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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 #477 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs                                           
Weather observer H.E. Thompson reported this as a RF Intensity V at Tacoma, and intensity III at Sumner, and remarked that it was felt at several places along the head of Puget Sound. The BSSA mentions that it was felt at Dupont and in the Puyallup Valley, and was recorded on the seismograph at the University of Washington. Bradford, and Reid's notes, say that it was felt at Seattle. No newspapers have been researched.
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
1915  22  18  35    47.20  122.40        Tacoma  WA  RF       
MWR - 2217 WWC - 1798 - - MWR - 2218 -

Underlying Source Material
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2217  Monthly Weather Review  1915  V. 43, p. 190 
Transcription: Date:April 22, 1915
Time (Greenwich Civil):18:35
Location:Sumner, Washington
Latitude (deg., min.):47 12
Longitude (deg.,min.):122 13
RF Intensity: 3
Number of Shocks: 1
Duration (sec.): 3
Sounds:Rumbling
Remarks:Felt at several places along head of Puget Sound
Observer:H. E. Thompson, U.S. Weather Service
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
307  Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153  1935   
Transcription: 1915 April 22, 10:35 a.m.; Seattle, Tacoma, South Tacoma, and DuPont.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
128  Rasmussen, Norman, 1967, Washington state earthquakes 1840 through 1965, BSSA V. 57, No. 3, pp. 463-476  1967   
Transcription: 128 1915 Apr. 22 18:34 S. Tacoma-Puyallup 4 felt
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1798  Woodward Clyde Consultants, unpublished  1981  Woodward-Clyde Consultants (1981), Historical Catalog (1841-1980) for the Pacific Northwest Region, unpublished catalog prepared for the Washington Public Power Supply System.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: 191504221834000 47200-122400W R 01
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2218  Monthly Weather Review  1915  V. 43, p. 190 
Transcription: Date:April 22, 1915
Time (Greenwich Civil):18:35
Location:Tacoma, Wash.
Latitude (deg., min.):47 16
Longitude (deg.,min.):122 23
RF Intensity: 5
Number of Shocks: 1
Duration (sec.): 8
Sounds:Rumbling
Remarks: Felt at several places along head of Puget Sound
Observer: H. E. Thompson, U.S. Weather Bureau
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2454  Washington Public Power Supply System, "WPPSS Nuclear Project No. 2, Final Safety Analysis Report, Volume 1, Amendment 18"
September 1981 
1981  Table 2.5-6 
Transcription: 1915 Apr 22 Puyallup, Wash. R
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
2174  Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America  1915  V. 5., p. 109 
Transcription: Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. - A shock was felt at Tacoma, Washington, at 10:37 a.m., April 22, 1915. It was also felt at South Tacoma and at Dupont, fourteen miles to the west, and in the Puyallup valley. It was recorded by the seismograph of the University of Washington at 10:34
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1140  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: 1915 April 22. 10:34 a.m. Tacoma, South Tacoma, Puyallup, and Sumner, Pierce Co. Time taken from seismogram at Seattle.-BSSA, 5, 109; MWR, 43, 190.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
763  Reid, unpub., Scrapbook and Cardfile, on microfilm at USGS in Menlo Park     
Transcription: Tacoma & Puyallup Valley 47 degrees 16' N; 122 degrees 23' W PST 10:34 am 22 Apr, 1915 GMT 18h 34m V 5 seconds duration -SB IV pg 73; Bull SSA V pg 109; MWR Apr 190 Felt also at Dupont, 14 mi W of Tacoma. Recorded at Seattle at 10:34.
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
7112  Land of trees: Scannings from Quinault country, the Grays Harbor region, and beyond, 1774-1997
by Larry J Workman, Quinault Indian Nation
ISBN: 0940359014 
1997   
Transcription: EARTHQUAKE EVENTS LISTED IN Workman, Land of Trees (1997)

SOURCE: Workman, Larry J. Land of Trees: Scannings From Quinault Country, the Grays Harbor Region, and Beyond 1774-1997 (Taholah, WA: The Quinault Indian Nation, 1997)
Newspapers that were used for most of the entries include Daily World (Aberdeen), Montesano Vidette, Weekly Puget Sound Courier (Olympia), Olympic [sic?] Transcript (Olympia), Washington Standard (Olympia), North Coast News (Ocean Shores)
*
November 23, 1827 “Slight shock of earthquake felt at Fort Langley”
October 1842 “St. Helens enters a violent eruptive phase that will continue intermittently for fifteen years.”
November 23, 1842 “Ash from St. Helens falls to ½ inch deep at the Dalles.”
February 16, 1843 “Peter H. Burnett (later governor of California) reports, ‘The mountain (St. Helens) burning magnificently.’”
1854 “George Davidson, a scientist, reports ‘vast rolling masses of dense smoke,’ on Mt. Baker.”
December 14, 1872 “Strong earthquake felt on Puget Sound.” p 35
October 19, 1873 “Clouds of smoke pour from the highest peak of Mount Rainier. (Last for nearly a week).” p 35
March 27, 1884 “Quite an earthquake shock in Hoquiam was noticed about 10:00 p.m. lasting 3 seconds; no damage.” p 38
October 9, 1885 “Earthquake in Olympia.” p 40
September 3, 1886 “Greatest earthquake to hit the United States centers on Charleston, South Carolina.” p 41
April 22, 1887 “An earthquake shock, heavy enough in places to shake dishes from shelves, was felt in several towns in this Territory.” (Note: Index refers to this as an earthquake at Grays Harbor) p 42
May 7, 1887 “Something like a tidal-wave struck the Quinaielt agency at midnight. Some of the Indian houses were waist deep in water, the inmates yelling in terror as they were submerged during sleep on their low sleeping places. The water receded as rapidly as it came, carrying everything portable in its exit.” p 43
November 30, 1891 “Earthquake shock slight on [Grays? gwl] Harbor, but heaviest ever experienced in some Sound cities.” p 49
April 18, 1906 “Bay City (San Francisco) ravage by earthquake at 5:10 a.m. and the fires that followed (the rebuilding of the city greatly stimulated logging on Grays Harbor).” p 66
January 11, 1909 “Grays Harbor Earthquake, 4:03 p.m.” p 68
April 16, 1910 “Halley’s Comet visible to the naked eye.” p 70
October 11, 1911 “Earthquake in Southern California kills 700.” p 71
September 5, 1914 “Earthquake in Olympia felt over 1,000 sq. miles.” p 74
January 13, 1915 “50,000 die in Italian earthquake.” p 74
April 22, 1915 “Tacoma rocked by an earthquake.” p 74
December 24, 1920 “A small tidal wave sweeps beaches, washes 12 Sunset Beach cottages from their foundations.” p 79
September 3, 1923 “Japanese earthquake kills 90,000.” p 82
December 4, 1926 “Quake shakes Northwest.” p 85
July 16, 1928 “Giant meteor lights up night sky and [Grays? gwl] Harborites hear rumble.” p 87
March 12, 1929 “Brilliant light flashes in the sky.” p 87 (Note: Index references this as Meteor - Harbor)
May 4, 1929 “Report of vast earth upheaval on the Queets near M. M. Kelly Ranch.” p 88
December 31, 1931 “Tremor shakes up Puget Sound and Hood Canal.” p 91
 


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