One of the most rugged expanses in the continental U.S., the coast of northern California and Oregon saw frequent shipping disasters in the 19th century, before Congress ordered the construction of lighthouses on such dangerous promontories as Heceta Head, Cape Mendocino and a seaward-trending pile of rocks called St. George Reef. The brave, resourceful engineer who directed the Tillamook Rock lighthouse construction, Alexander Ballantyne, was later...

Uses historical research and personal accounts of survivors to tell the story of the tsunamis that hit Crescent City, California on Good Friday, 1964, which damaged hundreds of homes and businesses and killed eleven people. Includes some information about Alaska.

Gold Hill is a product of the frontier days, when bold men sought golden riches despite ongoing hardships. The 1860 discovery of the famous Gold Hill Pocket, overlooking the present townsite, brought about its name with a gold rush that continued for decades and spilled into the nearby creeks and valleys, including mines with names like the Millionaire, Lucky Bart, and Roaring Gimlet. In 1884, the railroad bypassed neighboring settlements, which made...