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 #141 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs
The 1877 Portland earthquake was a significant event. Among the interesting observations from the Oregonian: "The scene on the principal streets, as the people became conscious of the cause of the agitation, was one of wildest confusion and, for a moment, of terror. From houses and stores, people with white, scared faces, rushed into the streets, cigars dropped from the mouths of smokers, horses snorted and dogs whined with fear, the air, as well as the earth, seemed filled with a mysterious and awful power--the streets seemed turned into a mad carnival of fear. This was for one moment; the next, everybody was trying to convince everybody else that he 'wasn't a bit scared' ... Several windows in the house of J. L. Atkinson were broken, and two chimneys were knocked off Dr. Glenn's house on Second and Columbia streets. In the county jail, several feet below the surface, it was very severe, and a stove was knocked from its "moorings" and thrown over. The shock seems to have had particular spite against the Oregon Furniture Company's building on First and Yamhill streets, and cracked a large and valuable plate glass window in front of the salesroom. This is the only real loss yet reported. " Also see the preceding event - In many catalogs these two earthquakes were erroneously lumped together. An isoseismal map for this earthquake was done by Thenhaus (1978), based on the report in the Oregonian.
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
1877	10	12	1	53	P	L	45.55	122.60		5.30	MI	Portland	OR	VII	MM	48000.00	Felt	km2
N-Ore - 1580							WWC - 1652		-	MISC - 2333		MISC - 2333				MISC - 2333

Underlying Source Material

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
30	Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476	1967
Transcription: 30 1877 Oct. 12 21:53 N.W. Oregon VIII 1,3 might have been a 2nd shock, inten. III

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1236	Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087	1898
Transcription: 1877. October 12; 1:53 P.M.; VIII Portland, Oregon; 1:45 P.M., Marshfield, Oregon; 1:52 P.M., Cascades, Oregon; 9 A.M., Cascades, Oregon.___C.G.R. (Chimneys overthrown.)__P.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
919	U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96	1973
Transcription: 1877 Oct. 12 13:53 Cascade Mountains, Oreg - - - VII 3-53,25

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1580	The Oregonian	1896	April 3, 1896, p. 10, c. 3.
Transcription: THE EARTH DID SHAKE And It Aroused Portlanders Out Of A Sound Sleep. The Earthquake Yesterday Morning Was Severe, and Lasted Ten Seconds, but Did No Damage. The earthquake of yesterday morning is said to have been one of the most severe that has been experienced in Portland in many years. It did no damage to property, but it managed to waken thousands of people from sound slumber, and caused no little alarm. Earthquakes are very rare in Portland and many people did not know the cause of the strange rumbling and shaking, until they read their morning paper. Strange to say, the instruments of the weather bureau office failed to record the earthquake. There was no indication whatever upon the barograph, or self-registering barometer used for recording changes in the air pressure. But Mr. Blandford, Mr. Pague's assistant, was able to furnish some information about the shock. "The earthquake," he said, "occurred at 3:13 this morning, and lasted between 8 and 10 seconds. It began with a severe and quick jerky vibration, and then, after a moment's interval, the vibrations resumed with lesser force until the finally died away. As far as I could tell, the vibrations seemed to go from the northeast to the south east. I should say the earthquake was rather severe at first." The time at which Mr. Blandford fixes the shock was corroborated by almost everyone who thought to notice the time, though there was considerable disagreement as to the duration of the vibration, some contending that it did not take up more than five seconds. That it was a severe shock is proven by the general attention it attracted. Many were the stories told yesterday of what the earthquake had done. One young man said it wakened him, and as he looked at the wall he saw the pictures swinging to and fro and heard the shutters moving, though it was a quiet night. The unusual loudness of the rumbling which accompanied the shock was what attracted general attention, many of those who noticed the earthquake saying that it sounded like the collapse of some big brick block. One man who, with his entire family was aroused from sleep, said that his house rocked as if it were about to tumble. It nearly overturned a lamp standing on a table besides his bed, and twisted the nails in the woodwork. The shock was less severely felt in The Oregonian building then almost anywhere else, which probably accounts for the barograph not recording the vibrations. The record is made by a fine needle on smoked glass. So sensitive is it that the slightest vibration will affect the needle and indicate the disturbance on the surface of the glass. The only instruments of this kind on the coast are at the observatory at Mount Hamilton, and at the weather bureau office in Carson City. Of course, the earthquake caused all the old-timers yesterday to limber up their up their tongues and turn loose their experiences of the "airly days" in the Northwest, and such stories found ready listeners. The most severe shock of the past of which there is any record occurred here October 12, 1877. There were several shocks following each other in rapid succession, the first of which was felt seven minutes before 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The vibrations, which were from north to south, were very pronounced. Considerable damage was done by the breaking of dishes, lamps and glassware, and buildings were shaken up and walls and ceiling cracked. A portion of the west wall of the post office building was cracked by the shock, which is there even now. There was great alarm among the people, hundreds of whom rushed, pell-mell, out of their stores and dwelling into the streets. No one was hurt through the shock, which was felt as far north as the Sound. February 21, 1892, there were several slight tremors of the earth about 8:15 in the evening, lasting 8 1/2 seconds. The vibrations, as usual, were from north to south. April 17, of the same year, there were three distinct shocks, at 2:56 o'clock in the afternoon, clocks being stopped and dishes, doors and windows rattled by the vibrations. On February 25, 1895, there was quite a severe earthquake. It came in three severe shocks, lasting about nine seconds, the vibrations being from north to south.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1204	The American Journal of Science and Arts	1878	Vol. XV, Nos. 85-90, January to June, 1878, pp. 21,25
Transcription: Rockwood, C. G. "Notices of Recent American Eartkquakes", THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS, VOL. XV., Nos. 85-90, January to June, 1878, pp. 21,25. August 16, 1876 - At 1:15 P. M. the bark Forest Queen experienced a heavy shock of fifteen seconds duration in lat. 41 degrees 55' N., long. 126 degrees 25' W., off the southern part of Oregon (U. S. Signal Service). October 12 - Quite severe shocks were felt in oregon, occurring in Portland at 1:53 P. M., two shocks being noticed; at Marshfield, Clackamas County, at 1:45 P. M.; and at Cascades at 1:52 P. M. (Another shock was felt at Cascades at 9 A. M.). The vibrations were in each case from north to south and were sufficiently violent to overthrow chimneys. October 26 - Between 5 and 6 P. M. the schooner Leo felt a severe earthquake shock, continuing about ten seconds, in lat. 43 Degrees 13' N., long. 128 degrees W., the vessel being 300 or 400 miles from the coast of Oregon.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2040	Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society	1910	Unpublished index to the Oregonian
Transcription: at Portland, severest Oct. 12, 1877, several shocks, cracked walls; Feb. 21, 1892, several slight shocks; On April 17, 1892, several shocks; on Feb 25, 1895, shock 4:47 a.m.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2333	Thenhaus, Paul C., 1978, A Study of the October 12, 1877 Oregon Earthquake, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-234, 14 pp.	1978
Transcription: Abstract: Historic accounts indicate two earthquakes occurred in northern Oregon on October 12, 1877. The first event, of Modified Mercalli Intensity III, took place at Cascades, Oregon (now Cascade Locks) at approximately 9:00 a.m. The second earthquake, of Modifed Mercalli Intensity VII, occurred in Portland Oregon, at approximately 1:53 p.m. (RSL 6/95 - Comments: This paper uses the Oregonian newspaper account to assign intensities at various locales, and then provides an isoseismal map based solely on the Oregonian account.) RSL 7/98 - Comments: Noson, Qamar, and Thorsen, in "Washington State Earthquake Hazards", Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Information Circular 85, 1988. Cite Thenhaus as the source of a felt area of 48,000 km2, and compute a magnitude of 5.4 using Toppazada's (1975) formula: Mag(felt)= -1.88 +1.53 log A; where A is the total felt area.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
30	Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476	1967
Transcription: 30 1877 Oct. 12 21:53 N.W. Oregon VIII 1,3 might have been a 2nd shock, inten. III

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1532	The Oregonian	1877	Oct 13, 1877
Transcription: 1877, October 12, Friday. Portland, Western Northwest. THE UNSTABLE EARTH An Earthquake Passes Over the Northwest and "Calls In" on Portland--Incidents of the Shock. Diseased nature oftentimes breaks forth In strange eruptions, and the teeming earth Is with a kind of colic pinched and vexed By the imprisoning of unruly wind Within her womb, which for enlargement striving Shakes the old beldame earth and topples down Steeples and moss grown towers.-- Shakespeare We are accustomed to contrast the instability of things in general with the stability of our planet, and "as solid as the earth" is acknowledged everywhere as the standard of immobility. But like many of man's fondest fancies, the delusion quickly vanishes when we feel the earth beneath us tremble. From shipwreck, we can "man the boats," can fly from flood or the dangers of conflagration; but amid the convulsions of an earthquake, danger is equally great on every side, and flight is simply folly. We seem brought face to face with the mighty power of God, and upon the very verge of the undiscovered world. Yesterday afternoon at seven minutes before two o'clock, a distinct earth shock, followed in a few seconds by another and severer one, passed over the city from north to south. It was not, as is usually the case, preceded by premonitory rumblings, but came with terrifying suddenness. The scene on the principal streets, as the people became conscious of the cause of the agitation, was one of wildest confusion and, for a moment, of terror. From houses and stores, people with white, scared faces, rushed into the streets, cigars dropped from the mouths of smokers, horses snorted and dogs whined with fear, the air, as well as the earth, seemed filled with a mysterious and awful power--the streets seemed turned into a mad carnival of fear. This was for one moment; the next, everybody was trying to convince everybody else that he "wasn't a bit scared." While the shock was very severe, or, at least, seemed so to Oregonians, it was not accompanied by loss of life or destruction of property to any great extent. A panic was created at each of the public schools, and children made for the open air without considering the manner of their going. At the North building they rushed pell-mell down stairs, and in the tur- moil several small children were severely bruised. At the Central and High schools a similar occurrence took place, and in Harrison street school the terror of the children was awful. Several windows were broken, and it seemed as though the house would certainly fall. The shock was much harder in the southern part of the city, and many residences were well shaken up. Several windows in the house of J. L. Atkinson were broken, and two chimneys were knocked off Dr. Glenn's house on Second and Columbia streets. In the county jail, several feet below the surface, it was very severe, and a stove was knocked from its "moorings" and thrown over. The shock seems to have had particular spite against the Oregon Furniture Company's building on First and Yamhill streets, and cracked a large and valuable plate glass window in front of the salesroom. This is the only real loss yet reported. There were many in- cidents that would be of interest, but space forbids further mention. A private telegram gives information that the shock was felt on the Sound, and the officers of the Astonia boat report that it was very distinct at points down the Columbia. The following dispatch explains itself: Cascades, Oct 12. Two distinct shocks of earthquake were felt today. One at 9 am and one at 1:52, From north to south,-- the last very heavy. Dalles and above report nothing felt there. A gentleman who came from Salem last evening says that nothing was felt there or further up the valley. Three shocks were felt at Hubbard. They made the household crockery rattle. Marshfield, Clackamas Co., Oct. 12. Earthshake felt at this place to day at 1:45 pre- cisely, Stone's time. Vibrations were from north to south and very distinct, so much so as to rattle windows and all loose or moveable articles about the house. It was felt by all persons who were indoors, and lasted about four seconds--the second and most severe shake experienced by the writer during a residence of thirty years in the state. T. J. Matlock

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1533	The Oregonian	1877	Oct 17, 1877; pg 1, c. 6
Transcription: The earthquake shock was not felt as far east as Walla Walla.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
590	Reid, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park
Transcription: Portland 1:53 pm; 12 October 1877 VII direction N-S -Holden's Cat. pg 100; Am. Jr. Sc. III-XV-25 Two shocks. Felt also at Marshfield at 1:45 pm at Cascade at 1:52 pm. Second shock at Cascades at 9 am, Oct 13.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
978	U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96	1973
Transcription: 1877. October 12. Cascade Mountains, Oreg. Shock felt at Marshfield, Cascades, and Portland. Chimneys were thrown down in the area.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1578	Morning Oregonian	1895	Feb 26, 1895, Tues., p. 5, c. 4.
Transcription: THE EARTH TREMBLED. A Slight Quake Visits Portland and Awakens Light Sleepers. Did you feel it? That was the unusual salutation that early-risers yesterday morning were greeted with. A seismal disturbance of the earth's surface in this vicinity was the cause of the query. At 4:47 o'clock in the morning a slight earthquake shock was felt, and those who were awakened, or are light sleepers, experienced the tremor. The vibrations were from north to south, and the first shock was quickly followed by two others, each about three seconds in duration. Although plainly perceptible, the shocks were not severe, and, aside from the rattling of loose window frames, and the swinging of picture frames and hanging lamps, there were no unusual indications of the presence of the seismic visitor. So faint was the trembling that the self- registering barometer in the office of the weather bureau showed no trace of vibratory action, and Observer Pague says that on Sunday night there was no indication of earthly or atmospheric disturbance. Portland has several times been visited by earthquake shocks. The most severe one was on the afternoon of October 12, 1877, when several shocks followed each other in rapid succession. There was a lively rattling of dishes, and the walls in several houses were cracked. Men, women and children rushed into the streets, and for a few minutes great excitement prevailed. The public schools were in session at the time, and the pupils in the upper rooms of the old Central schoolhouse, standing on the present site of the Hotel Portland, for a moment thought the building would topple over, as it swayed toward the post office. A large crack in the north end of the building, caused by the shock of 1877, is still to be seen. On February 21, 1892, several slight shocks were experienced in the evening, and on the afternoon of April 17, in the same year, three distinct shocks were also felt. The earthquake of yesterday is the first experienced in Portland for three years. Many people refuse to believe that there was an earthquake, and by far the largest majority did not notice it. Mr. E. W. Masten, who lives at Irvington, says he and his wife were awakened by the shaking of their house at 4:47 am, and that the windows rattled in a very lively manner for a short time after. Mrs. C. A. Coburn, who resides on the East Side, was also awakened by the shaking, and so was Judge Northup, who lives at The Hill house.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1652	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: 187710122153000 45550-122600W III BB 3 01

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
490	Townley, S.D. and M.W. Allen, 1939, Descriptive Catalog of earthquakes of the Pacific Coast of the United States 1769 to 1928, Chapter II, Earthquakes in Oregon--1846-1928, BSSA, V. 29, No. 1, pp. 253-258.	1939
Transcription: 1877 October 12. 1:53 p.m. VIII. Portland. 1:45 p.m., Marshfield; 1:52 p.m., Cascades.- CGR. (Chimneys overthrown.)-P. [In Plummer's published report it is not stated that chimneys were overthrown. See Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 8, 79.]

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1297	Berg and Baker, 1963, Oregon Earthquakes, 1841 through 1958, BSSA, V. 53, No. 1, pp. 95-108	1963
Transcription: 1877 - - Oct 12 1:53 pm (Local) Portland area III 4

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2028	Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society	1910	Unpublished index to the Oregonian
Transcription: severest at Portland, Oct. 12, 1877; west wall of Post Office cracked; Feb. 29, 1892; several tremors; Apr. 17, 1892; clocks stopped and dishes rattled; Feb. 25, 1895; a rather severe quake

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
348	Byerly, Perry, 1952, Pacific Coast Earthquakes, Condon Lecture, pp. 33-38	1952	U.W. Library, N979 B991p, Special Collections)
Transcription: 1877, October 12 VIII, Portland; Marshfield, Cascades. Chimneys overthrown. (1:53 p.m.)

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2027	Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society	1910	Unpublished index to the Oregonian
Transcription: in western northwest, Oct. 12, 1877

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2026	Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society	1910	Unpublished index to the Oregonian
Transcription: at Portland, Oct. 12, 1877

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
805	Reid 2, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park
Transcription: Portland 1:53p October 12, 1877 VII (?) N-S; Felt also at Marshfield and Cascades, OR

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
450	Holden, Edward S., 1887, List of Recorded Earthquakes in California, Lower California, Oregon, and Washington Territory	1887	Printed by Direction of the Regents of the University of California, Sacremento, California,
Transcription: 1877. October 12; 1:53 p.m. Portland, Oregon; 1:45 p.m., Marshfield, Oregon; 1:52 p.m., Cascades, Oregon; 9 a.m., Cascades, Oregon.--C.G.R.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
7113	Pacific County Historical Society and Museum “Columbia River Chronology Historical Dates” www.pacificcohistory.org/columbia.htm
Transcription: EARTHQUAKE EVENTS LISTED IN THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE Pacific County Historical Society and Museum “Columbia River Chronology Historical Dates” www.pacificcohistory.org/columbia.htm Note: Citations are given for each entry but bibliography is not available at this time per discussion with Pacific County Historical Society. [SW WASHINGTON EARTHQUAKES] December 2, 1841 earthquake near Ft Vancouver Washington (Wong and Bott p 128) December 23, 1854 tsunami recorded at Astoria (Lander p 121) December 24, 1854 tsunami recorded at Astoria (Lander p 121) April 3, 1868 tsunami recorded at Astoria (Lander p 122) August 14, 1868 tsunami recorded at Astoria (Lander p 123) August 23, 1872 teletsunami recorded at Astoria (Lander p 24, 47) October 12, 1877 earthquake tremors felt in Astoria oscillating from east to west (Daily Astorian October 13, 1877 p 1) December 12, 1880 2 earthquakes shocks felt (Daily Astorian [Dec?] 14, 1880 p 3; Algermissen and Harding) April 30, 1882 Severe tremors (Daily Astorian May 2, 1882 p 3) Daily Astorian May 3, 1882 p 3 mentions that earthquake was felt in Westport and Ft Canby about 10:30 pm [on] April 30. Daily Astorian May 4, 1882 tells that 3 shocks vibrated from SW to NE on April 30. March 27, 1884 earthquake felt in Hoquiam (Workman p 38) November 30, 1891 slight earthquake on Grays Harbor (Workman p 49) February 2, 1892 earthquake in Astoria (Bott and Wong p 118) February 26, 1895 earthquake hits Astoria (Daily Morning Astorian p 4) August 6, 1899 earthquake hits Astoria (Astoria Daily Budget August 8, 1899 p 4) November 20, 1899 tidal wave at Shoalwater Bay (Astoria Daily Budget November 20, 1899 p 4) September 12, 1903 quake hits city (Astoria Daily Budget p 4) March 16, 1904 Earthquake felt along Washington Coast and in Aberdeen, Hoquiam (Lander p 59, 127 not mentioned in Astoria newspapers) March 30, 1904 possible tsunami off Washington coast caused flooding (Lander p 19 not mentioned in Astoria newspapers) January 11, 1909 Grays Harbor Earthquake (Workman p 68) November 9, 1920 earthquake hits Astoria (Astoria Budget p 1) November 29, 1920 slight earthquake hits Astoria (Astoria Budget p 1)