Historic Earthquakes

Calaveras fault, California
1897 June 20 20:14 UTC
Magnitude 6.3

The earthquake caused much loss to brick buildings in the Gilroy-San Felipe area. Few brick structures escaped damage at Hollister; chimneys were thrown down and fire walls fell into the street at Salinas. Damage in Gilroy was similar to that in Hollister and Salinas. A fissure was observed near Soap Lake House on the Pacheco Pass Road, and a fissure 295 meters long formed on a ranch near San Felipe. Because the Calaveras fault crosses the Pacheco Pass Road 5 km northwest of San Felipe, the fissures could have resulted from rupture on the Calaveras. Felt from Woodland on the north to San Luis Obispo on the south and Visalia (Tulare County) on the east.

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.