The Frank Slide
"In the early morning hours of April 29, 1903, Turtle Mountain collapsed, resulting in the greatest landslide in North American history. In 100 seconds: at least 76 people were buried alive under tons of massive limestone boulders; three-quarters of the homes in Frank were crushed like balsa wood; over a mile of the Canadian Pacific Railroad was completely destroyed; and a river became a lake."
Follow the link to an excellent article on the Frank Slide. One point of correction - it is the Crowsnest River, not the Oldman that flows through Frank. Today, you can take the "Frank Industrial Park" road south of Highway 3 to see the widening of the river known as Frank Lake, caused by the slide.
For more pictures from Southern Alberta, please visit The Southern Ontario Fly Fisher.
3 comments:
I don't think there is any route to travel between Alberta and B.C. that isn't humbling. I always feel a little sick to my stomach passing by that site. Other routes, like the Kochala Pass...in winter no less, are also confronting. How many times in life do you need to travel with sleeping bags, a tin can with sand and a candle? The tin can with sand and a candle will keep a avalanche submerged car warm enough for people to live for several hours till rescue. Water is also a good idea. NOT in the trunk!
It's hard to imagine the side of a mountain just collapsing like that, but I think the coal tunnels really must have caused it.
I've been through that section of the Crowsnest lots in my life. It is very humbling. It always captured my imagination as a kid, and not in a good way - it was just so horrific-looking.
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