Images: The science behind the shaking

computer model

To better understand the distribution of shaking and damage that accompanied the great 1906 earthquake, seismologists have constructed computer models to recreate the ground motions. The simulations show how ground moved on the two sides of the San Andreas fault and how seismic waves radiated away from the fault to produce the shaking.
Yellow to red colors indicate regions experiencing damaging shaking. This screenshot reveals the damage after 50.4 seconds.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:47 GMT (04:47 PDT)
Caption by: Bill Detwiler
at 75 seconds

The earthquake, which began 2 miles offshore from the city of San Francisco, ultimately grew to cause shaking and damage along more than 300 miles of the San Andreas fault. This screenshot shows the damage at 75 seconds.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:47 GMT (04:47 PDT)
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Images: The science behind the shaking

Seismologists construct computer models to recreate how the ground moved along the San Andreas fault during the 1906 quake.

computer model

To better understand the distribution of shaking and damage that accompanied the great 1906 earthquake, seismologists have constructed computer models to recreate the ground motions. The simulations show how ground moved on the two sides of the San Andreas fault and how seismic waves radiated away from the fault to produce the shaking.

Yellow to red colors indicate regions experiencing damaging shaking. This screenshot reveals the damage after 50.4 seconds.

Published: July 19, 2006 -- 11:47 GMT (04:47 PDT)

Caption by: Bill Detwiler