Salty Dawg Saloon after the Good Friday Earthquake in Homer, AlaskaPhoto byUniversity of Anchorage Archives

Homer, Alaska, is perched on the Ring of Fire.

Homer, Alaska, is perched along the Aleutian Arc, a line of 80 volcanos that extends from the tip of the Aleutian Island Chain into the mainland of Alaska.

We're not strangers to shaking and cracking, but the 1964 Alaska Earthquake was so big that history is often defined as before or after ''The Quake.''

On Good Friday, the 1964 Alaska earthquake rattled Homer, Alaska, to its core and transformed the landscape in moments.

This catastrophe led to profound shifts in approaching seismic safety and planning for community resilience.

The Great Alaska Earthquake: Good Friday 1964

Sixty years ago, the earth unleashed fury upon Alaska on an unremarkable spring afternoon.

The Great Alaska Earthquake, a massive 9.2-magnitude earthquake, gripped the region for nearly three minutes.

Its epicenter, nestled in the Prince William Sound region, became the dark heart of a catastrophe that reached across Alaska and into the annals of history as the most powerful recorded earthquake on the continent.

No one was killed in Homer, Alaska. Witnesses reported being thrown to the ground and unable to move for minutes. The quake's violence caused significant property damage, including destroying goods in a local bar.

It induced unusual animal behavior, with wildlife displaying distress. The earthquake also led to the formation of earth fissures, significantly altering the landscape and causing sea waves to be observed shortly after the quake.

This indicates intense seismic activity consistent with a Modified Mercalli intensity of VII to VIII. (This information is summarized from a report called "Effects of the Earthquake Of March 27, 1964, In the Homer Area, AlaskaThe Main Shock, and the Homer Spit.")

Seismic Activity

The initial quake's terror was a prelude to the relentless aftershock that haunted the region. Eleven major aftershocks, each with a magnitude greater than 6.0, thundered through the area on that first day alone, setting a tone of uncertainty and fear.

The land continued to shudder for more than a year, with smaller aftershocks rippling across the landscape, a series of aftershocks mounting to thousands in the three weeks following the Great Alaska Earthquake.

From Homer, situated some 160 miles southwest of the epicenter, to communities spread across the vastness of Alaska, the seismic activity was a relentless adversary. It tore at the ground and roiled the ocean, creating fissures and altering terrain, forever changing the geological face of the region.

Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay

Homer, Alaska, recorded the first tremor at 5:36 p.m. on Good Friday, 1964.

52 principal aftershocks, measuring over 6.0 on the Richter Scale, rolled through Homer and half the population of Alaska.

A tsunami followed, ultimately reaching Japan, Hawaii, and southern California. The waves continued until the following day.

Underwater landslides (submarine slumping) were noted off the tip of Homer Spit, suggesting significant underwater geological activity.

The Impact of the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake on Homer, Alaska

In the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Homer, Alaska, witnessed a dramatic shift in its economic landscape.

This information is from the Pratt Museum: "Although no lives were lost on the southern Kenai Peninsula, those five earth-altering minutes changed the economic destiny of two communities forever.

Seldovia, across Kachemak Bay from Homer, sank when high tides flooded the town's trademark boardwalk. Since 1910, this artery of canneries, shops, and houses has lined the seafront.

Seldovia, Alaska after the Good Friday Earthquake, 1964Photo byAlaska State Library Historical Collection

Awash, businesses drilled holes in their floors to drain seawater. Sandbags, hip boots, and moves to second stories were only stopgaps against the reality of high tides and constant floods.

Though many canneries promised to rebuild, most closed or moved away.

A New Economic Center

Pre-quake, Seldovia was the center of commercial fishing in Kachemak Bay. With a new road connection to the highway system and construction of a protected harbor, Homer became the hub of Kachemak Bay's fishing fleet.

In the days following the quake, the City of Homer became official when an Anchorage Superior Court judge certified incorporation on March 31, 1964."

The Salty Dawg Saloon

The Homer Spit sank up to 11 feet and was covered by the high tide, with the end of the Spit entirely underwater.

In The Dawg's Tale (1995 by Alaska Press), Diane Ford Wood wrote, "Fractures up to 18 inches wide were seen across the Spit. Eyewitness Glen Sewell reported that one fracture passed between feet, continued through a building, and crept into Kachemak Bay...The small boat harbor disappeared into a funnel-shaped pool. A lighthouse on the harbor breakwater reportedly sank 40 to 50 feet."

"The Salty Dawg Saloon was empty when the earthquake struck; it was closed that time of year, Wood continued. When it opened soon after that, high tides lapped at tire tops and customers' boots, and daily flooding caused high-tide marks on the outside of buildings.

Owner Earl Hillstrand moved the Salty Dawg to its present site on Homer Spit Road, and visitors from all over the world visit this little piece of history where the land ends."

The Pratt Museum has an exhibit dedicated to the effects of the 1964 Alaskan Earthquake on Homer, Alaska. The exhibit includes photos, analysis, and recollections of residents.

For more information about Homer, Alaska, please visit Homer by the Bay, and follow me on Newsbreak.