Cascadia Catalog 1793-1930

	Cascadia Historic Earthquake Catalog, 1793-1929 Covering Washington, Oregon and Southern British Columbia Provided by: The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network About the Cascadia Historic Earthquake Catalog One-line catalog format 1793-1849 .... 1850s .... 1860s .... 1870s .... 1880s .... 1890s .... 1900s .... 1910s .... 1920s .... 1930s (not complete) .... Other Cascadia Catalogs

Individual Event Report

Event #269 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs
From the Oregonian: 'Tacoma, Nov. 21.-- Tonight, exactly at 6:30 o'clock, several slight shocks of earthquake were felt here. Windows rattled throughout the city.....several persons here saw the smoke arising from Mount Tacoma this morning. Mrs. Lovell says she saw at 7 o'clock." From Bradford and Townley and Allen (citing the San Jose Mercury) : " F.L. Lowe, a carpenter, says he and some companions were within six miles of Mount Tacoma's top, November 21, and that several shocks of earthquake were distinctly felt at the mountain's base. Several great avalanches were heard crashing down the mountain side on the north of the mountain. Rocks were piled over 100 feet high in the Puyallup River. Returning they crossed the debris of an avalanche which was of great depth, half a mile wide and four or five miles long "
TIME							LOCATION			MAGNITUDE		MAX. INTENSITY					FELT AREA
YR	MO	DAY	HR	MIN	AM/PM	Time Type	LAT(N)	LON(W)	DEP (km)	MAG	Mag Type	Felt Plc.	Felt St.	Inten- sity	Int. Type	Felt Area	Felt Area Int.	Felt Area Units
1894	11	21					46.80	121.80				Tacoma	WA
RAS - 81							WWC - 1715		-	-		N-Ore - 1576				-

Underlying Source Material

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1287	Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087	1898
Transcription: 1894. November 21; Mount Rainier (Tacoma). F. L. Lowe, a carpenter, says he and some companions were within 6 miles of Mount Tacoma's top, November 21, and that several shocks of earthquake were distinctly felt at the mountain's base. Several great avalanches were heard crashing down the mountain side on the north of the mountain. Rocks were piled over 100 feet high in the Puyallup River. Returning they crosssed the debris of an avalanche which was of great depth, half a mile wide and 4 or 5 miles long.__San Jose Mercury.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1576	The Oregonian	1894	Nov 22, 1894, p. 3, c. 2
Transcription: 1894, November 21, Wednesday. Seattle and Tacoma Tacoma Saw It, and Shook. Tacoma, Nov. 21.-- Tonight, exactly at 6:30 o'clock, several slight shocks of earthquake were felt here. Windows rattled throughout the city. The first shock was most severe, being accompanied by rumbling noises as of a distant explosion, and simultaneously a sheet of flame was observed in the Eastern heavens. Inquiry tonight develops the fact that several persons here saw the smoke arising from Mount Tacoma this morning. Mrs. Lovell says she saw at 7 o'clock, just before sunrise, a good-sized column of smoke arising from the mountain top. Its color was gray. She thought it rose too rapidly to be a cloud. Professor Fred G. Plummer, a local scientist who has made a special study of earthquake phenomena in the Northwest says: "Old Hiaton, the oldest Indian in the Puyallup reservation, said through an interpreter, before the Tacoma academy of science, February 6, 1893, that he had many times seen fire and smoke coming out of Mount Tacoma. This was when he was a boy. General John C. Fremont reported that November 13, 1843, Mount Tacoma was in eruption. According to Professor Holden, of the Lick observatory, a slight eruption of the mountain occurred October 19, 1880, volumes of smoke were observed issuing from the crater. June 17, 1884, jets of steam were observed shooting upwards from the mountain, at intervals of one minute, and floating eastward. Steam was continually issuing from the crater's peak in volumes varying with the height of the barometer. It is interesting to note that several of the planets, including the earth, are at present in line. A fact which bears out the theories of Professor Alexis Perrey and others that such conditions are favorable to earthquakes and volcanic phenomena, is that there have been, so far, 22 earthquakes throughout the world during the months of October and November of the present year."

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1905	Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087	1898
Transcription: 1894. November 21; Tacoma, Washington; 6h. 30 m. p.m. Several light shocks. Windows were rattled throughout the city. The first shock was most severe, being accompanied by rumbling noises, as of a distant explosion, and simultaneously a sheet of flame was observed in the eastern heavens.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2436	Washington Public Power Supply System, "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18" September 1981	1981	Table 2.5-6
Transcription: 1894 NOV 21 Mt. Rainier, Wash. TA

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1715	Woodward Clyde Consultants, unpublished	1981	Woodward-Clyde Consultants (1981), Historical Catalog (1841-1980) for the Pacific Northwest Region, unpublished catalog prepared for the Washington Public Power Supply System. Copy provided to UW in 1993.
Transcription: 18941121 46800-121800W R 01

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2059	Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society	1910	Unpublished index to the Oregonian
Transcription: at Seattle and Tacoma, Nov. 21, 1894

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1100	Townley, S. D. and M. W. Allen, 1939, Descriptive Catalog of Earthquakes of the Pacific Coast of the United States 1769-1928, Chap. III Earthquakes in Washington, 1883-1928, BSSA, V. 29, No. 1, pp. 259-268	1939
Transcription: 1894 November 21. Mount Rainier (Tacoma). F. L. Lowe, a carpenter, says he and some companions were within six miles of Mount Tacoma's top, November 21, and that several shocks of earthquake were distinctly felt at the mountain's base. Several great avalanches were heard crashing down the mountain side on the north of the mountain. Rocks were piled over 100 feet high in the Puyallup River. Returning, they crossed the debris of an avalanche which was of great depth, half a mile wide, and four or five miles long.-San Jose Mercury.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
81	Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476	1967
Transcription: 81 1894 Nov. 21 - Mt. Rainier 4 felt

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
267	Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153	1935
Transcription: 1894 Mount Rainier; much has been said in the newspapers concerning an appearance of change in the summit of this mountain. The principal facts seem to indicate some sort of change, possibly due to avalanches, and the report that smoke issued from the crater seems worthy of credence. On the morning of November 21 five citizens of Seattle report that they saw puffs of smoke coming from the west side of the top of the mountain at intervals of twenty seconds from 6:20 to 8 a.m. The smoke came up in huge, balloon-shaped masses, and after hanging suspended for a short time was wafted toward the eastern side of the mountain. Before 8 o'clock the top of the mountain had lost its whiteness, and appeared dark, jagged, and rough. The same phenomena were observed from Tacoma and Portland. On the afternoon of Thursday, December 13, smoke was seen rising from the crater by Observer Saulsbury, of the Weather Bureau, and others, from Seattle. Mr. Saulsbury saw the phenomenon through a glass repeatedly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and was positive that the substance was smoke and not vapor The Seattle Post-Intelligencer sent out an exploring party in the latter part of December to reach the summit if possible and determine the character of the phenomena. This party, owing to the dangerous condition of the snow fields, could get no farther than the foot of Carbon Glacier, from where the following message was sent back by homing pigeon on December 26: "The expedition has been an entire success. It has demonstrated that, while the mountain has been smoking and steaming, the change is due principally to tremendous avalanches and not to an eruption. The new peak observed from Seattle is off Columbia Crest, and was formed by spiral winds carrying snow and whipping it into the coneshaped peak described" (San Jose Mercury). The Seattle Post-Intelligencer of January 6, 1895, contains a full report of the expedition. Without being able to reach the summit, the explorers report having seen, on December 24, jets of steam issuing from the large crater and a column of black smoke from the small crater. Of interest in this connection is the following report from Ellensburg: "The eruption of Mount Rainier has explained a mystery that has baffled all. The waterworks reservoir here suddenly became exhausted. Investigation showed a crevice running along the hill north and south, varying from one inch to one foot in width and of unknown depth. It ran directly through the reservoir, letting the water out. It has been traced several hundred feet along the hill. No shocks of earthquake have been felt here as far as known" (San Francisco Chronicle). Ellensburg is over 200 miles distant from Mount Rainier. C.D.P. (Ellensburg is less than sixty miles distant from Mount Rainier. Editor.)

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
266	Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153	1935
Transcription: 1894 November 21, 6h 30m p.m.; Tacoma; several slight shocks; windows were rattled throughout the city. The first shock was most severe, being accompanied by rumbling noises, as of a distant explosion, and simultaneously a sheet of flame was observed in the eastern heavens.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
265	Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153	1935
Transcription: 1894 November 21; Mount Rainier (Tacoma). F.L. Lowe, a carpenter, says he and some companions were within six miles of Mount Tacoma's top, November 21, and that several shocks of earthquake were distinctly felt at the mountain's base. Several great avalanches were heard crashing down the mountain side on the north of the mountain. Rocks were piled over 100 feet high in the Puyallup River. Returning they crossed the debris of an avalanche which was of great depth, half a mile wide and four or five miles long (San Jose Mercury).

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
885	Reid 2, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park
Transcription: Tacoma 6:30p November 21, 1894 Several light shocks.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1101	Townley, S. D. and M. W. Allen, 1939, Descriptive Catalog of Earthquakes of the Pacific Coast of the United States 1769-1928, Chap. III Earthquakes in Washington, 1883-1928, BSSA, V. 29, No. 1, pp. 259-268	1939
Transcription: 1894 November 21. 6 :30 p.m. Tacoma. Several slight shocks. Windows were rattled through- out the city. The first shock was most severe, being accompanied by rumbling noises, as of a distant explosion, and simultaneously a sheet of flame was observed in the eastern heavens.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1906	Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087	1898
Transcription: 1894. Mount Rainier, Washington; much has been said in the newspapers concerning an appearence of change in the summit of this mountain. The principal facts seem to indicate some sort of change, possibly due to avalanches, and the report that smoke issued from the crater seems worthy of credence. On the morning of November 21 five citizens of Seattle report that they saw puffs of smoke coming from the west side of the top of the mountain at intervals of twenty seconds from 6:20 a.m. to 8 a.m. The smoke came up in huge, ballon-shaped masses, and after hanging suspended for a short time was wafted toward the eastern side of the mountain. Before 8 o'clock the top of the mountain had lost its whiteness, and appeared dark, jagged and rough. The same phenomena were observed from Tacoma and Portland. On the afternoon of Thursday, December 13, smoke was seen rising from the crater by Observer Saulsbury, of the Weather Bureau, and others, from Seattle. Mr. Saulsbury saw the phenomenon through a glass repeatedly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and was positive that the substance was smoke and not vapor. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer sent out an exploring party in the latter part of December to reach the summit if possible and determine the character of the phenomena. The party, owing to the dangerous condition of the snow fields, could get no farther than the foot of Carbon Glacier, from where the following message was sent back by homing pigeon on December 26: "The expedition has been an entire success. It was demonstrated that while the mountain has been smoking and steaming, the change is due principally to tremendous avalanches and not to an eruption. The new peak observed from Seattle is off Columbus crest, and was formed by spiral winds carrying snow and whipping it into the cone-shaped peak described."___San Jose Mercury. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer of January 6, 1895, contains a full report of the expedition. Without being able to reach the summit,the explorers report having seen, on December 24, jets of steam issuing from the large crater and a column of black smoke from the small crater. Of interest in this connection is the following report from Ellensburg: "The eruption of Mount Rainier has explained a mystery that has baffled all. The waterworks reservoir here suddenly became exhausted. Investigation showed a crevice running along the hill north and south, varying from 1 inch to 1 foot in width and of unknown depth. It ran directly through the reservoir, letting the water out. It has been traced several hundred feet along the hill. No shocks of earthquake have been felt here as far as known."___S.F. Chronicle. (Ellensburg is over 200 miles distant from Mount Rainier.__C.D.P.)