It was 18 April 1906, 5:12 local time when the rumbling began. (Today that hour would be 6:12, shortly before sunup.) More than a full minute later, it was still going on, and hundreds, maybe thousands of San Francisco's buildings had fallen, broken or caught fire. With the water supply rendered useless, fire raged over the city for three days and left half its people homeless. And that was only the beginning of the story of the great San Francisco earthquake, 102 years ago today. The legend lives on, even if no one alive can remember that day, because artifacts of the time still stand in Baghdad-by-the-Bay.

If you've ever given serious thought to how earthquakes would affect where you live, the 1906 quake is as timely a lesson as ever, and there are several good books I can recommend—and one to steer away from.
_{The miracle fireplug — Geology Guide photo}