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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 #526 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs                                           
The BSSA is the source for catalog entries. It gives this information: "... from C.H. Aldrich of Corfu ... 'The first shock was on November 1st, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused landslides for several miles along the hills. We have had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four hours since, but lighter.'..." The WPPSS documents add: "The November 1, 1918 Corfu earthquake had an epicentral intensity of (MM) V-VI, based on intensity reports from the town of Corfu, Washington, and on reported landslides in the vicinity of Corfu. Based on the seismograph record at the Gonzaga University station (SPO) in Spokane, Washington, it is estimated that this earthquake had a magnitude (MS) of approximately 4.4." A search for additional newspaper accounts from eastern Washington newspapers was fruitless. The local earthquake was overwhelmed by the influenza epidemic, the end of World War I, and the impending famine in Russia.
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
1918  11  20  46.70  119.50    4.40  Inst  Corfu  WA  VI  RF       
TAWA - 1161 USEQS - 954 - WPPSS - 2355 TAWA - 1161 -

Underlying Source Material
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2179  Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America  1918  V. 8, p. 138 
Transcription: Corfu, Wash., November 1, 1918. - A. M. Jung, seismological observer at Gonzaga University at Spokane, Wash. communicates the following note from C.H. Aldrich of Corfu, a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee Railway 135 miles west of Spokane, in regard to an earthquake at that place: " The first shock was on November 1st, between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused landslides for several miles along the hills. We have had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four hours since, but lighter." The intensity is estimated at IV of the R.-F. scale.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1013  U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96  1973   
Transcription: 1918. November 1. Corfu, Wash. Strong tremor shook articles from shelves and caused landslides.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
954  U. S. Dept. of Commerce, 1973, Earthquake History of the United States, V. 41-1, revised ed., pp. 89-96  1973   
Transcription: Nov. 1 09:20 Corfu, Wash 46.7 119.5 (2) V-VI 3-8
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2387  Washington Public Power Supply System, Preliminary
Safety Analysis Report, Ammendment 23,
WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 1, 1300 MW Nuclear Power Plant, Vol. 2A. 
1977  Table 2R E-9 
Transcription: 75 1918 Nov 1 46.70N., 119.50W. V-Vi
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
148  Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476  1967   
Transcription: 148 1918 Nov. 1 17:20 46.7 N, 119.5 W V-VI 1
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1832  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: 191811 11720000 46700-119500 VI NO 6 01
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1161  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: 1918 November 1. About 9:20 a.m. VI+? Corfu, Grant Co. Severe shock; goods shaken from shelves; slides caused along the hills for miles; several lighter shocks each day for several days.-BSSA, 8, 138.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2355  Washington Public Power Supply System, "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18"
September 1981 
1981  p. 2.5-120 
Transcription: (RSL comment: this material is extracted from the "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18"
September 1981, Washington Public Power Supply System
p. 2.5-120)

The November 1, 1918 Corfu earthquake had an epicentral
intensity of (MM) V-VI, based on intensity reports from the
town of Corfu, Washington, and on reported landslides in the
vicinity of Corfu. Based on the seismograph record at the
Gonzaga University station (SPO) in Spokane, Washington, it
is estimated that this earthquake had a magnitude (MS) of
approximately 4.4.

The Corfu earthquake and aftershock sequence was reported in
the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (1918):

The first shock was on November Ist, between 9:15 and
9:30 a.m. This was the most severe and lasted several
seconds; it shook goods from the shelves and caused
landslides for several miles along the hills. We have
had on an average about three shocks every twenty-four
hours since, but lighter. The intensity is estimated
at IV of the RF Scale.

Bingham et al. (1970) refer to a landslide east of Smyrna
Bench, which they attribute to the Corfu earthquake, but it
was not investigated in detail in their field studies.

Fifer (1966) gathered reports that suggests maximum
intensity (MM) IV at White Bluffs which is located 26 km
northwest of the present plant site and 16 km south of
Corfu. The White Bluffs felt reports indicate that the
epicenter was probably close to the town of Corfu. This
further suggests that the site intensity was likely to be
less than (MM) IV.

The intensity data are shown in Figure 2.5-43 along with an
arc corresponding to the S-P time of 21.7 seconds measured
from the SPO record of the event. An uncertainty of
approximately 1 second or 8 km is noted for the S-P time.
Based on these data, the most likely location for the 1918
event is considered to be sligntly east of Corfu, within the
central portion of the epicentral region shown in Figure
2.5-43. The coordinates for this point are listed in Table
2.5-5. The 1918 Corfu earthquake is similar in location to
the December 20, 1973, Mc 4.4 Royal Slope Event, as
discussed in Appendix 2.5J. The Royal Slope Event had a
focal depth of 2.1 km (Malone, 1979), a maximum intensity of
(MM) V, and was felt to a distance of 30 km (Appendix 2.5I).
 


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