![]() By coincidence, two geological parties were there mapping the area when it struck. At other campgrounds in and outside the park frightened people ran from their tents, while at nearby Yellowstone National Park, visitors were shaken out of their beds in Yellowstone Lodge. ![]() Nearly two dozen people died in the landslide alone about 250 people were trapped in the canyon because roads leading out had collapsed and fallen into the lake. The wind and water flung people and cars and trailers about as if they were toys. The rock slide also generated high winds. The water hit the rock slide, forcing it back up into Rock Creek Campground where it overwhelmed its disoriented occupants. By comparison, Hegben Lake, formed in 1915 when the dam was built, was less than 100 feet deep at the time.Īerial view of the huge rock slide at Rock Creek Camp area looking southwest towards the mouth of the canyon and flats beyond. The new lake measured 175 feet deep and extended nearly back to the dam just three weeks after forming. ![]() An estimated 80 million tons of rock slid down and across the canyon and up the other side, creating a natural dam that instantly formed what is now called Earthquake Lake. The water swept past three Forest Service campgrounds and numerous dude ranches as the unsuspecting were stirring awake after being shaken.Īs the water raced toward the mouth of the canyon seven miles away, half of a 7,600-ft.-high mountain gave way from the earthquake. However, the wall of water that washed over the dam went rushing down the narrow Madison Canyon, a popular fishing and camping area. The tremors sent gigantic tidal waves surging back and forth within the 7-mile length of Hebgen Lake, launching water over the top of the dam-not once but three times-at the northwestern end. Coming at the height of tourist season, and in the middle of the night, the earthquake could have killed hundreds. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 centered on the Gallatin National Forest-about 40 miles northwest of Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park-struck at 11:37 pm on August 17, 1959. “The night the mountain fell” is how one of the strongest earthquakes to rock the United States was remembered by some survivors.
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