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The Marina District, San Francisco, California: Geology, history, and earthquake effects

December 31, 1991

A northwest-trending valley in the bedrock surface is buried by firm Pleistocene bay clay, a dense Pleistocene sand layer, soft Holocene bay sediments, loose to dense Holocene beach and dune sands, and artificial fill that have an aggregate maximum thickness of about 90 m (300 ft). Artificial filling of a cove at the site of The Marina District proceeded gradually from the late 1860s to 1912, when major hydraulic filling was done for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The remains of thousands of piles driven for the Exposition very probably still exist and have had unknown effects on long-term ground settlement and earthquake-related ground displacements. Intensity maps of the 1906 earthquake, and seismic recordings and severe building damage in 1989, reported by others, indicate that ground motion was amplified on both natural and artificial ground. This suggests that the configuration of the bedrock surface and the location and thickness of various clay and sand deposits underlying the fill had an important effect on the shaking. However, most of the settlement and liquefaction and the damage to pipelines, building foundations, streets, side-walks, and curbs occurred in areas of artificial fill consisting mainly of loose sand.

Publication Year 1991
Title The Marina District, San Francisco, California: Geology, history, and earthquake effects
DOI 10.1785/BSSA0810051958
Authors Manuel G. Bonilla
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Index ID 70197854
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center