The effects of the 1964 Anchorage earthquake remain visible to this day in the Portage Valley. Many homes, like this one, were damaged and abandoned when the valley floor dropped, allowing sea water to flood in. That is also what caused the death of the trees visible in the background of this photo. Such stark snags are prominent throughout the valley and they, along with dilapidated homesteads as this, lend a haunting reminder of the powers the Earth can unleash without warning.