Loma Prieta Earthquake

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While it was called the "Loma Prieta" earthquake, the Loma Prieta mountain peak is about 5 miles away from the actual epicenter location.  Property damage was widespread throughout Santa Cruz County, including downtown Pacific Avenue (also known as the "Pacific Garden Mall" back then) and Watsonville, the central California coastal region, and the San Francisco bay area.

The Loma Prieta earthquake occured on October 17, 1989, at 5:04:15 pm (PDT), with a magnitude 6.9, and a surface magnitude of 7.1.  There were 51 aftershocks of magnitude 3.0 or greater the first day after the main shock, and 16 aftershocks the second day.  The earthquake occured in the Santa Cruz Mountains along a 22 mile section of the San Andreas Fault, which is a major earthquake fault that runs North-South through California.  The epicenter was located in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, just off of the Aptos Creek Trail, about 9¾ miles northeast from the city of Santa Cruz, at a depth of between 4 and 12 miles below the earth's surface.  The amount of shift of the earth's crust at the fault was measured to be about 7.5 feet.

Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, there was over 6 billion dollars in damages, 63 deaths, and over 3,750 injuries caused by the earthquake.  Some of the businesses in downtown Santa Cruz that were displaced by the earthquake moved into tents that were temporarily erected in the parking lots along Cedar Street.

There were many historical structures that were damaged beyond repair by the earthquake including the Cooper House, the Flatiron and Odd Fellows buildings.

Click the Map icon above for the location of the Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter.

• Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
  

• Santa Cruz Mountains
  

  USGS web page

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