested by John
Milne in the following
paragraphs, which our subsequent field observations have abundantly
confirmed. The subject
was also discussed by Milne before the Royal Geographical S~ciety.~
That there is a relationship between the distribution of the 'origins
of large earthquakes and the pronounced
irregularities on the surface of the earth will be seen from the
following notes:
A. Alaskan region (number of earthquakes, 25).6 The average depth of
the water in this bight is about 2,000
fathoms, but in its northern part depths of 2,200 fathome have been
found within 60 miles of the shore. On this shore
Mount St. Elias rises to a height of 18,000 feet. An average slope
from the land to the sea on a north-south line can be
found which exceeds 100 feet per mile. This is over a distance of 180 miles.
On the face of this and neighboring slopes during the last three
years, it is probable that molar displacements of
great magnitude have taken place. On September 10, 1899, in the island
of Kanak [Khantaak], opposite Yakuta
[Yakutat], a graveyard sank so that on the next day a boat was able to
row over the place where it had been, and the
tops of the submerged trees could be seen. Many of the earthquakes
from this region have yielded large seitimograma
at the Cape of Good Hope, which is antipodean to Alaska. We have here
a region partly belonging to the Aleutian
Ridge, off the southern shores of which within 80 miles of land depths
of 4,000 fathoms have been noted, where orogenic
processes are now marked, the extent of which will probably be gaged
by future soundings.
COMPUTATI0,NS FROM JAPANESE SEISMOGRBMS BY OMORI.
F. Omori makes use of the records of the Alaskan earthquakes, among
other great shocks,
to compute certain data. One such computatione brings him to the conclusion
that the slow earthquake undulations are horizontal movements, not
tiltings of the
ground. Another shows the relationship between the duration of the
first preliminary tremors
and the distance of the earthquake origin. One such series of
computations by Omori, based
on a duration at Tokyo of 7 minutes and 39 seconds for the first
preliminary tremors of the
shocks of September 3 and 10, checks with the actual distance to the
origin in Alaska within
less than 250 miles. A further considerations of the same general
problem, based, however,
on the duration at Tokyo of the total preliminary tremor (September 3
shock, 14" 23@; September
10 shock, 14m 31s), comes even closer to the actual distance, being
within about 150 and 200
miles, respectively, for the origins of these two shocks.
Still other computations deal with the maximum ranges (double amplitudes) in the
successive stages of motion of such distant earthquakes as these; with
the periods of vibration
in the different portions of the earthquakes; with the duration of
their successive states of
motion, and with the average period and transit velocity of the
earthquake waves which travel
all the way around the earth. In the computation last mentioned Omori
found that the vibrations
set in motion in Alaska by the earthquake of September 10,. took 2
hours 8 minutes and
47 seconds for the long journey around the world through the outer
crust of the earth eastward
from Yakutat Bay through the antipode of Alaska (VT, waves) to Tokyo.
They therefore
had a velocity of 3.6 kilometers a second, or more than 8,000 miles an
hour. Further computations
deal with the direction of motion, duration, period, and amplitude of
motion, etc.
COMMENTS ON SEISMOGRAMS.
The seismograph records of the Yakutat earthquakes have been described
and analyzed
by several seismologists. Two rather complete descriptions from
distant observations are
here quoted. They deal with the seismograms of the earthquake of
September 3 and the two
shocks of September 10 as i-ecorded at Tokyo, Japan, and at Catania,
Italy, and indicate some
of the differences in the record of the tremors set in motion at
Yakutat Bay after they had
traveled approximately 6,100 kilometers southwestward beneath the
Pacific to Japan and after
they had traveled half as far again eastward beneath the continent of
North America and the
Atlantic Ocean, or pursued the appropriate great circle routes around
the earth or through its
interior. The corresponding seismograms are reproduced in Plates XXXI and XXXII.
RECORDS FROM JAPAN.
Earthpuke No. 193.-September 4, 1899, gh 31m 50s a. m.3 (east-west
component). Total duration, three hours.
The fimt preliminary tremor, whose duration was 7m 36&, consisted of
vibrations of an average period of 7.gs (maximum
double amplitude, 0.25 millimeters), superposed with still smaller
ones of an average period of 18". The commencement
was small and gradual but distinct, the amplitude remaining on the
whole constant.
The second preliminary tremor lasted for 6m 47# and began with a
motion of 0.46 millimeter toward the weat, followed
by a well-pronounced undulation, whose period was 348 and which
consisted of the two displacements, first,
2.5 millimeters toward the east; second, 4.1 millimeters toward the
west. For the next 6m 128 the amplitude did not
much vary and wm slightly smaller than that of the above introductory
wave, the average period being 25.2". After
these took place two conspicuous undulations of an average period of
34.5% the first of which had the maximum double
amplitude of 5.6 millimeters. There were also tmes of slow undulations
with an average period of lm 6". It is to be
remarked that the second preliminary tremor was in this case not at
all a small, insignificant tremor, but consisted of
large well-defined waves.
The principal portion lasted for 22rn and began with seven large
undulations, which together occupied 3m 48', and
had an average period of 32.6"; the second having the (ab~olute)
maximum double amplitude of 15.2 millimeters.
These vibrations, which were apparently produced by the composition of
the proper oscillations of the pendulum with
the earthquake motion, were arranged as follows:
First motion: 5.5 millimeters toward the west; second motion, 11.3
millimeters toward the east; then followed the
maximum motion above noted; the next vibration was a little smaller;
the two next ones were small; then followed
the second maximum double amplitude of 13.8 millimeters. After these
the motion became quicker, the average
period during the next 4m 42' being 23.5". For the next 4m 51s the
motion consisted of well-defined vibrations, whose
maximum double amplitude wss 4.8 millimeters and whose average period
16.28. During the remaining part the
average period was 14.g8.
The end portion. For the first 26m the motion was more or leas large,
the average period of the principal vibrations
being 16.2s. There were also traces of slower undulations of an
average period of 51s and of others of an average
period of 248. During the next 12m 30' the principal waves had an
average period of 20.8', superposed with smaller
vibrations. From about lh 45m after the commencement of the earthquake
the motion consisted essentially of regular
waves, whose average period deduced from three successive groups of 50
vibrations, was 10.4', 10.gS, and 10.38; general
means, 10.5s.
Earthquake No. 196.--September 11," 1899, 3h 14m 16' a. m. (east-west
component). Total duration, about three
hours.
The first preliminary tremors lasted for 7m 38' and consisted of small
vibrations of an average period of 6.8'. The
second preliminary tremors lasted for 6m 538. The principal portion:
The maximum double amplitude was 2.6 millimeters,
and the average period was 32'. The end portion: The average period
measured at about lh after the commencement
of the earthquake, waa 10.4'.
1 Omorl, F., Publ. Earthquake Investigation Committee in Foreign
Languages, No. 21, 1905, pp. 60, 71, 76, 77, 79, 80,85, 88, 89.
2 Idem, No. 6, Tokyo, 1901, 48-51. Describes reeorda from Hongo
(Tokyo) observatory; a similar desoription based on records from the
Eitotsubwhi (Tokyo) o m t o r y is found in Publ., etc., No. 13,1903,
pp. 96-98; No. 21,1905, pp. 46-49.
8 The time is given in the first n-1 Japan time, namely, that of
longitude 13.5' E.
4 aptember 10. Diflerenee of time with diITerence in longitude.
106 EABTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
Earthquuke No. 197.September 11, 1899, 6h 50m 5g8 a. m. (east-west
component). Total duration, four hours.
This was a very large earthquake and, like the two preceding ones,
originated off the southwestern coast of Alasca
[Alaska]. It appears that, at the origin, shocks happened almost
continuously after earthquake No. 196, the diagram
showing more or less distinct traces of motion throughout the time
interval between the latter and this earthquake.
The fist preliminary tremors, whose duration was 7m 43', consisted of
small vibrations of an average period of
4.3s superposed on larger ones of an average period of 9.3".
The second preliminary tremors, whose duration was 6m 3OS, began with
a well-defined displacement of 2 millimeters
toward the east, followed by 14 large undulations with an average period of 27s.
The principal portion, whose duration was about 15m, began with four
very slow undulations with an average
period of 41" Then followed five large proper oscillations of the
pendulum, their maximum double amplitude being
10.5 millimeters. The average period, measured at about 23m from the
commencement of the earthquake, was 24".
The end portion: The average period, measured at respectively lh,2 h,
and 3h after the commencement of the earthquake,
was as follows: 9.9" (deduced from 57 vibrations); 9.8"deduced from
100 vibrations); 9.7" (deduced from 60
vibrations); general mean, 9.8s.
It will be observed that in the three foregoing earthquakes, Nos. 193,
196, and 197, the h t preliminary tremors
lasted for an almost exactly identical interval of time. This shows
that these earthquakes originated very nearly at
an equal distance from Tokyo. Assuming the position of their centers
to be near the Cape St. Eliaa, the spherical
distance between it and Tokyo would be about 6,100 kilometers.
RECORDS FROM CATANIA, ITALY.
THE TESLA EARTHQUAKE SWARM NO. 333.1
September 4, 1899.-Large seismometrograph. From lh 34m 428 to 4h 3gm
1gS on the northwest-southeast component,
and from lh 35m is to 2h 47m 51" on the northeast-southwest component,
seismic registration due to earth
disturbance of very distant origin.
On the northwest-southeast component there is a preliminary phase from
lh 34m 42s to lh 44m 5g8, consisting of
small undulations, the largest of which reaches about 1.5 millimeters,
having a' simple oscillatory period varying
between l9 and 3% Immediately after lh 44m 5gS the movement increases
a little in intensity and leaves on the paper
zone undulations of an almost uniform amplitude of 1.5 millimeters and
of irregular form, with a simple oscillatory
period of 6% for the greater part of them and of 5s (per pendulum) for
others; these undulations last until i h 58m 29;
after that hour the movement again increases in strength and there are
undulatiom of an amplitude of 2 to 2.5 millimeters,
with an oscillation period indeterminable on account of their irregularity.
A little before 2h gm 28"ere are some undulations of a period of 12'
at 2h grn 28O; the maximum phase of the movement
begins and lasts until almost 2h 3gm 4s. In this phase there is an
absolute maximum at 2h 13m 238, represented by
an undulation of an amplitude of 8 millimeters; after which the
movement declines gradually and toward the end of the
phase the amplitude is reduced to about 0.5 millimeter. From 2h 3gm 48
on, there come quite regular.undulations w i ~
an amplitude of a little less than 2 millimeters and with a simple
oscillatory period of 9% some of them having 7.5..
These undulations last until almost 3h 2Bm lJ; from the later hour up
to 3h 47m 37s there are not even vague traces of
undulations similar to the preceding.
From 3h 47" 3is to 4h Om 2B8 they reappear, and show quite plainly
after 4" 2m 58'; and in the period of time up to
4h 29m 31s there is an amplitude of motion of about 1 millimeter and a
simple oscillatory period of 9% The last signs of
the diagram on the northwest-southeast component are from 4h 2gm 31 tO
4h 39" 19'.
On the northwest-southwest component the diagram is much shorter than
that of the preceding component and
begins at l h 35m TS; up to lh 45m 40s we find only slight and
insignificant disturbances. From lh 45m 408 to l h 48m 308
there are undulations which reach an amplitude of 3 millimeters, with
a simple oscillatory period of 4.5" a little different
from that of the pendulum, which is about 5s. From lh 4Sm 3OS to about
2h lom 5g8 there is another disturbance of very
little significance. The maximum phase is between 2h lom 58-d 2h 36m
23#, and consists of undulations which at
2h 14m 258 reach an amplitude of almost 6 millimeters, with a simple
oscillatory period varying between 78 and gl. From
2h 36" 23s to zh 47m 51s the diagram grows smaller and ceases
altogether. (Riccb.)
September 10, 1899 (the early shock).-On the northwest-southeast
component the h t in dications, hardly visible,
of the seismic registration begin at lah 15m 21s; after about the
first half minute, or at 18" 15m 458, they take well-defined
shape as regular undulations, of an amplitude of about 0.75
millimeter, with a simple oscillatory period in the beginning
of 39; after that, nearly equal to that of the pendulum, that is, 5".
At lah 24m 5g8 the movement increases in force, and
gradually, by lah 2gm 328, the undulations attain an amplitude of
about 4 millimeters, maintaining the simple oscillatory
period of 5% From 2gm 328 the amplitude of the undulations diminishes
somewhat, and after 36m 3g8 they assume .
an oscillatory period of 6", then i.5B, and many of them have the
tracing disturbed by interference of a movement of
different period; at 54m 20S and at lgh Om 20s there are two secondary
maxima represented by two undulatione of
about 5 millimeters amplitude; this continues until lgh 15m Zs, at
which hour the amplitude of the motion is reduced to
about 2.75 millimeters. After lgh 15m 28 the movement gradually grows
weaker and leaves undulations with a period
1 Translated from Notizie sui terremoti osservati in Italia durante
l'anno 1899, compilate dal A. Cancani: Boll. Soc. sismol. ital., vol.
6,
appendice, 1900-1901, pp. 18GlR7, 196-197, -205.
2 Subtract one hour to reduce to Greenwich mean tima
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS OF THE EARTHQUAKE
varying between 58 and 7.5s; at 20h 17m 505 the movement is reduced to
a very small matter; a little after this hoar there
are rather flattened undulations, which are hardly visible and of a
somewhat longer period; these undulations are quite
well defined at about 20h 3 9 4#; and up to 20h 57m 7s we find many
which reach an amplitude of 0.75 millimeter, with
a simple oscillatory period of about 9". From 20h 57" 7"o 21h 52m 12O
we find only very small undulations of an indeterminable
period which may be attributable either to the earth movement or to
the action of the strong southwelrt
wind which waa blowing that night. (Riccb.)
September 10, 1899 ( t k heawiest 8hk.)-From 21h 52m 12. to 22h 2m
there are very small undulations hardly visible,
some of which have a simple oscillatory period of 1" and 1.5"
immediately after 22h 2m they take a well-determined and
regular form and attain an amplitude of 1 millimeter, continuing until
22h 24m 548; from this time to 22h 31m 34s they have
a long period of undulation, much obscured, the tracing of which is
disturbed by the interference of other movements
of different period; in this interval of time they have a simple
oscillatory period, varying from 9" to 128. At 22" 31m 34'
there are other undulations with a prevailing period of 6"nd an
amplitude of nearly 0.75 millimeter, which continue to
21h 51m 298. Immediately after this time there is a continuous series
of undulations, for the greater part with a simple
oscillatory period of 4.5", which toward 23b 6m 24' attain an
amplitude of nearly 5.5 millimeters; at 23h 6m 47' the movements
nearly cease, but regain strength suddenly and leave upon the chart a
series of 38 complete undulations, very
regular, which altogether give a fusiform figure, somewhat swollen,
and which from 23h 7m 358 to 23h grn 44s attain an
amplitude of 21 millimeters (absolute maximum); these undulations,
with a simple oscillatory period equal to that of
the pendulum, namely of 5% cease at 23h 12m 3g8; and suddenly
thereafter another series of undulations begin, the
tracing of which is disturbed by movements of a different period,
which at 23h 2gm 3g8 attain another secondary maximum
represented by an undulation of an amplitude of 14 millimeters; at
first, that is, a little after 23h 12m 3gS, these
undulations have a simple oscillatory period equal to that of the
pendulum, but afterwards one of 12", especially as
they approach 23h 2gm 3g9. From this time the amplitude of movement
and the period of oscillation begin to diminish
and so continue until Oh 57m of the succeeding day, the llth, and in
this long period of time there are undulations
with a period of 18#, afterwards of 12", and then of 7.58 and of 6a
nearly to the end. At Oh 57m come waves with a
long period of 12' and an amplitude not exceeding 1 millimeter; these
diminish little by little as they approach 2h 14m
42"; the amplitude and period gradually decrease almost to zero. Other
disturbances appear at 2h 14m 42#, but these
may be due to the strong southwest wind then prevailing rather than to
seismic movement.
On the northeast-southwest component there is found a small tooth
nearly 0.5 millimeter in height at 18h 25m
15s; an undulation of nearly 1 millimeter amplitude with simple
oscillatory period of 3s at lah 30m 16s. From 18h 52m
37" to 18h 5gm 468 there occur other undulations almost equal to the
preceding in amplitude and period. Another tooth
0.33 millimeter in height is found at lgh 25m 20s; and from this time
to 22h 52m 538 tliere is a period of repose. From 22h
52m 538 to 23h lm 25 there are other undulations of nearly 2
millimeters amplitude with simple oscillatory period of
about 38, interrupted by an internal of repose. At 23h lm'Z8 there
begins the massive phase on the northeast-southwest
component, which consists of undulations that at first have a simple
period of 6" and then with the development of this
phase go to 12#. At 23h 35m 35# they have their maximum with an
oscillation of 9 millimetersampljtude.
After this latter time the movement declines. The oscillatory period
diminishes to less than 3" and at 23h 59m 24'
the diagram on the northeast-southwest ends. (Riccb.)
THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE.
3'or purposes of comparison the description of the record of the San
Francisco earthquake
of April 18, 1906, by the same instrument at Catania is quoted here,'
We notice firat of all that on that day [Apr. 18, 19061 the wind was
strong, the sea very rough, and the seismograph
slightly perturbed, but there is some uncertainty as to the precise
moment of the beginning and the ending of the seismogram
which we are examining. In spite of this, on the northeast component
it appears that the first indications of
the seismic movement begin at 14h 26' 5$. Between that time and 14h
37m 27' there are very small undulations, not
larger than 0.5 millimeter, with an oscillatory period of 48 to 68. At
14h 37' 27"emovement becomes more perceptible,
and at 14h 42m 268 there is an undulation of the amplitude of 1
millimeter, with a period of 6% At 14h 49m 5gs the aforesaid
undulation disappears almost entirely, to give place to others which
are irregular and of slow indeterminable
period up to 14h 53m 14.; after that moment the said undulations take
definite shape, showing in the beginning a period
of la8, after which it decreases, while the amplitude increases,
reaching almost 9 millimeters at 15h 12m 51s; from 1sh 12m
5lS, at latest, the movement declinea gradually, with undulations of
diverse oscillatory periods varying from 58 to gS;
these disappear at about 17h 13' 41s.
On the northwest component between 14h 26m 5s and 14h 35m 23s there
are quite small undulations of an oscillatory
period varying from 2"o 38. The said undulations become a little more
perceptible between 14h 35m 23s and
14h 45m 26#. At 14h 5fjrn 228 they again become very small; after 14h
56m 2Z9 the undulations begin again to manifest
themselves in slow irregular period, and at 15h 7m 8' reach an
amplitude of 9.5 millimeters, with a period of about gS,
-a nd then little by little they decline toward 16h l G m 4j8.
1 From unpublished data furnished to the writers by Dr. Emilio Oddone.
EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA. ,
MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS.
Other seismograph records are commented on, as stated below, in the
reports of the seismological
committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
and in other seismologic
publications and manuscripts furnished to the writers by the observatories.
In the seismograph at Victoria, British Columbia, the nearest one to
Yakutat Bay, in 1899,
the amplitude recorded was so great that in one shock the pen went off
the paper, the record
(reproduced hree as P1. XXVIII p. 102), being noted as a "very large
quake," while one of the
minor shocks showed an amplitude of 7.5 millimeters. John Milne
comments on this Victoria
record of the earthquake of September 3 (Shide No. 333) as "of
particular interest as indicating
that the time taken for an earthquake to travel round the world or to
traverse two diameters
slightly exceeds 2 10 minutes."
On the same day the Toronto instrument registered an amplitude of 24
millimeters, the
total swing.of the boom being, therefore, nearly 2 inches.
In South America, at Cordoba, Argentina,5 there was an amplitude of
6.5 millimeters during
this same shock, the recbrd of wbich was here "followed by thickening
of line and pulsations
which gradually merged into the following shock," about four hours later.
The earthquake of September 3, as recorded on the seismograph at
Shide, in the Isle of
Wight, England, had a recorded amplitude of 15 millimeters. It is
recorded IJ that "at the
maximum the boom was caught by eclipse plate of the watch."
At Kew, near London, the same shock is referred to as "the second
largest disturbance
recorded during the year. There was an interval of 17.4
minutes between the commencement of motion and the maximum phase, and
4.3 minutes
between the maximum and its apparent repetitiofi. The repeat shocks
are clearly visible till
Zh 3rn."
At San Fernando, Spain,@w here the shock of September 3 was registered
by an amplitude
of 8.17 seconds 'of arc, there were "no preliminary tremors; the
commencement was great
motion."
At Mauritius,l0 an island in the Indian Ocean east of Africa and
Madagascar, in position
nearly antipodean to Yakutat Bay, the earthquake of September 3 was
described as "the
largest disturbance recorded at Mauritius and does not admit of
description. Tracings will be
publishedl1 in the volumes of observations for 1899." This ocean
station records only about
one-fourth of the shocks registered at the Isle of Wight and about
a,third of those registered at
Bombay.
This shock and the one of September 10 showed the following times and
amplitudes: l2
Record of Yalcutat Bay earthquakes as registered at the island of Mauritius.
Date.

The commencement of each shock was masked by air tremors.
' At Victoria, British Columbia, about 1,000 miles from the Pakutat
Bay origin, the shocks
of September 10 were recorded by the seismopaph, but the records for
that whole week were
lost in the mails. Nothing more unfortunate could have occurred from
the point of view of
the student of these Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333, for this was then
the instrument nearest to the
faulted zone from which the shocks emanated. The Victoria observer
characterizes the record
of September 10 as a "splendid seismogram lost in mails.''
In an interview with the observer, Napier Denison,Vhese records of
September 10 are
discussed as follows, the discussion having been based upon a
description written before the
records were lost :
The first of these [shocks] occurred at 9.10 a. m. on the loth, as a
small tremor, followed three minutes later by the
greatest shock ever recorded on this instrument, causing the "boom" to
swing over 1 inch. A lull then ensued till
1 p. m., when a smaller shock occurred. followed at 1.45 p. m. by
another severe one which lasted nearly two hours.
At Toronto, Canadaj3 the shocks of September 10 caused "vibrations
across paper." At
Cordoba, Argentina,' the amplitude (5 millimeters) was not quite as
great as that recorded on
the same instrument by the Yakutat shock of a week before.
The first of the seismograms recorded at Keu-, England, on September
lo5 was "a wellmarked
record, showing an apparent interval of 27.5" between the commencement
of the larger
motions and the maximum oscillations, with three distinct groups in
the time. The 'repeat'
phases are fairly traceable for 25"."
The second shock of September 10 (No. 145) wasby
far the largest disturbance yet recorded at Kew, and owing to the
crossing of the photographic traces the magnitude
of the maximum oscillation is a little uncertain, but it certainly
exceeded 10.8 [seconds of arc]. The duration of the
preliminary tremors was abnormally long, followed by an interval of
20m before the maximum was reached, and the
swings exceeded 5" for over Zm. The "repeat " shock, starting at 22h
25Arn, was also unusually prolonged, having a total
duration of 5m. The large waves ended abruptly at 22h 47m and the
subsequent swings were small.
At San Fernando, Spain, the earthquake of September 10 was registered
by an amplitude
of 14.62 seconds of arc, nearly twice that of the earthquake of
September 3 and three and a half
times the next largest amplitude recorded at this station from July to
December, 1899.
At Mauritius the earthquake of September 10 was far less in amplitude
than that of September
3. (See record on p. 108.)
R. D. Oldham comments on the records of the earthquake of September 3
and the two on
September 10 made by the seismograph at Cape Town, 150" from
the point of origin, as follows:
In all of them the commencement is almost imperceptible and the
recorded times, as compared with the times of
origin, show that it was too late to represent the first phase of the
original impulse, except possibly in the case of the
third of these shocks, which gives an interval of 2 5 minutes. The
second phase is well marked on all the records;
and the times, as determined by me, on photographic copies of the
original records, give intervals of 44.6, 45.7, and
45.5 minutes, r s~pe c t ive ly;th~e true interval, therefore, may be
taken as about 45 minutes or a little more.
J. Kortazzi -a makes the following notes regarding the records of a
horizontal pendulum at
Nicolajew, in Russia, at the time of the Alaska shocks of September 3
and 10, 1899:
September 4. Commencing at lh 33m the line suddenly disappears; its
traces become visible about 3 o'clock,
when the point inclines 24 millimeters (pendulum to the south); at 4h
2Zm the vibrations diminish, but feeble shocks
continue until 7h 20m.
September 10. Commencement, 18h 14.5m; maximum, 18" 24m; the trace
disappears; the shocks grow feebler at
20h 3Zm. Commencement, 21h 57m; maximum, 22" 14m; the trace disappears.
September 11. At Oh 47rn the pendulum inclines 16 millimeters to the
south; the shocks grow feebler until 2h 7m
and end at 5h 22m.

At Jurjew (Dorpat), Russia, the earthquake of September 3 and the
two-on September 10
were recorded by three seismographs, producing records as follows:
Records of earthquakes ojSept. ;P and Sept. 10, 1899, ma& at Dorpat, Rus8ia.a
Earthquake of Sept. 3.

From these records we may conclude that the center of the disturbance
is situated at a greater distance from
Batavia than from Strassburg; first, because preliminary tremora have
been registered at the latter place about 21h;
second, because the epoch of the maximum disturbance at Batavia is
about one hour later than at Strassburg; and,
third, because the duration is considerably less at the former than at
the latter station.
The last argument is, however, questionable owing to the difticulty of
fixing the characterizing epochs.
The following data are provided by the seismograms:
September 10, 1899. Greenwich mean time:

E. Lagrange' comments on the seismogram of the earthquake of September
3 at Uccle,
Belgium, as follows:
September 4,2 1899. The plate which accompanies this note reproduces
the seismic tracing of two of the pendulums.
The curves I, 11, and I11 are given by the stationary mirror and the
two west and north-south pendulums. The other
curves are due to the movement of the roll in the contrary direction,
each roll serving twice, and do not belong to the
phenomenon which we are now considering. It may be remarked in passing
that the perturbations of D are due to
the wind and are therefore relatively feeble; the curves C and B are a
good example of what the Germans call microsismiche
unruhe (microseismic unrest).
But to return to the curves I1 and 111. The earthquake began suddenly
at 0' lam (Uccle), on the 4th of September,
or l h Om 388 T. H. C. The maximum agitation, which lasts about five
minutes, takes place about lh 31m T. H. C.;
then follow almost uniform oscillations, continuing for about half an
hour. The seismic dieturbance then diminishes
little by little. It shows a marked recovery about 5h 40m, which lasts
about an hour; this is not represented on the
plate before the reader.
All this period from the 1st to the 10th of September is extremely
agitated; from the 2d to the 8th the curves
register nine tremors and a light shock, on September 6, at 3h 41m T.
H. C., perceived also at Quarto (Florence).
Accordin% to the newspapers, on the 3d of September 53 shocks were
felt on the coast of Alaska during five hours.
At the head of Yakutat Bay a chasm opened suddenly, into which the sea
poured. In India, as we are informed from
Darjiling, the same day there were very strong shocks, which caused
the fall of dwellings and many injuries; considerable
displacements occurred in the mountains. It is probable that the
period of agitation which we noted at Uccle
ie not unrelated to these distant phenomena.
At Grenoble, Francels the seismograph record of the heavy &sturbance
of September 10,
1899, consisted of a light shock northeast at 22h 3m 408.
Seismograms from Gottingen, Germany, sent us by Dr. L. Geiger, show
the shocks of
September 3 and 10, 1899, as recorded at the Geophysikalisches Institut.
At Hamburg, Germany, seismographs at the Hauptstation fiir Erdbebenforschung am
Physikalischen Staats-Laboratorium show records with the triple
horizontal Rebeur-Ehlert
pendulum (undamped) on September 4 and 10, 1899, as follows: '
September 4, 1899: Beginning of the tremor (sharp, powerful shock) at
Oh 33.4m, mean Greenwich time.
Further infomtion is impossible, as, in consequence of the rather
large dimension of impact, the lines of the
recorder became weak and soon left the recording sheet.
September 10, 1899: Beginning of the tremors (sharp, powerful shock)
at 17h 13.7m, mean Greenwich time.
Beginning of the second tremor:
North pendulum.. .............................................. 17h
22.Sm, mean Greenwich time.
Wddle pendulum.. ............................................ 17h
22.5m, mean Greenwich time.
South pendulum ................................................ 17h
22.Sm, mean Greenwich time.
During the period of the second tremor the recording became so weak
that it was impossible to take correct measurements.
The north pendulum left the paper about an hour after the beginning of
the quake.
The record of the middle and the south pendulum indicates between 21h
and 22h, mean Greenwich time, a new
powerful shock, but the beginning of this can not be traced, as the
final record of the previous quake covers the lines,
Also further information seem impossible becauie of this large shock
and the faintness of the recording lines. Indications
of the middle pendulum disappear entirely from the sheet at 22ah, mean
Greenwich time. The south pendulum
comes to rest September 11, about 2h, mean Greenwich time.
At Strassburg, Germany16 these earthquakes showed the following at the
Kaiserliche
Hauptstation ftir Erdbebenforschung:
Record of Rebeur-Ehlert horizontal recording pendulum at Strassburg.
At this time the sources of light were
very weak and the curves consequently very faint. Only one of the
three pendulum gives a significant record. The
hours given are in middle European time, or that of one hour east of Greenwich.
Record of middle pendulum, east-west:
September 4, beginning of h t disturbance, lh 5.1m; beginning of
second disturbance, lh 15.0m.
Further readings are impossible because the lines of the pendulum
become confused with lines of the south
pendulum.
September 10, beginning of first disturbance, 17h 46.3m; beginning of
second disturbance, 17h, 56.2m.
September 10, beginning of h t tr emor [of the heaviest earthquake],
22h 23m, 22.58. The recording time here
breaks off abruptly.
Les mouvements sismiques en Belgique en 1899: Bull. Soc. belge d'
astronomic, 54 ann&, No. 2, 1901, p. 4.
aleptember 3. Difference in time wlth diierence In longitude.
a Reboul, Paul, communication dated December, 1908.
4 Schiftt, R., communication dated December, 1908.
6 Rudolph, A., communication dated May, 1909.
112 EABTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, LLtASKA.
At Kremsmiinster, Austria, the shock of September 3, two on September
10, and one each
on September 15, 23, and 26, gave seismograph records which P. F.
Schwab ' has described.
At Trieste, Austria, the shocks of September 3, 10, 17, 23, and 26
were recorded by a
Rebeur-Ehlert horizontal pendulum seismograph, the records being made
by Ma~elle.~
These shocks were also recorded at Laibach, Krain, Austria, and
described by Belar.3
At Batavia, Java, the seismograph at the Koninklijk magnetisch en meteorologisch
Observatorium did not permit the identification of the shock of
September 3 because of disturbance
by air tremors. Both shocks on September 10 were clearly recorded, however.'
(See P1. XXIX, C, D, p. 102.) R. D. N. Verbeek5 characterizes the
record of the second shock, a
which had a duration of 134 minutes, as "a very remarkable
disturbance." F. H. Staverman
states that the printed records of these shocks in volume 22 of the
observatory record cited
above are erroneous in some particulars and should read as follows:
September 10, 1899, Greenwich mean time:
First preliminary tremor. Second preliminary tremor. Principal portion.
17h 15.Sm 17h 28.7m 17h 43.1m
21" 54.5m 22h 7.4m 22h 21.Sm
(Batavia observatory 7h 7.3m east of Greenwich.)
No. 164 copy should be the same as No. 114 in the printed report; No.
165 copy as No. 115; Nos. 164 and 165 are
taken from the original register. On No. 164 no &st preliminary tremor
can be seen.
The duration of the preliminary tremors given in the printed report
(2.gm) must be erroneous; I suppose 13mf
for the first preliminary tremor agrees very well with copy No. 165.
This correction is of interest in view of the fact that C. G. Knott,l
writing respecting the
propagation of the large waves nine years before, suggested that there
might be some error
in the Batavia record of the earthquakes of 1899 in Alaska because the
time records at this
observatory were almost the only ones that failed to come in their
proper place in relation to
neighboring records.
INTERVALS AND TIXES OF MAXIMA COMPUTED BY OLDHAM.
From some of the best of these distant records, R. D. Oldham has
computed the intervals
and times of maxima of the three severest Yakutat shocks, as follows:
Intervals and times of maxima of three heavy shocks at Yukutat Bay.
Place of observation.
Recorded time of maxima after
Origin. No. 333 is the hard shock of Sept. 3; Nos. 337 and 338 those
of Sept. 10, the last being the heaviest shock of all.
NOTE.-For a slightly different result, with some of the same data, see
Rept. British Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1900, p. 77.
73.0

The seismograph records made in various parts of the world, of which
the writers have seen .
descriptions, indicate profound seismic disturbances on several dates
in September beside the
3d and loth, notably on the 17th, 20th, 23d, 26th-27th, and 29th,
nearly all being recorded at
Victoria, Toronto, Cordoba, Shide, Kew, the Italian observatories, San
Fernando, Madras,
Colaba (Bombay), Mauritius, Batavia, Tokyo, Cape Town, and doubtless elsewhere.
The record of September 20 belongs to the destructive earthquake at
Aidin (Smyrna), in
Asia Minor; no disturbance was reported at Yakutat or on the Copper
River delta on that date.
On September 29 there was a violent shock in Ceram, East Indies, but a
notable shock is also
recorded on the Copper River delta that day, so the seismograph
records might belong either
to Alaska or to the East Indies; but the smallness of amplitude (2.5
millimeters) of the record
of September 29 at Victoria (then the nearest seismograph to Alaska),
compared with that of
the other Yakutat shocks, leads us to suspect that the record written
by the world's seismographs
is that of an earthquake in the East Indies, with which a small
aftershock of the Yakutat
Bay earthquakes, felt on the Copper River delta and elsewhere,
happened to coincide in
date. The exact time of the observation on the Copper River delta is
not available for settling
this question. The coincidence of the other dates, notably September
23 and 26 to 27, in worldwide
seismograph records and local obserpations at Yakutat, Copper River
delta, Skagway, etc.,
marks these as world-shaking Alaskan earthquakes.
The earthquake of September 26 had an amplitude of 7.4 millimeters at
Victoria and 4.1
millimeters at Toronto; that of September 23 first had an amplitude of
17 millimeters at Victo-
. ria and then went clear across the paper. The shock of September 15,
though severe at Yakutat
and Skagway, rather unexpectedly failed to record itself on the
distant seismographs. The
shock of September 17, the only remaining one of those everywhere
recorded on the seismographs
during this month, is not apparently of Pakutat origin or
satisfactorily correlated with the
disturbances in Alaska, although C. L. Andrews states that shocks
occurred .at Skagway on
Degrees.


"three Sundays consecutively," perhaps September 3, 10, and 17, and a
shock is reported at
Juneau on September 17. The shock on the 17th may have "had its origin
elsewhere in the
, mountains, therefore, and have been a local shock, sensible at
Skagway and Juneau but not at
Yakutat. The evidence on this question is not conclusive because 'of
the incompleteness of
the Alaska timd records.
TABLES OF SEISMOGRAPXIC DATA ON YAKUTAT EARTHQUAKES.
In the following tabular statement we have put together enough data
from the available
seismograph records to show the progression to distant parts of the
world of the earth tremors
set in motion by the Yakutat Bay faulting and earthquakes. This has
been done for the three
most severe earthquakes, one on September 3 and two on September 10,
the seismograph
records of the other Alaskan shocks of September, 1899, being neglected.
No attempt is made to analyze these records further or to show which
time records belong
to the direct, fast waves that traverse the earth's interior
(preliminary tremors), and which
belong to the slower waves that follow the earth's crust. This
analysis could have been made
in more detail from the seismograms themselves. The study of the
unfelt shocks whose autographs
are written on the world's seismograms is interesting, but it is one
in which we lack training
for going further, as experienced seismologists quoted elsewhere in
these pages have done.
The local time records are too meager to permit our going much further
even if we would. It
is sufficient to point o'ut that the tables show an orderly
progression in time, duration, and
intensity as the earthquake waves moved from their point of origin in
Alaska outward to the
antipodes, where the waves cross and return to the point of origin, as
Oldham has shown in
another table.
These tables are based on old calculations and, as a result of recent
seismological studies,
trained seismologists might now determine the times and occurrences of
some of the shocks with
slightly greater accuracy. Prof. H. F. Reid has called the attention
of the authors to the fact
that the recorded maxima on seismographs with little damping are
largely instrumental and
do not correspond to the greatest movement of the earth.


[All time records reduced to Greenwich mean time.]
a Times at Alaskan localities laced in this column for convenience
though the records are not seismographic and the time given may not be
place of observation.

Air tremors marked beginnmg and end.
MAGNETOGRAPH RECORDS.
On both September 3 and September 10 the magnetographs (instruments
for the measurement
of terrestrial magnetism) -were affected by the seismic disturbances.
John Milne ' has
recorded that on September 3 and 10 "these shocks disturbed the
declinometer, duplex, and
vertical-force magnetographs in Toronto. "
\
The instruments for registering variations of terrestial magnetism at
the Koninklijk Nederlandsch
Meteorologisch Instituut at De Bilt, near Utrecht, clearly show both
the shock of
September 3 and the heaviest shock of September 1012 the times which
correspond with seismograph
data in England and Belgium, near by, being as follows: September 4,
from 0b 34" to
Oh 50m; September 10, from 21h 52" to 22h 22m (mean Greenwich time).
The disturbance
consists in a slight enlarging of the curve. About, the amplitude or
beginning of the different
phases sure particulars can not be given.
Other magnetographs in western Europe, as in the Danish Meteorological
Institute at
Copenhagen, the French observatories at Parc St. Maur4 and Perpipan,
the English observatories
at Greenwich and Falmouth, and the observatory at Manila, Philippine
Islands, show
no disturbance during these sarthquakes.
TABULATION OF INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS.
The following tables have been compiled to summarize the distribution
of places of observation
of these earthquakes and to show the types of instruments used and the
wide observation
and study made by seismologists. of this series of world-shaking
seismic disturbances. Many of
the instrumental records are derived from circulars 1 and 2 of the
Seismological Committee of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science (Prof. J. W. Judd,
chairman; Mr. John
Milne, secretary). Some are from the publications of other
observatories; others are derived
from unpublished materials furnished for this report.
Instrumental records of the earthquake.

The time of the principal shocks, as recorded at the two nearest
points in Alaska, Yakutat
village (lat. 59' 33' N., long. 139' 45' W.) and Cape Whitshed (lat.
60' 27' 34'' N,, long. 145'
54' 35" W.), are shown below:
Rewda of shocks at Yakutat village and Cape Whitshed.
e The & esrthquake.
~ ~ h o wc eKre felt between Sept. 12 and 16 but not precisely
recorded because of general uproar of storm then raging. This shock of
Sept. 15
was felt with great intensity at Skagwa as wdl as at Yakudt.
g If observed at Yakutat or Cape \&itshed this shock was not recorded.
Obviously from the local records of the Yakutat Bay shocks of 1899 no
isoseismal lines
could be drawn, or careful deductions made concerning the depth of
focus, speed of transmission,
or acceleration, etc., of the several shocks. The difEculty arises
from the lack of data, due
to the paucity of population in the area affected, and the
unreliability of the time records in
practically all except one or two localities where observations were
made, owing to the absence
of standard time and the long periods during which even careful
observers are unable to check
and correct their timepieces in this wilderness.


EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
The places in this region where accurate time records were made are so
few that they can be
easily enumerated. At Cape Whitshed near the
Copper River delta, the Coast Survey observer, Mr. Ritter, made a
series of most valuable .time
records, reading in correct mean local time, taken from a good and
well-rated chronometer;
(6) near Atlin, east of Skagway, a Canadian geologist, Prof. Gwillim.
recorded the September 10
shock by what is probably almost absolutely correct solar time; (c) at
Eagle, Alaska, Judge
Myers, a United States Weather Bureau observer, made a single record
based on fairly correct local solar time.
After these three come a series of records whose times are subject to
a greater error. In the
Chugach Mountains an Army lieutenant made a time record that is
probably close to the truth,
for he was engaged in topographic work, and it might be possible to
correct his reading for mean
local time with assurance of at least approximate accuracy. The same
statement applies to the
records made by the United States Geological Survey party under Brooks
and Peters in the
Tanana Valley and the topographers accompanying Schrader's party on
the Koyukuk. At
Skagway -2nd a few other telegraph stations correct time should have
been obtainable, but this
has not yet been verified. Mr. Beasley's time records at Yakutat
village are fairly accurate,
as comparison with the more precise time records shows, but not
accurate enough for use in these
computations. The observed times of the shocks at other towns, in
camps, on trails, and
especially in the gold prospectors' camp in Disenchantment Bay are
practically valueless for precise
computations.
Of these various time records those by the Coast Survey party, the
Canadian geologist, and
the Weather Bureau observer are therefore the only ones which we
regard as capable of serving
for accurate comparison with distant seismograph records and for
conclusions as to the times
of origin of the shocks and their rates of transmission to various points.
The discussion of the local time records is therefore reduced to this:
We know that the first
earthquake on September 3 was recorded at Camp Whitshed, the Coast
Survey camp near the
Copper River delta, at 2.40 p. m. Camp Whitshed is in 145' 54'35" west
longitude, 60' 27' 34''
north latitude; Disenchantment Bay is in 139" 33' 0" west longitude,
59" 58' 20" north latitude.
Allowing for a correction of 25m 26.38 of time for 6" 21' 35'' of
longitude, and a correction of
lm 5g8 of time for transmission about 220 miles, at the arbitrary rate
of 3 kilometers (1.86
miles) per second, we determine the time of origin of the shock in
Disenchantment Bay as about
3.033 p. m. September 3 (3h 03m 28is local time at Yakutat, or Oh 21m
40P a. m. September 4,
Greenwich mean time). If the earthquake of September 3 originated near
Yakataga (as seems
possible) and not at Disenchantment Bay this calculation should be revised.
The first shock recorded on September 10 at Camp Whitshed came at 7.43
a. m. When
this is corrected for longitude and transmission as above, it is found
that the shock would have
been felt at Disenchantment Bay at 8.063 a. m. (Sh 06" 289s local time
at Yakutat, or 17h 24m 409*
Greenwich mean time). This is about 23 minutes later than the shock
which the seismograph
records show should have originated and forces us to conclude that
either the first
shaking at the Coast Survey camp was mild and not recorded because it
came just at or near the
time of rising, or else this shock was not central in Disenchantment
Bay, but originated somewhere
in the mountains near by. The intensity of the first shock felt by the
gold prospectors in
Disenchantment Bay is against this hypothesis, but their time record
is valueless for settling
this question, which must accordingly be 1eft.unanswered. We have
therefore adopted the
seismograph time record for the origin of this shock, as is shown in
the table below.
A similar correction for longitude and transmission fixes the time of
origin of the heaviest
shock on September 10, which was recorded at the Coast Survey camp at
llh 58" 338, as. about
12.22 p. m. (12h 2Zrn lie local time in Disenchantment Bay, or 21h 40"
13)" Greenwich mean
time).
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.
The times of each of the remaining shocks may be worked out on the
same basis, the result
being the following corrected times of origin for the whole series: #
Comected times of origin of the earthquakes.
Date.
No time record is available for the possible initial shock on Aygust
27, 1899, but no great
shock seems to have been recorded by seismographs that day. All the
seismograph records
known to the writers show world-shaking earthquakes on September 3 and
twice on September
10 at most of the observqtories where instruments were then installed.
There seems to have been no seismograph record of the shock of
September 15, although
it was reported as severe at Yakutat, Skagway, and other places.
The shock of September 17, though widely recorded by seismographs, was
not felt at
Yakutat or Cape Whitshed. Its observation at Skagway and Juneau is
uncertain. Prof.
Milne has computed, however, that this shock originated in Alaska.'
The shock of September 23 was recorded throughout the world, the
record having an
amplitude of 17 millimeters at Victoria, and then going clear off the paper.
The shock of September 26 was recorded throughout the world, but was
less violent than
that of September 23. Its amplitude was 7.4 millimeters at Victoria
and 4.1 millimetars at
Toronto.
The shock of September 29, the final ode of the series, happens to
coincide in date with the
Ceram earthquake in the East Indies. The Victoria seismogram, with an
amplitude of 2.5
millimeters, might possibly belong to the Alaskan series, but the
exact time of the shock felt in
the night at Cape Whitshed is not available for determining this conclusively.

COMPARISON OF LOCAL TIME RECORDS AND SEISlldOClRAPHIC TIME RECORDS
A comparison of the local time records just quoted with those worked
out by Oldham
from the seismograph records is given below, showing the times of
origin determined
for Disenchantment Bay for the three chief shocks. All are given in
both Greenwich and local
time.
Records of times of origin of Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333.
Local solar time. Greenwich mean time.
Local record. ....................................... .3h 03m

EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
A comparison of these records shows a close agreement in two out of
the three sets. The
records of the heavy final shock of September 10 agree within 43
seconds, and those of the
shock of September 3 check within 70 seconds, coming very close to the
possible error of "1
minute of time," which Oldham allows himself (p. 119). So close a
determination must be a
source of gratification to Dr. Oldham, as this was probably the first
attempt ever made to
determine times of origin from distant seismograph records. The
disagreement of 23" 10s in the
firs't record of September 10 is probably due to the deficient local
record 'or to another origin
rather than to an error in Oldham's computations based on the
seisinograph records. The
agreement of the two sets of records also accords well with our
assumption that the chief shocks
on September 3 and September 10 had their principal points of origin
in or very near to Yakutat
Bay.
SPEED OF TRANSMISSlON. 6
It should be remembered that the rate of transmission assumed by us,
on which the local
time records are based, 3 kilometers per second, is wholly arbitrary.
The most recent studies
of velocity of propagation near the origin suggest that a rate of 7 or
8 kilomsters per second
may be attained in this part'of the path of the earthquake waves.
An attempt has been made to check this rate of transmission by
comparison of the time of
occurrence at Yakutat Bay with the only other local time records of
any accuracy. Comparison
with Gwillim's observation on September 10 near Atlin, a place almost
exactly as far east of
Disenchantment Bay as Cape Whitshed is west of it, results as follows:
Time of observation
12h 45" Os p. m., local solar time near Atlin. Place of observation
near Atlin, 59' 24' 30" north
latitude, 133' 35' 0'' west longitude. Disenchantment Bay, 59' 58' 20"
north latitude, 13g0
33' 0" west longitude. Correcting this observation for a difference of
23" 52" of time with
5' 58' of longitude, we find that the shock appears to have been felt
by Gwillim at 1zh 2Im 88
Yakutat Bay time, or 53 seconds before it was generated at Yakutat.
Similarly a correction of the supposedly accurate local solar time
observation at Eagle
(64' 13' north latitude, 141" 15' west longitude, about 340 miles
north-northwest of Disenchantment
Bay), where the earthquake was felt in the Weather Bureau observatory at 12h 15m
p. m., results as follows: A correction of 6" 4g8 of time for 1' 42'
of longitude shows that the
shock was felt by Myers at 12h 21" 48@ Yakutat Bay time, apparently 13
seconds before it was
generated at Yakutat.
It might be either that (a) the time of origin given for Yakutat Bay
is a minute more or
less too late, as it would be if we assumed too fast a rate of
transmission from Yakutat to the
Coast Survey camp at Cape Whitshed; or (b) the determinations of-local
time by Gwillim and
Myers are in slight error; or (c) the chronometer at the Coast Survey
camp was not exactly
right; or (d) there may have been a complex of synchronous origins at
other places in the
mountains beside Disenchantment Bay. One of the first two explanations
is believed to account
for the discrepancies. The whole matter is stated thus fully in order
to show the futility of any
attempt at closer computations based on the records at hand.
The speed of transmission for a longer distance, Yakutat Bay to
Victoria, British Columbia,
is as follows, as indicated by the data for the shock of September 3 :
Disenchantment Bay,
latitude 59" 58" 20" N., longitude 139" 33' W.; Victoria, latitude 48"
23' N., longitude 123'
19' w. Distance in miles along surface, computed from an 18-inch
globe, about 1,000 miles.
Time at place of origin, Oh 21" 408, Greenwich mean time; time at
Victoria, Oh 35" 9@, Greenwich
mean time; interval for transmission, 13 minutes and 29 seconds, or
809 seconds. One
thousand miles in 809 seconds gives a speed of 1.23 miles, or 2.1
kilometers, per second.
The rate at which the earthquake tremors moved for greater distances
is shown in the
following table, which is based upon computations made by Prof. John
Milnel on the assumption
of an origin in the ocean west of Yukatat, and therefore subject to a
slight error.

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS OF THE EARTHQUAKE,
Speed of large waves of three of the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333 in
kilometers per second.
Average speed of all 17 observations, with origin assumed by Prof.
Milne, 3.1 kilometers (almost 2 miles) per second.
From Milne's assumed origin southwest of Yakutat to-
Prof. Milne has also shown that the time necessary for one of these
shocks (that of Sept. 3)
to traverse the earth's circumference, or two diameters, slightly
exceeds 210 minutes.' This
is a rate of about 1.9 miles, or 3 kilometers, per second. Dr. Omori
made a similar calculation
for the waves of September 10; which traveled around the earth with a
velocity of 3.6 kilometers
per second.
Prof. C. G. Knotts has analyzed the relationship of speed of
transmission to the location
of the paths of the three chief Yakutat earthquakes as follows, on the
assumption that the
path is not along the chord but more nearly along the arc. The paths
lie as follows :
Sept, early shock, (Shlde No’ 337)

(Sept. 3. No'333) EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT .BAY, ALASKA.
Computing these velocities by the above formulse he found the speed of
transmission of
the surface waves of the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333 for long
distances to vary between 3.1 and
3.3 kilometers per second, or nearly 2 (1.95) statute miles per
second, a rate agreeing substantially
with those reached independently from the several computations cited above.

DISTURBANCES OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
The seismic disturbances traversed the rocks of the earth's crust from
their place of origie
in Yakutat Bay, where, according to Prof. John Milne's estimate, 1 or
2 cubic miles of rocky
material l were disturbed during the faultiqg, to all other parts of
the world. No seismograph
known to have been in operation in September, 1899, failed to record
the shocks which that type
of instrument was capable of registering.
The disturbances may be dixided into classes-(1) those that
seismologists infer to have gone
directly through the earth and (2) those that followed the earth's
outer crust. These are indistinguishable
at distances less than 650 miles. Beyond that distance-for example, at Victoria-
the seismograph records show slight disturbances arriving very soon
(preliminary tremors)
and great motion after a longer time (principal portion, or large
waves). The preliminary tremors
came directly through the earth, along chords. They are generally
thought to be longitudinal
compressional vibrations. They have a shorter distance to go and also
move at a faster rate
than the large surface waves. On September 3, 1899, these direct waves
traversed the chord
from Yakutat to Victoria in 33 to 4 minutes, the large waves, moving
presumably along the arc,
taking 13 minutes and 29 seconds to reach Victoria through the earth's
outer crust.
These large waves of the principal portion of the shock are thought to
vibrate transverse to
the line of propagation. They were formerly thought to make the
earth's crust actually rise
in long undulating earth waves. For example, it was estimated that the
large waves of the
Yakutat Bay earthquake of September 3 passed through Shide, England,
as earth waves about
28 miles in length and 11% inches high (45 km. by 29 cm.). The earth
waves of the great shock
of September 10 at Shide were computed as about 74 miles long and 153
inches high (120 km.
by 29 em.) and were followed by waves computed as about 28 miles long
and 17 inches high
(45 km. by 43 cm.).
SUMMARY OF INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS.
It must remain for some trained seismologist to summarize adequately
the seismographic
record of the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333, and in the hope that
this may eventually be done we
have .gathered in this chapter such of the published and unpublished
materials dealing with .
this group of seismic disturbances as have come to our notice.
The earthquake was one of the first great shocks that came after the
establishment of instruments
for the recording of earth tremors at stations throughout the world.
Seismologists
over all the world therefore studied and commented on these seismic
disturbances, recorded
by all seismographs and many magnetographs then in operation, as noted
in the preceding
pages, a few perhaps reaching conclusjons that were more broadly
generalized than later studies,
with more seismograms of world-shaking earthquakes available, have justified.
From the seismograph records above they located the origin very
accurately indeed, considering
the methods devised up to that time. One seismologist predicted that
great topographic
changes would be found, such as we discovered. Another computed within a minute
the time of the earthquake at its place of origin. Still others showed
that the waves i~t he
earth's crust moved about 3 kilometers (2 miles) a second. The records
also show that the disturbances
exceeded in magnitude those at San Francisco in 1906. The local time records are
6f less use in copparison with the seismographic records than those
for earthquakes in more
thickly inhabited regions, yet the Alaskan time records serve to check
the distant seismograph
records. One set of local records, that at Cape Whitshed, is of the
utmost value, and several

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDS OF THE EARTHQUAKE.
others are of use. Thii shows how important it is for all observers of
an earthquake in a wilderness
region to sLake the closest time records possible and to check their
timepieces as soon =
possible for correction to local solar time.
This group of shocks is abnormal, departing from the normal sequence
of (1) prelude, (2)
great shock, and (3) aftershocks, as Gilbert has stated.l The Tesla
Earthquake Swarm No. 333 of September,
1899, possibly had no prelude (August '172); there were at least four
great shocks
(September 3, 10, 10, 23), perhaps several other important shocks
(September 15, 17, 26), and
a long series of aftershocks. As Gilbert points out in the preface of
th& volume,
this seismic disturbance "ranks high in the scale of energy, the
position of its origin has been
determined with unusual precision, and its initial time is known with
close approximation."
These facts and the detailed information furnished in the early
chapters of this volume regarding
great surface changes accompanying these earthquakes may commend the
Yakutat Bay shocks
to seismologists for further study.

MAGNITUDE OF YAEUTAT BAY EARTHQUAKES OF SEPTEhlBER, 1899.
AREA DISTURBED.
AREA MAPPED.
The surface faults and changes of level of the coast and evidences of
vigorous shaking were seen,
the large area of more moderate but nevertheless strong enough
movement to be sensible to
persons, and detached areas of shaking. This map shows the area
affected by changes in levd
at Yakutat Bay, but not that at Yakataga, which the authors have not seen.
If so much of this region had not been an almost empty wilderness in
1899, and if the
investigation could have been commenced immediately, instead of after
an interval of eight to
nine years, much more complete data might have been obtained. These
would result in modifications
of the map, for we could have located more of the gold prospectors,
army officers, revenuecutter
employees, Coast Survey officials, geologists, engineers,
missionaries, cannery employees,
Fish Commission inspectors, Northwest mounted policemen, Hudson Bay
Co.'s agents, masters
of vessels, and Canadian and American marshals and commissioners who
were within the area
shaken or just outside its limits. This would undoubtedly result in an
extension of the area
rather than a decrease.
As it is, we have put down on the map nothing that depends on hearsay
evidence. Each
symbol is located at a place where some reliable person whom we have
interviewed, or with
whom we have been in correspondence, or whose printed description we
have seen has recorded
that he himself felt or did not feel the earthquakes in September,
1899. We have plotted
together all the earthquake observations recorded, whether they were
made on September 3 or
September 10, because the shocks were felt in many places on both dates.
The area disturbed on September 10 was larger than that of sensible
shocks on September 3,
and the junior author has published elsewhere maps showing the areas
disturbed on the
two dates. Y
The location of some observers from whom information was received
after the map was
oompleted is not shown on the map, though brief statements of their
observations have been
inserted in the text. None of these added observations greatly modify
the estimate of the
area of sensible shocks in September, 1899, but a few suggest that it
should be slightly larger.
By plotting the actual places of well-established observations we have
drawn on the
lnap a minimum area within which the shocks were sensible to persons
on September 3 and
September 10. The shaken area is no doubt far greater than the map
shows, for it is only on
the southeast beyond Sitka and Sumdum, on the north near Rampart,
Circle, and Dawson,
and on the west near Seldovia and Kodiak that we had even scattered
evidence from which to
determine an outer limit for the sensible shocks. The outermost
observations north of Skagway
along the Klondike trail, beyond which the region was in 1899 and in
the main still is an empty
wilderness, suggest that in a much greater area to the east the
earthquake shocks may have
been sensible. The same statement applies to the area northwest of the
upper Copper River
Valley, Cook Inlet, and the Alaska Range, the outermost observations
being at places where -
1 Martin, Lawrence, Alsrkanearthquakes of 18993 Bull. Geol. Soc.
America, rol. 21,1910, a. 3, p. 347, and a. 4, p. 357.
136
DISTURBANCE OF THE EARTH'S SURFBCE. 127
chance gold prospectors, explorers, etc., happened to be, and beyond
which there ia little hope of
learning whether the shocks were sensible or not.
One reason for the incompleteness of the data as to the outer limits
of the sensible shocks
is that at distances of 250 to 480 miles from Yakutat Bay the
earthquake waves were so weak
as to be imperceptible to some persons though quite evident to others.
At Sitka, about 260
miles soutlieast of Yakutat Bay, for example, the heavy shock of
September 10 was felt by
Bishop Rowe, who was lying down, and by teachers and children sitting
in a school building,
but not by Dr. Georgeson, who was walking out of doors. Northwest of
Yakutat Bay the
shock of September 3 was not felt by A. 11. Brooks and W. J. Peters,
who were traveling,
having crossed Tanana River that day, although they heard its
avalanches in the mountains
at the correct time. It was observed by a gold prospector equally
distant from Yakutat Bay near
Mentasta Pass, however. Near the south fork of Fortymile Creek the
earthquakes of September
10 were not sensible to these geologists, probably because they were
on the march, although .
they are trained scientific observers; yet these weak tremors were
observed at this time at a
greater distance in the same direction by several prospectbrs near
Wade Creek, in the Fortymile
district, and even at Eagle, 60 miles farther away along the same
line. These two
shocks were sensible to persons not traveling and severe enough in the
Weather Bureau
observer's office to jar his apparatus, cause lamps to swing, etc.,
but were insensible to men
on the march.
Another reason for observation or failure to observe the shocks at
great distances is found
in local topographic or geologic conditions. For instance, in the
Koyukuk and Yukon regions,
670 and 730 miles, respectively, from Yakutat, there may have been
amplification of the
tremors in unconsolidated Pleistocene silts. Unfortunately the
vigorously shaken area within
a radius of 150 miles of Yakutat afforded very few observations,
because there are practically
no settlements in this wilderness.
NUMBER OF SQUARE MILES SHAKEN.
As all places within 250 miles from which observations were obtained
were shaken, we might
assume that the shocks were felt throughout a circular region within a
250-mile radius from
Yakutat Bay. This would include nearly 200,000 square miles. Outside
of this circle, however,
the shocks were felt with some intensity at distances of 275, 290,
300, 340, 375, 380, 390, 410,
430, and 480 miles. These are the points beyond which the boundaries
of the disturbed area.
have been drawn upon the map (Pl. XXXIII, in pocket). This minimum
area has 216,297
square miles of land alone, and may be regarded as about half the
known shaken area, as the
place of origin is on the seacoast and the other half lies in the
Pacific Ocean. The minimum
shaken area already proved, therefore, includes 432,500 square miles
by the most conservative
measurement.
The points of observation by Mr. Schrader and Father Arncan, 670 and
730 miles, respectively,
from Yakutat Bay, shown on the map as detached areas (fig. 4 and P1.
XXXIII), and
the incompleteness of data already mentioned, suggest that the shocks
might have been felt
in the intervening region had observers been there in 1899 to note
them, and that the disturbed
area is even larger than we have mapped. The east and northwest
boundaries of the
area, colored on Plate XXXIII as sensibly disturbed, have been placed
where they are because
. of lack of evidence, for the most part, rather than because of
specific information, such as
we had to the southeast, that the shock went no farther. A circle with
a 670-mils or 730-
mile radius would include an area of 1,410,000 or 1,674,000 square
miles; dr, to take the
average of these last two distances, a radius of 700 miles would give
a circular area containing
1,539,000 square miles.' It seems quite likely that other observations
as far distant as those
on the Koyukuk and Yukon might be brought to light, if all the people
who were in this
region in 1899, and were favorably located for observing weak shocks,
could be reached. It
is to be' noted, however, that people in Alaska are so accustomed to
earthquakes that few of
1 Thfa astimate does not include a disturbed area near Lake Chelan,
Washington, 1,200 miles from Yakutat Bay.

EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
They would pay attention to or remember slight tremors such as are
recorded at great distances.
During the Charleston earthquake in the United States the outermost
observations,
as in New York, Boston, and La Crosse, Wis., were in high office
buildings,l where there was
natural amplification of weak tremors insensible to persons near the ground.
The inclusion of the disturbed area within a circle assumes that the
Yakutat Bay area
was the center of disturbance and that little or no movement occurred
outside this circular
area. In the absence of other evidence this hypothesis seems
warranted, and the platting of
the minimum shaken area bears it out well. We are aware of an
alternate hypothesis that the tectonic disturbances extended for long
distances in the direction
of the axis of the St. Elias chain, both to the northwest and to the
southeast. Observations
are too scattered to permit the absolute establishment of either of
these hypotheses. Moreover,
it is not possible now to say whether Yakutat Bay was the area of
maximum disturbance
of all the shocks. It seems most certainly to have been so in the
second and most destructive
of the severe shocks of September 10; but those that preceded and
succeeded this one may well
have been central at other localities in this mountainous region. The
scantiness of our data
makes further discussion of this point of little value.
No similar data are available for the South American earthquakes of
1822, 1835, and 1837,
for the New Zealand earthquake of 1855, or for several of the other
severe earthquakes of
historic times.
It will be seen that the Tesla Earthquake Swarm No. 333 rank among the
great tectonic earthquakes
in area disturbed. The scant population of the area affected brings up
a point of
decided contrast with the other earthquakes cited, all of which are in
areas of rather dense
population. In Japan 7,279 people were killed and 17,393 injured and
197,000 buildings were
destroyed and 84,000 damaged in the earthquake of 1891. In the
Charleston earthquake 27
persons lost their lives and 56 others perished by cold, exposure,
etc., out of a city of 50,000 to
55,000; many houses were destroyed, many more damaged, and 13,000
chimneys thrown
down. In the first of the great earthquakes in India (Assam, 1897)
practically all the buildings
in 145,000 square miles were laid in ruins; in the second (Kangra,
1905) 18,815 lives were lost
and the destruction of property was enormous, 112,477 buildings being
destroyed. In California,
in 1906, 100,000 to 200,000 people were made homeless, but only 709
lives were lost
directly by the earthquake; there was, however, great destruction of
buildings, largely due
1 htton, C. E., The Charleston earthquake of August 31,1886: Ninth
Ann. Rept. U. S. Qeol. Survey, 1889, pp. 203-528.
to consequent fire, their estimated value being between $139,000,0001
and $500,000,000.2
In the Riviera earthquake, in 1887, 640 people were killed and over
570 injured; 155 houses
were rendered uninhabitable in Mentone, 61 in Nice, and many others
elsewhere, so that the
property loss was over $5,000,000. Lyell says that 60,000 people were
killed in six minutes
in the historic Lisbon earthquake of 1755, practically the whole city
being thrown down.
About 20,000 lives were lost in the Calabrian earthquake of 1688,
about 43,000 in 1693, between
32,000 and 60,000 in 1783, 800 in 1905, while the loss of life in 1908
was stated as 100,000.
In contrast with all this, there was no recorded loss of life as a
result of the Yakutat Bay
earthquakes; and the most serious property damage known to us, aside
from the loss of a rowboat,
some tents, provisions, and clothing by the eight gold prospectors in
Disenchantment Bay,
was the shifting of the roof of an uninhabited log cabin in outer
Yakutat Bay and the cracking
of a few chimneys and slight damage to a wharf in Skagway. Some of the
great earthquakes
of South America and New Zealand, likewise in thinly populated
districts, have doubtless been
much like the Alaskan shocks in inflicting but slight damage to the human race.
Another contrast is in the absence, so far as shown by any report we
have seen, of the
noises which accompanied many of the other heavy shocks cited-not the
noise accompanying
shaking buildings, sliding avalanches, crashing tsunamis, and breaking
glaciers, but the
heavy earth roll said to accompany some seismic disturbances. It may
have occurred in
Yakutat Bay, but it has not been reported, and many if not all of the
noises noticed at a distance
from Yakutat Bay were apparently due to avalanches.
W. H. Hobbs ' has recently compiled an extensive list of tectonic
shocks accompanied
by surface faulting between 1783 and 1906. The earthquakes cited in
his paper form some
interesting comparisons with the shocks and effects here described.
It is unfortunate that so little is yet known concerning the physical
phenomena accompanying
faulting, earthquakes, and changes of level of the land. Some such
changes of level
are of the slow secular character of movement that is accompanied by
Iittle visible change
because extending over such broad areas. Others are fairly definite in
character, the time and
amount of uplift being closely determined. So far as is known, no
other uplift as great as 473
feet is proved to have occurred at one time.
In some other respects the Yakutat Bay uplifts suggest interesting
comparisons with other
earthquake uplifts. In the uplifts occurring on the west coast of
South America in connection
with the earthquakes of 1822, 1835, and 1839, described by Darwin,
elevated beaches, sea
cliffs, rock benches, and sea caves uith attached marine shells, in
view of the human testimony
as to the cause, are comparable with the effects of the Alaska uplift
here described. In New
Zealand, in the earthquake of 1855, there was surface faulting and new
reefs were formed by
uplift, as in Alaska in 1899. In Jamaica in 1692 and 1907 and in India
in 1819 an earthquake
resulted in elevation in one plaze and depression in another, as in
Alaska. There was surface
faulting, as in Calabria, Italy, in 1783; New Madrid, in the
Mississippi Valley, in 1811-12;
Owens Valley, Cal., in 1872; Sonora, Mexico, in 1887; Japan in 1891;
Iceland in 1896; [India in
1897 and 1905; and California in 1906. There was disturbance of
surface and underground
drainage, with formation of sand vents and craterlets, as at
Charleston, S. C., in 1885, as well
as at several other places listed above. There were destructive
tsunamis, or tsunami, as
at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1755; in Japan in 1896; and at several other
localities during other
earthquakes. Nevertheless this Alaskan uplift forms a striking
contrast to these uplifts,
combining as it does all these criteria of changes of level, adding
the new types of evidence
1 Gilbert, G. K., Scienca, new ser., vol. 29, 1909, p. 137.
9 Humphrey, R. L., and Soul&, Frank, The San Francisco earthquake and
fire; Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey KO. 324,1907, pp. 81, 138; Mc~Uie,
A. Q., Catalogue of earthquakes on the Pacific mast, 1897 to 1906,
Smithsonkin Misc. Coll., vol. 49,1907, p. 4;; The Callforniz
ezrthpuske of
April 18, 1906, Rept. State Earthquake Commission, Carnegie
Institution of Washington, 1908.
8 There were probably not more than 20,000 persons in the area of
sensible shocks in 1899 and only a few hundreds in the central ares
shaken
by the earthquakes.
4 On some principles of seismic geology: Gerland's Beitr. Ceophysik,
vol. 7, pt. 2, Leipzig, 1967, pp. 23~253.
47275"-NO. 69-12-9
EARTHQUAKES AT YAKUTAT BAY, ALASKA.
afforded by dissected alluvial fans and uplifted shore lines of
glacial till, and furnishing completely
corroborative evidence of all sorts.
Finally, it may be said that this is the first seismic disturbance
that has been proved to
be the direct cause of a great advance and complete breaking up of
glaciers. The substitution
of this idea, under appropriate conditions, for the current conception
that changes of altitude
or of climate cause fluctuations of glaciers can doubtless be made for
many mountain regions,
such as the Himalaya, with its glaciers, faulting, and frequent
earthquakes. The new conception
may help to explain the series of glacial advances and recessions in
the St. Elias Range itself, and in the Lynn Canal, Glacier Bay, Copper
River, and Prince William Sound
regions, especially as we know that these mountains have long been
growing by similar uplifts
and may fairly assume that their growth was necessarily accompanied by
earthquakea and,
ever since the mountains were high enough for glaciation, by glacial
oscillations.