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Cascadia Historic Earthquake Catalog, 1793-1929
Covering Washington, Oregon and Southern British Columbia

Provided by: The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
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Individual Event Report
Event #325 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs                                           
Other (non-earthquake) This is a very interesting account of a seiche in Lake Chelan following the Yakutat Bay, Alaska earthquake (Magnitude 8.6, September 10; 11:40 Alaska Standard Time). It was transcribed from the Chelan Leader in the WPPSS documents: "A Volcanic Upheaval -- The Leader is informed that about 2 o'clock p.m. last Sunday, up the lake about 19 miles at E. F. Christie's place, J. A. Graham saw out near the center of the lake a peculiar upheaval of the glassy surface to the height, apparently, of about 6 or 10 feet. He afterwards watched the waves roll in towards shore. The water came in like a tidal wave, all of slx feet high, driving the little steamer Kitten, moored there, high upon the rocks, then receding, caused it to upset and sink. Succeeding waves continued for two hours before the lake finally quieted down. All observers agree that there was no wind blowing at the time. At Mountain Park, four miles this side, T. R. Gibson says the wave from the upheaval was only 20 minutes in reaching there. The steamer Dexter, which came down Tuesday and assisted in raising the Kitten, reports that the wave was very noticeable at Moore's Point and the head. Judge I. A. Navarre, who came down from 10 miles up 25-mile creek on Tuesday, is said to have been told by some prospectors up there that the creek--one of the largest tributaries of the lake--went dry for about three hours on Sunday afternoon, and then resumed its natural flow..."
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
1899  10                Lake Chelan  WA           
N-WPP - 2352 - - - N-WPP - 2352 -

Underlying Source Material
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2352  Coombs, H.A., W.G. Milne, O.W. Nuttli, and D.B. Slemmons, "Report of the Review Panel on the December 14, 1872 earthquake",  1976  Appendix B: Reports related to the December 14, 1872 earthquake, pp. 19-20.
Chelan Leader, September 14, 1899, p 2, Chelan, W. T. 
Transcription: (RSL comment: this material is extracted from the "Report of the Review Panel on the December 14, 1872 earthquake"
Coombs, H.A., W.G. Milne, O.W. Nuttli, and D.B. Slemmons
December 1976.
Appendix B: Reports related to the December 14, 1872 earthquake; pages 19 -20)


Chelan Leader
September 14, 1899, p 2
Chelan, W. T.

A Volcanic Upheaval

The Leader is informed that about 2 o'clock
p.m. last Sunday, up the lake about 19
miles at E. F. Christie's place, J. A.
Graham saw out near the center of the lake
a peculiar, upheaval of the gassy surface
to the height, apparently, of about 6 or 10
feet. He afterwards watched the waves roll
in towards shore. The water came in like
a tidal wave, all of slx feet high, driving
the little steamer Kitten, moored there,
high upon the rocks, then receding, caused
it to upset and sink. Succeeding waves
continued for two hours before the lake
finally quieted down. All observers agree
that there was no wind blowing at the time.

At Mountain Park, four miles this side, T.
R. Gibson says the wave from the upheaval
was only 20 minutes in reaching there. The
steamer Dexter, which came down Tuesday and
assisted in raising the Kitten, reports
that the wave was very noticeable at
Moore's Point and the head.

Judge I. A. Navarre, who came down from 10
miles up 25-mile creek on Tuesday, is said
to have been told by some prospectors up
there that the creek--one of the largest
tributaries of the lake--went dry for aboul
three hours on Sunday afternoon, and then
resumed its natural flow, which, if true,
would indicate a disturbance of some
nature--probably volcanic--in the moun-
tains. It was certainly a strange and
unusual occurrence, and only for the
credibility of our informants, we should be
inclined to think it a great big sell.



Chilliwack Progress
August 19, 1915
Chilliwack, B. C.

Chilliwack Valley Experiences Shake

-------------------------

Late Sleepers Rudely Awakened by a General
Shaking Up of Surroundings - No Damage.

-----------------------------

Chilliwack city and valley experienced a
real shake yesterday morning a few minutes
after six o'clock, which lasted several
seconds. The tremor was the most pronounced
experienced since 1871, and was sufficient
to arouse late sleepers, by the shaking of
houses and rattling of windows. Whether
the shake was caused by a real earthquake
or the fall of a massive glacier in the
mountains caused by a long season of dry
weather is a matter of conjecture. The
latter view is accepted by many from that
the disturbance appears to have been con-
fined to the valley, including the Agassiz
district. In 1871 it was discovered after
the shock of that time, that a big slice
of Mount Cheam peak had dropped about one
thousand feet.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2548  Coombs, H.A., W.G. Milne, O.W. Nuttli, and D.B. Slemmons, "Report of the Review Panel on the December 14, 1872 earthquake",  1976   
Transcription: The September 10, 1899, Alaska earthquake (magnitude 8.6) caused an avalanche at a distance of 690 kilometers (430 miles) from the epicenter (Morton and Streitz, 1967). This earthquake also caused a seiche in Lake Chelan with waves of up to 6 ft. to 10 ft. and which continued for two hours (Chelan Leader, September 14, 1899).
 


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