De aardbeving van San Francisco / De Aarde en haar Volken, 1907

A scientific observer documents the earthquake and the fires that followed, reporting that fire, enabled by broken water mains, caused most of the city's destruction while solidly founded, well-built and steel-framed structures resisted shaking; poorly constructed brick buildings on soft or filled ground failed, and wooden houses generally suffered cracks but remained standing. He records visible surface rupture along a long coastal fault with several meters of horizontal displacement, field investigations in the Point Reyes–Tomales region, and photographic and geologic surveys organized by state authorities, concluding that the disaster highlighted how ground conditions and construction methods determined damage.