Report of the review panel on the December 14, 1872 earthquake

Technical Report · Wed Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:7314415

Coombs, H A; Milne, W G; Nuttli, O W; Slemmons, D B

The review panel on the December 14, 1872, earthquake in the Pacific Northwest concluded that the necessary seismographic data to determine the focal mechanism for the 1872 earthquake is lacking but available data on the nature of the effects of the ground shaking on people, the land, and structures suggests a predominance of low-frequency, rather than high-frequency, ground motion. This is what one would expect if the earthquake were 40 or more kilometers deep, for then even the epicentral area would experience far-field conditions, marked by relatively low accelerations, large displacements, and long duration of shaking. Such conditions are favorable to the excitation of landslides, such as those that occurred in the 1872 earthquake. The data indicate the epicenter lies in a region of central Washington that includes Lake Chelan and Entiat and the area north of it. The felt area is estimated to be approximately 13,000,000 square kilometers (500,000 square miles) as estimated from available reports of effects on people, vegetation, and geologic features that appeared in newspapers, books, ledgers, and other documents.

• Research Organization: Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Dept. of Geophysical Sciences; Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Earth Physics Branch; Saint Louis Univ., MO (USA); Nevada Univ., Reno (USA). Mackay School of Mines
• OSTI ID: 7314415
• Report Number(s): NP-21702
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580201* -- Geophysics-- Seismology & Tectonics-- (1980-1989)
BRITISH COLUMBIA
CANADA
DATA ANALYSIS
DATA COMPILATION
EARTHQUAKES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GROUND MOTION
IDAHO
LANDSLIDES
MECHANICAL EFFECTS
MONTANA
MOTION
NORTH AMERICA
OREGON
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SEISMIC EVENTS
USA
WASHINGTON