Drawing by the special artist of 'Leslie's Weekly', an American pictorial paper, depicting the wreck of California Street. The great avenue was strewn with debris scattered by the earthquake and subsequent fires completed the ruin of the shattered buildings. In the distance can be seen the newly built Fairmount Hotel which was scorched but not destroyed. The earthquake occurred on the 18th April 1906 in San Francisco, California, USA which lies across the San Andreas Fault. Measuring 7.9 on the richter scale, the earthquake and subsequent fires resulted in the loss of 3000 lives and over 300,000 homes.