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EARTHQUAKE SONGS
Mel Zucker, a geology professor at Skyline College in San Francisco, has written a cartload of songs to commemorate the centennial of the Great 1906 Quake.

All songs are copyrighted. Contact Mel Zucker at Skyline College for use permission.

For help playing or downloading these songs, see our help page.

Ballad of the San Andreas
A lively folk song about plate tectonics and the San Andreas Fault .
( Download lyrics .)

Centennial Blues
An acoustic blues story of the '06 quake and fire .
( Download lyrics .)

Comin' Back to You
An original contemporary San Francisco Bay Area geology song
( Download lyrics .)

Greenstones
A 60s rock tribute to San Francisco Bay Area rocks, subduction, and metamorphism.
( Download lyrics .)

San Andreas Shanty
A lively old style tune about knowledge gained since 1906.
( Download lyrics .)

The Burning of Frisco Town
An example of a period piece written about the earthquake and fire in 1906.

The Wide Plate Boundary
A pensive tale of the San Andreas Fault landscape.
( Download lyrics .)

 

 

 

 

 

Earthquake videos and podcasts


SEISMIC PODCASTS
FROM THE EXPLORATORIUM
To listen, click the link. To download, right-click and select "save link as."

Is California going to fall into the ocean?
Can pets predict earthquakes? Do quakes happen more often at certain times of the day or year? And could a really big one mean the end of California? Exploratorium geologist Eric Muller separates earthquake fact from fiction.

Earthquake in an outhouse
Relive the Loma Prieta quake with our photographer, Amy Snyder, who was caught in an outhouse at the beach. Why didn't it, or any San Francisco skyscapers, collapse?

Edible Geology Road Trip
Join Exploratorium geologist Eric Muller on a tour of world-famous geological features to be found in the national parkland just north of the Golden Gate bridge.

VIDEOS:

Having trouble watching the videos? See our help page.

World Series logo
At last, Oakland and San Francisco go head-to-head in the World Series. And then, the earth starts to shake. . . .
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
 
opening in roadway
Homeowners around Santa Cruz saw roads split open and houses destroyed.
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
     
Car trapped on collapsed Bay Bridge
On the Bay Bridge, a man is trapped in his car just on the edge of a section of the bridge's collapsed upper deck.
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
 
Facade of Ford's department store, collapsed in the quake
Three people died in the rubble of Ford's department store in downtown Santa Cruz.
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
Firefighters in South of Market
Firefighters and neighbors dig through piles of bricks from a collapsed building in the South of Market district.
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
 
Volunteers directing traffic with flares
People banded together to keep things running in the city and to rescue others trapped in damaged buildings.
Video courtesy of KGO TV-News/ABC-7 News.
Watch the video:
QuickTime or RealVideo
     
Firefighters in South of Market
Watch how different buildings shake differently when an "earthquake" hits a Jell-O model of San Francisco.
See the video on the page:
Building for the Big One
   

 

 

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