The BIG 1

On March 27, 1964 Anchorage made the record books, but at a costly price. At 5:36 pm, local time, an earthquake struck the small town of Anchorage. The epicenter of the earthquake was 120 km (74.564543 mi) from Anchorage and there was still enough strength and energy left in the waves to severely damage buildings. Along with the earthquake a 67 m (219.816273 ft) tsunami hit, killing 110 people.

The devastating magnitude of this earthquake was a 9.2, the largest ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere and the second largest recorded in history. The focal depth was about 25 km (15.53428 mi). This quake lasted for about 4 minutes (240 seconds), with a larger 52 mind bottling aftershocks. The first 11 aftershocks had a magnitude, on the Richter scale, larger than 6.0 taking place all in the first day. The following six weeks had nine with similar magnitudes as the first 11. The aftershocks did not stop there, they continued for more than a year.

Irvine, T. (1999). Alaska Prince William Sound, Alaska, earthquake of March 27, 1964. Retrieved November 9, 2007, From Vibration Data Web site: http://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/alaska.htm

This web site is all about the 1964 earthquake and the tsunami that the earthquake made. Also Tom Irvine, the author of the site, has photos of some buildings and of houses. Irvine also talks a little about the damage costs, he does not just talk about anchorage he also covers three other locations and the damage done. The site is very well set up and very easy to follow. I really liked how the site had other peoples experience of the earthquake, like where they were at and what they can recall seeing during the destruction period. Another thing I really like about this site is the way it is broken up, there is four different sections about the earthquake and an additional four area descriptions. Over all I think the site was very helpful and very interesting.

Kachar, B. (2005 August) When the Earth Moved. Science. 36, 309. Retrieved November 9, 2007, From American Association for the Advancement of Science.

This article talks about the earthquake briefly, also talks about some new technology and how it is going to be beneficial to the future of earthquake prevention. The article is short and has a lot to offer in a few short sentences. This article was short and sweet; it got to the point and gave the information that was needed. This article is very interesting and I got the info needed, but for a more in depth research project I would not recommend this article. It is ok for some quick interesting facts or for a blog.

Pararas-Carayannis, G. (2000). Retrieved November 9, 2007, From Disaster Page Web site: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Earthquake1964Alaska.html

This site has everything anyone would want to know about May 27, 1964. Also the site has other links to any other kind of natural disaster known to man. The site even has a link to another larger site that explains what happened with the tsunami, how long, tall, far and much more. If anyone had any questions about the May 27 they can find it for sure on this site. I thought this was the best site I found. It not only is jam packed with useful information but it also is organized very well, so it is not hard to find. Another nice thing about the site is it has images of the worlds crust and a photo of some of the destruction that was done from the earthquake.

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaskan Earthquake. (1973). The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Engineering. Washington, National Academy of Sciences.

This book was very interesting. It has charts and tables full of data from the earthquake. Also it talks about the lives taken on that day and what some people went thought. There was so much info I think it was almost over whelming. Although the book was very fun to read and had some very cool facts. The data on the charts are very impressive and interesting to look at but they would not really serve any real purpose in a paper or blog. It is still worth to look at and see what is on there. Over all I think the book is a very interesting book and has a lot to offer in the sense of learning more about May 27, 1964.

Schneider, W. (1981) Bill and Lill Fickus. Project Jukebox. 1(11)-63. Retrieved November 18, 2007, From Oral History Program, Rasmuson Library database.

The project jukebox is such an amazing database. Project jukebox has recordings of people who live in Alaska and wanted to share there life stories. The project jukebox I chose to use the juke box of Bill and Lill Fickus. Bill Fickus briefly touches on the earthquake and describes what it had done to the mines. I really like project jukebox, there are so many interesting recording from elders and they have some really fascinating things to talk about. I would recommend everyone to try Jukebox at least once. You can learn so many new things that you might have never known about before. The database has everything anyone would want to know about Alaska and the wild life around it.