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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 #265 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs                                           
Reports of this earthquake being felt in any place other than Olympia have not been confirmed.
Newspaper reports from the Oregonian and from the Tacoma Morning Union say: "Olympia, Jan 14--A severe shock of earthquake was experienced here at 3:20 this morning." The Washington Standard (Olympia) says: "A slight shock of an earthquake was felt at 3:30 Sunday morning ..."
Holden (1898) says "Olympia, Washington. Mr. Fred Plummer reports a disturbance at 3:25 a.m. A tremor lasting three seconds was followed after an interval of four seconds by a shock from south-southwest, and a slight tremor later. His seismograph at Tacoma barely showed the shock (I?, II?)". Holden also cites the S.F. Chronicle: "Vancouver, B.C. While the quaking continued, hanging pictures swayed slightly and crockery rattled on the shelves."
The British Colonist for Jan. 15-17 was not available on the microfilm reel, and Milne reports that: " Newspapers make no mention of the event."
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  14  25            Olympia  WA           
HOLD2 - 1282 - - - N-Ore - 1574 -

Underlying Source Material
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2057  Leslie M. Scott, Memoranda of the Files of the Oregonian 1850-1910, Oregon Historical Society  1910  Unpublished index to the Oregonian 
Transcription: at Olympia, severe, Jan. 14, 1894
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
262  Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153  1935   
Transcription: 1894 January 14; Olympia. Mr. Fred G. Plummer reports a disturbance at 3:25 a.m. A tremor lasting three seconds was followed after an interval of four seconds by a shock from south-southwest, and a slight tremor later. His seismograph at Tacoma barely showed the shock, I? II?
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
263  Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153  1935   
Transcription: 1894 January 14; Vancouver, B.C.; while the quaking continued, hanging pictures swayed slightly and crockery rattled on the shelves (San Francisco Chronicle).
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
882  Reid 2, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park     
Transcription: Olympia 3:25a January 14, 1894
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2528  Washington Standard  1894  Jan. 19, 1894, p. 3, c. 2 
Transcription: A slight shock of an earthquake was felt at 3:30 Sunday morning. The motion seemed to be vertical and was of short duration.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1282  Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087  1898   
Transcription: 1894. January 14; Olympia, Washington. Mr. Fred Plummer reports a disturbance at 3:25 a.m. A tremor lasting three seconds was followed after an interval of four seconds by a shock from south-southwest, and a slight tremor later. His seismograph at Tacoma barely showed the shock (I?, II?)
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1283  Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087  1898   
Transcription: 1894. January 14; Vancouver, B.C. While the quaking continued, hanging pictures swayed slightly and crockery rattled on the shelves.__S. F. Chronicle.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1097  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 January 14. 3:25 a.m. Olympia. Mr. Fred G. Plummer reports a disturbance at 3:25 a.m. A tremor lasting three seconds was followed after an interval of four seconds by a shock from south-southwest, and a slight tremor later. His seismograph at Tacoma barely showed the shock (I?, II?).
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1418  Milne, W.G., 1956, Seismic Activity in Canada, west of the 113th meridian 1841-1951: Canada Dominion Obs. Pub., V. 18, No. 7, pp. 119-146  1957   
Transcription: 1894 JANUARY 14. Bradford reports that pictures swayed and dishes rattled on their shelves at Vancouver during an earthquake. Newspapers make no mention of the event.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
723  Reid, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park     
Transcription: Olympia 3:25 am 14 Jan, 1894 3 second duration -Holden's Cat. pg 226 First tremor was followed after an interval of 4 seconds by a shock from S-SW. Slightly felt in Vancouver, BC
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2529  Tacoma Morning Union  1894  Jan. 15, 1894, p. 1, c. 4 
Transcription: Flood and seismic shock

Earthquake at Olympia - Olympia January 14, A severe shock of earthquake was experienced here at 3:30 this morning.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1574  The Oregonian  1894  Jan 15, 1894; p. 3, c. 2 
Transcription: 1894, January 14. Olympia (severe) Earthquake at Olympia

Olympia, Jan 14--A severe shock of earthquake was experienced here at 3:20 this morning.
 


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