From the quake’s epicenter in Prince William Sound, major destruction spread across more than 100,000 square miles. The earthquake was felt throughout an area greater than 500,000 square miles—roughly twice the size of Texas. The change in the landscape was mind-boggling. Some areas in southeastern Prince William Sound rose as much as thirty-eight feet. In the northwest, land dropped an average of two to three feet, flooding beaches and inundating freshwater marshes with salt water. Some land areas shifted seaward as much as sixty-four feet.68
