A Ground-Breaking Post

by

Hello – Winnie Griggs here. Earlier today (Thursday) I heard news that caught my attention – an earthquake had been recorded about eighty miles south of where I live here in NW Louisiana. Even more surprising, it registered as a 4.9, making it the largest earthquake ever recorded inland in the state (There was a 5.2 registered offshore about 20 years ago). Luckily there weren’t any reports of serious injuries or property damage.

While we’re used to hurricanes, tornadoes and the occasional ice storm, earthquakes aren’t one of the natural disasters normally associated with my home state. That got me wondering what earthquakes must have been like for folks living in the Old West, long before modern seismology explained what was happening beneath the ground. Naturally this event sent me down one of my research rabbit holes.

Without modern scientific explanations, earthquakes could be deeply unsettling events. Many people initially assumed the shaking was caused by thunder, a mine explosion, or even distant artillery fire. It sometimes took time for residents to realize that towns across an entire region had felt the same tremor.

When we think of earthquakes in the USA, most folks usually think of California – events like the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the Owens Valley earthquake of 1872, or the Hayward earthquake of 1868.

In 1872, in California’s Owens Valley a particularly powerful and destructive earthquake struck. Often called the Lone Pine earthquake, it’s estimated to have been somewhere between magnitude 7.5 and 7.8. Much of the town of Lone Pine was destroyed as buildings collapsed, chimneys toppled, and the ground itself cracked open in places.   Newspaper accounts from the time give us a vivid sense of what people experienced. One report described the moment this way:

“The shock came with a deep rumbling sound, and the earth rocked so violently that people could scarcely keep their feet. Buildings swayed, chimneys fell, and citizens rushed into the streets in alarm.”

Another observer later wrote that the ground seemed to move “like waves upon the sea.”

Of course, the earthquake most people think of when California is mentioned is the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. That disaster struck early in the morning on April 18 and devastated the city. The shaking itself caused widespread damage, but the greatest destruction came from the fires that followed. With water mains broken and fire crews struggling to respond, flames swept through neighborhood after neighborhood. By the time the disaster ended, much of San Francisco had been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of residents were left homeless.

But earthquakes aren’t limited to the west coast. Tremors have been recorded in places like Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma—and yes, even Louisiana. The Rocky Mountain states, including Montana and Wyoming, have experienced their share as well.

While California experienced many of the best-known earthquakes, other parts of the American West were not immune. A powerful quake struck along the Arizona–Mexico border in 1887, sending tremors across much of the Southwest. The Rocky Mountain region – including parts of Montana and Wyoming – has also experienced periodic seismic activity caused by geological forces deep beneath the mountains.

Even the Mississippi River Valley has a remarkable earthquake history. A series of massive earthquakes struck near New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811 and 1812. These shocks were so powerful they were felt across much of the young United States, and church bells reportedly rang in Boston more than a thousand miles away. According to the US Geological Survey, the New Madrid earthquake was 10 times large than that of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

During the strongest shocks, witnesses reported that the Mississippi River itself appeared to run backward for a short time as powerful waves surged upstream before the river returned to its normal flow. I blogged about that several years ago – you can find it HERE.

 

A Few Earthquake Tidbits;

  • Large earthquakes could leave dramatic marks on the land. After the 1872 Owens Valley quake, observers reported ground fissures several feet wide and stretches of earth that had shifted dramatically.
  • After major earthquakes, springs sometimes appeared in new places and wells occasionally went dry—changes that could be alarming in communities where water was vital.
  • Animals were often said to behave strangely before earthquakes. Horses and livestock sometimes became restless shortly before the shaking began.
  • Early settlers sometimes mistook earthquakes for mine explosions, thunder, or distant cannon fire.
  • Aftershocks could continue for weeks or even months, which made some residents reluctant to sleep indoors for a time.
  • Much of what we know about earthquakes in the Old West comes from newspaper accounts, letters, and diaries, since modern seismology was still in its infancy.

Hearing about the earthquake near my home today made me grateful it did such minor damage. Still, it’s fascinating to realize that people living in the Old West occasionally faced the same unsettling experience of feeling the ground move beneath their feet.

What about you? Did any of this information surprise you?  Do you have any personal experience with an earthquake you can share with us? Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of any of my available books.

 

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Winnie Griggs is the author of Historical (and occasionally Contemporary) romances that focus on Small Towns, Big Hearts, Amazing Grace. She is also a list maker, a lover of dragonflies and holds an advanced degree in the art of procrastination.
Three of Winnie’s books have been nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and one of those nominations resulted in a win.
Winnie loves to hear from readers. You can connect with her on facebook at www.facebook.com/WinnieGriggs.Author or email her at winnie@winniegriggs.com.

64 thoughts on “A Ground-Breaking Post”

  1. August 23, 2011, was the earthquake that hit the hardest, in my limited experience. Shook the house good.

    It also cracked the Washington Monument in DC, causing some structural damage.

    Had a small one in the past year. That vibration is unique.

  2. It may seem strange, but I live in upstate New York, and in the last few years, we have had 2 minor earthquakes, more like tremors, but we felt them. I felt the house shake, and one time I was in town and it felt like a big truck or bus had gone by, but it was a tremor. The last one was felt all down the East coast. So it is not just the western United States that is affected.

  3. I’m in southern California and the earthquake that I really felt was back in 1994. They called it the Northridge earthquake. According to the wikipedia article about it, it caused an extreme amount of property damage and a lot of injuries and death.

  4. There isn’t a US state that hasn’t had an earthquake.
    That bit of info surprised me when I first read it several years ago.

    Our first earthquake experience after moving to California was in 1971. My sister was sure it was the end of the world and we were all gonna die. She was nine years old. I was seven.

  5. Where I live, we don’t usually get earthquakes, but we did have one years ago. My Mom and I were in a restaurant and I felt a shift. I saw vases on a shelf rattle. My mom didn’t notice, I told her that I thought we just had an earthquake, but she laughed and said no way. Later that day, my husband called and told me that the area had an earthquake. It wasn’t huge, and thankfully no real damage.

  6. Not a surprise because I have a BS degree with minors in Geology and Geography. You might find it interesting to Scout out the US Geological Services or USGS to see how many f a ult zones there truly are and how active they are.

  8. I grew up in Southern California with earthquakes a part of life. The San Andres Fault runs about 5 mile east of where we lived so shaking and rattling were just a part of life. I’ve experienced earthquakes around the world during my nine years as a flight attendant. One that has always stuck with me was in Japan. We (the crew) were staying at a well-known Tokyo hotel. I was in a room on the 19th floor. The country was being pummeled by a major typhoon when an earthquake hit. The building began swaying and tremors were felt as the quake rolled through. Fortunately, the quake subsided as quickly as it began. That without a doubt is the quake that has always stuck with me. Living in Wyoming the past 31 years may change that if Yellowstone ever comes to life as some predict it will.

  9. I can remember a small one hitting back when I was a teen ager and I was outside when it hit. I didn’t know what was going on at the time. Things like that just don’t happen here and I don’t think it was much more then a tremor but it was scary.

  11. We lived in Lima, Peru for 3 years when I was growing up and we experienced many earthquakes. My dog (a beagle) would start howling before a quake hit, so I was always ready, LOL. In school, we had earthquake drills. Like the fire drills I had experienced in the U.S., the students were to go outside, away from the building, and gather together with the teachers. One day I vividly recall, it was not a drill, but rather an earthquake struck. I remember standing out on the soccer field and watching as a fissure occurred, heading towards us. It was an unforgettable experience!

  12. Here in west Texas we have been having quite a few earthquakes in the last few years. Many are mild, but there are some that have been pretty strong. We have not had any devastating quakes, for which I am truly thankful.
    Thank you for your post.

  13. We’ve had a few small earthquakes in my part of Arkansas. One in particular was early in the morning, and I was sitting in my office working on my computer. It was strong enough that my chair moved backwards! Of course I had no idea what was happening and thought I had a ghost in my house! It wasn’t until my social media exploded with comments that I figured out what had happened.

  14. Welcome today. Interesting post. I lived in Apple Valley, CA for a while. We had tiny earthquakes periodically that would shake things on the shelves. They never fell off. And yes the animals knew when something was coming, and they were nervous and uncooperative, so we learned to leave them be as long as they were safe. We did notice that our peach trees stopped growing after a small quake for about a month afterwards. that was interesting .

  16. What an interesting post! I did not know that Texas had gotten some earthquakes, in all my life I have never experienced one, for which I am grateful.

  18. Florida has had two very small earthquakes, but most of our stuff is aftershocks from outside of the state. We get enough with our sinkholes, hurricanes, tornadoes and hail to have to deal with earthquakes!

  19. I grew up in Southern California, and we experienced earthquakes all the time! However, the largest one I remember was when I was married and had a 2-year-old. I was working in downtown Los Angeles on the 46th floor of the Arco Building! I was on my way there early in the morning of that fateful day and was catching the bus that would take me downtown. I was on a hill overlooking a large freeway into Los Angeles and all of the sudden the ground shook violently and the small tree next to me literally bent all the way to the ground so I couldn’t grab it! I noticed all the cars on the freeway started going into other lanes with the force of the quake! No one had cell phones, of course, so I couldn’t check on my son in daycare and my husband was in college so I couldn’t check on him either! I eventually made it into work but my boss told me to go home. Later we found out how many people died and the extensive damage that was done but my family was safe! Hooray!

  20. Good Monday Morning Winnie,

    I’ve never been in an earthquake, but feel for those who have. It would be scary for the earth to move beneath my feet.

    Thank you,

    Julie Bullock

  21. I have been in an earthquake but it was mild. It was still a very uncomfortable feeling as we were in bed sleeping when it happened.

  22. We don’t have many earthquakes in Idaho, we had one a couple of years ago , and I could see stuff moving, but I didn’t feel it.

  23. I have never been where there is an earthquake, but I just know it has to be scary event! Have a Blessed Day!

  24. I have never experienced an earthquake. I have seen many hurricanes, tornadoes and winter snow and ice storm. I love to read your books.

  25. When it comes to earthquakes, Finland pretty calm. We do have plenty of earthquakes, but most of then can only be noticed with the help of seismograph. But bigger earthquakes obviously are not impossible, either, though they are very rare. In 2011 my brother lived in area where they had an earthquake which was 2,7 on Richter scale. While in the news I heard about cats and dogs who were pretty much climbing the walls, my brother’s elderly dog didn’t even wake up from his nap.

  26. Well, I live in NW Ohio and tirnados and ice storms and blizzards are our usual weather baddies.
    We do, on the occasion have earthquakes that will register around a 2.5 or so.

  27. I was visiting my brother in Calif. 2 years ago and it was about 1 in the morning and of course we were all sleeping, well we felt the bed move and the room shake, we all got up and went outside the house, soon after this one there was another one , we waiting outside for a while and then we came back in. It was pretty scary. Thank God everything was ok. nothing fell down off the walls and nothing was broken or messed up, just a little scary though. A year later my sister and I went to go visit him again and we felt a couple of earth quakes. Here in Texas where I live we have had some tornados around Thank God non have gotten down by us.

  29. I have had experience with hurricanes but none with earthquakes so some of what you listed was a surprise to me.

  30. My first few weeks in the Philippines, I was treated one night by a 3 or so earthquake. I shook the bed and I could see the palm trees swaying from it. There were several small quakes over the next couple of years. One day in 1970 while I was walking down the street in Manila, a quake that was a 7.5 hit the city. Cars were bouncing around the streets which had turned into solid, rolling waves. People were running from the buildings into the streets. That wasn’t much safer since slabs of concrete were fall off the sides of the buildings. Several buildings collapsed and many damaged. They were lucky the death toll wasn’t higher, only 15. Most unsettling were the aftershocks. For days they would start and we would sit there waiting to see how severe they would become. Rather disconcerting. I am glad I got that one crossed off my list of Disasters I have Experienced. Don’t want to do it again.

    • The New Madrid Fault along the Mississippi River that you mentioned is being watched closely. Emergency personnel and the Red Cross have been making response plans for several years. It the fault slips like it did before, the damage would be severe. Memphis would be destroyed. Serious damage could be felt in Nashville and damage would extend to the Appalachians. That would be just in TN. It would radiate into Arkansas just as seriously and into other states to the north and south. We can hope it doesn’t hit, but if it does hopefully not as severe as last time.

  31. I understand what a shock it was for you to realize the earthquake was close to home! The ‘rabbit hole’ that you went down to research about earthquakes was very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

  32. When I was first married, my husband and I lived in Blythe, CA and experienced many after shocks from the quakes. (Thanks be to God, there was no damage) My nephew says that unless the quake is over six, he just turns over and goes back to sleep.

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