The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet

The Good Friday earthquake in Alaska struck at 5:36 p.m. on March 27, 1964. Measuring 9.2 on the Richter scale, it is considered the biggest earthquake ever recorded in North America. In this meticulously researched book, New York Times reporter and editor Fountain tells the story of the earthquake through the experiences of the citizens of Alaska, focusing specifically on the village of Chenega, which was obliterated; Valdez, which was destroyed, forcing the town to move; and heavily damaged Anchorage. The earthquake completely changed the Alaskan landscape, in some places lifting or subsiding the land six feet or more. The author alternates these personal accounts with an examination of how the earthquake ended one of the greatest controversies in geology. As shown through the fieldwork, analysis, and insights of geologist George Plafker, the earthquake entirely changed scientific opinion in favor of the theory of plate tectonics.