QUAKE LAKEA CLOSER LOOK AT THE CARNAGE

MADISON RIVER VALLEY

• NEAR THE CORNER WHERE IDAHO, MONTANA, AND WYOMING JOIN TOGETHER AT WEST YELLOWSTONE, THERE IS A VALLEY OF LAKES THAT TO MANY IS UNKNOWN. IT CONSISTS OF HEBGEN LAKE, AND QUAKE LAKE. ALTHOUGH HEBGEN LAKE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME, QUAKE LAKE HAS NOT. THE INCEPTION OF QUAKE LAKE WAS NOT INTENTIONAL AT ALL.

AUGUST 17, 1959

• ON THIS DAY, THERE WAS A HUGE EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 7.5 ON THE RICHTER SCALE. THIS QUAKE WAS THE LARGEST RECORDED QUAKE IN MONTANA HISTORY. THE EARTHQUAKE CAUSED AN 80-MILLION TON LANDSLIDE OFF OF SHEEP MOUNTAIN, AND DOWN TO THE VALLEY BELOW. THE 28 CAMPERS BELOW THE LANDSLIDE WERE INSTANTLY KILLED BY THE 100 MPH ROCKS COMING DOWN.

HERE COMES THE FLOOD

• AS THE LANDSLIDE WAS HAPPENING, THE WATERS ON HEBGEN LAKE WERE FAR FROM STILL. FAULT LINES FROM THE QUAKE CAUSED HUGE SIECHE WAVES TO BREACH THE DAM, CAUSING EROSION AND FLOODING

FAULT LINES ALL ALONG THE VALLEY CRACKED

DAMAGE

• AS YOU CAN SEE, THE HIGHWAY GOES STRAIGHT INTO THE WATER

DAMAGE

DAMAGE

• SADLY, AT THE CLIFF LAKE CAMPGROUND A BOULDER LANDED ON THE TENT OF TWO PARENTS, WITH THEIR KIDS SLEEPING CLOSE BY. THE CHILDREN WERE UNHARMED.

DAMAGE

DAMAGE

ROADS WERECOMPLETELY

DAMAGED

AFTERMATH

• AFTER THE CARNAGE WAS OVER, THE WORK WAS NOT DONE. ENGINEERS WERE NOW FACED WITH A HUGE PROBLEM. SINCE THE LANDSLIDE DAMMED UP THE RIVER, A LAKE WAS QUICKLY FORMING BEHIND THE LANDSLIDE DEBRIS. THE ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS WORKED VERY HARD TO MOVE EARTH TO FINISH A NEW SPILLWAY FOR THE NOW “QUAKE LAKE”

• MOVING EARTH TO CREATE THE NEW SPILLWAY

MODERN DAY QUAKE LAKE

• TODAY QUAKE LAKE IS A BEAUTIFUL LAKE TO GO CANOEING ON. NO MOTOR BOATS ARE ALLOWED BECAUSE OF HOW MANY TREES STILL JUT OUT OF THE WATER AND TO THE SKY. MANY PEOPLE ENJOY THE AREA FOR CAMPING AS WELL AS FISHING.

MODERN DAY QUAKE LAKE

• HERE YOU CAN SEE THE LAKE SITTING CALMLY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE VALLEY WITH THE LANDSLIDE DAM IN THE BACKGROUND

CONCLUSION

• NATURAL DISASTERS ARE FAR FROM PREDICTABLE. THEY CAN TAKE OUR WORLD AND FLIP IT ON OUR HEADS LEAVING US DUMBFOUNDED AND CONFUSED. THE BEST THING FOR US TO DO IS BE PREPARED BY LEARNING ABOUT DISASTERS, AND HOW TO INCREASE OUR CHANCES WHEN THE TIME COMES. LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO DIED IN THE QUAKE LAKE DISASTER, THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT THEM, AND NEITHER DO WE. WEATHER IT IS AN EARTHQUAKE, HURRICANE, OR EVEN THE DISASTER OF GLOBAL WARMING. IN MOST CASES, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S ABOUT TO HIT US.