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The San Francisco cow; did she or didn’t she?

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)
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Abstract

No one has suggested that Mr. Shafter's nameless cow was the cause of the 1906 earthquake, but she has been the source of as persistent a rumor as Mrs. Murphy's Chicago cow. Since 1906, "the cow that fell in the crack" has been a favorite subject of humorous speculation. large earthquakes have always produced large exaggerations, and, although it is difficult to exaggerate the terror humans feel in an earthquake, many scientists have said that much of what witnesses said they witnessed they did not witness at all. Huge, gaping cracks that legend says open and close in the earth, swallowing whole cities, are among those earthquake features that just aren't featured in earthquakes. True, soil may "snap open and shut," but most earth scientists do not think that the cracks are wide enough or deep enough to accommodate houses. 

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The San Francisco cow; did she or didn’t she?
Series title Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)
Volume 8
Issue 3
Year Published 1976
Language English
Publisher U.S Geological Survey
Description 5 p.
First page 19
Last page 23
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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