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 #64 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs
Other (non-earthquake) This is an account of flooding at Port Townsend and Victoria, which is attributed to meteorologic causes in "Tsunamis Affecting the West Coast of the United States, 1806-1992". (by J. Lander, P. Lockridge, and M. Kozuch, 1993). Nothing was found in a search of 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
1866	12	20										Port Townsend	WA
N-Vic - 2153							-		-	-		MISC - 1935				-

Underlying Source Material

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2157	Tsunamis Affecting the West Coast of the United States, 1806-1992	1993	NGDC Key to Geophysical Records Documentation No. 29, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophys. Data Center, Boulder, CO
Transcription: 1866 Dec. 20, Port Townsend, WA , Validity= 0 (Lowest ranking from 0 to 4 - RSL) , Meterologic Cause, 10-15 ft. Maximum Amplitude, Flooding

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
1935	Welsh, William D. A Brief Historical Sketch of Port Townsend, Washington, Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce, 1961.	1961
Transcription: "... during the winter of 1866 a destructive tidal wave swept over a large part of lower Port Townsend. Old-timers persist in the theory that a submarine earthquake was responsible for the disaster. The sea came over the confines of the lagoon, flooding the town as far as Tyler Street. The lower floors of nearly every building on the flat were under water and rescue squads in rowboats had to be dispatched to relieve marooned families"(15).

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2556	Port Townsend Leader	1975	Summer" Section, 1975, Page 46.- Copy provided by Robert Forbes
Transcription: THE 'GREAT FLOOD' OF 1866 -- by Tom Canfield [Information from Mr. Canfield indicated that this article quotes extensively from The Port Townsend Morning Leader of Saturday, Dec. 27, 1902, on the 36th anniversary of the flood. RSL 1/10/1996] The only major "flood" in the recorded history of the City of Port Townsend occurred on Dec. 27, 1866, when the present downtown business area was inundated by what was described in later years "as the highest tide within the memory of the oldest inhabitant." At that time, the present breakwater along the southern side of Water Street had not yet been constructed - and the tide sloshed, splashed and jostled up against the high bluff below present-day Washington Street. The entire flat upon which the business area is now located was a sea of water, "not a speck of land being visible at any point." A block north of Water Street, the water was said to be "up to the armpits of a man." During the day, schooners, sloops, and rowboats made regular trips throughout the area. According to a latter-day account by pioneer Joe Kuhn, " the day was fraught with danger, too, and many narrow escapes are recorded; fortunately, however, it was possible to avert any serious calamities. Two houses that stood near the present location of Haller Fountain were washed away. One went out to sea and the other caught somewhere near Point Hudson and was used in subsequent years as a saloon. All over the flats, numerous houses were similarly washed away, some of them continuing on out to sea, others being successfully anchored until the waters subsided. A Mrs. Hubbs and her children were rescued from one floating home by rowboat, just in time to prevent their being carried off into Admiralty Inlet. A Mrs. Van Bokkelen and family were similarly rescued "with difficulty" as their dwelling was being carried away on the tide. Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Hastings at that time lived on the flat, but as their house was a two-story structure, it was sufficiently substantial to withstand the water, and the family was not removed. Described as the most perilous undertaking of the day was the rescue of the students of Professor John P. Judson from the old school building on Water Street, "The children, being small, got panic-stricken and great difficulty was experienced in safely landing them on the hill." It was this great flood tied that inspired building of the first breakwater along Water Street, the two leading spirits in this enterprise being Charles Eisenbels (the city's first mayor) and J.A. "Joe" Khun. Some years later, the Leader reported, " Perhaps no city on the coast is better protected than is this one from a repetition of that day. The work of barricading from the water was permanently done and will last for ages.

Source ID	Publication	Pub Date	Pub Details
2153	The British Colonist	1866	Friday Morning, Dec. 21, 1866
Transcription: High Tide - The tide yesterday was higher than it had ever been known to rise by "the oldest inhabitant." The pilots say there were 20 feet 6 inches and upwards on the bar, and part of Indian Rancheria in the vicinity of Bolton's ship yard was inundated. It remained high all day, indicating the prevalence of heavy southerly gales outside the straits.