It was the original lake enjoyed by vacationers year around. Buildings were damaged, roads were destroyed and lives were lost. The sudden downward shift of the ground also had a dangerous side effect – the second punch to hit Hebgen Lake that night. But that wasn’t all. Quake Lake (officially Earthquake Lake) is a lake in southwestern Montana in the United States.It was created after an earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, killing 28 people. For others, escaping the park became an adventure all in itself. “Probably 35 years and they’ve never been back to this area,” Girvin said. The power of this earthquake was immense. In 1959, it was the main road between Old Faithful and West Yellowstone. “I’m assuming it was part of the noise from the mountain coming down,” said Cunningham. But that 1959 earthquake did impact the geyser. Afterward, 85 to 95 minutes. “I was in England for two years,” said Seeley. Quake Lake is 190 feet (58 m) deep and 6 miles (9.7 km) long. Yetter, who is now 87 years old, says he figured out a way to straddle the 12 to 20 foot cracks in the road with his car in order to get mail delivered to his neighbors for a week after the quake. It happened on August 18, 1959. But while Hebgen Lake miraculously remained, the earthquake left plenty of geographic scars. Part I: Survivors tell their stories when a mountain slid into the Madison River Canyon. Cunningham says it took about 17 minutes for the waves, some up to 20 feet tall, to sweep from one end of the 14 mile lake to the other. ... erupting after the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. Hebgen Lake is an idyllic body of water, famous for its trout fishing. Her father had heard the fishing was good. Before the quake, eruption intervals were between 60 and 65 minutes. That’s natural for that to happen.”. Prior to that fateful night, it only erupted every two to three minutes. The good news for tourists? “So it does fewer eruptions during the day, putting out more water in each one,” said Xanterra Historian Leslie Quinn. At the other end of the lake, the dam held. 1959 Earthquake forms Quake Lake West of Yellowstone. The Old Faithful Inn was full. If you want to see a long-lasting effect of the quake in Yellowstone, head to the Fountain Paint Pots area, in the lower Geyser Basin, near Old Faithful and look for Clepsydra Geyser . (The earthquake of 17-Aug-1959). The Hebgen Lake earthquake, as it came to be known, was a magnitude-7.5 event. - This Saturday night, at 11:35 p.m., will mark the 60th anniversary of the largest earthquake ever recorded in the Rocky Mountains. He was not the least bit frightened.“It took me a while till I realized the significance of the disaster here at the slide, for me to calm down a little bit,” he said.Some, like Irene Bennett and her son, the only survivors from a family of six, took decades to get over the trauma. Tour Quake Lake Visitor Center. Most have something in common. “It was quite loud.”, “The noise from the lake,” said Cunningham. They were, however, deemed to be inactive and to pose no danger to the reservoir. “And before long there was just a stream of cars coming in,” Owen said. Old Faithful has always remained just that - faithful. As a relatively contained body of water, the tremor induced great waves to oscillate on its surface for 12 hours, in what is called a seiche, or the lake-bound equivalent of a tsunami. The most spectacular effect of the quake was a huge slide from the south wall of the Madison River Canyon. And the tourists would return to what is now the most popular entrance to Yellowstone National Park. You know, some day Old Faithful should actually stop. In fact, a group of campers were trapped at the Indian Creek Campground for several days. Had heard about Quake Lake for a number of years. Back on Aug 17, 1959 a 7.5 earthquake triggered a massive landslide which dammed up the Madison River just below the Hebgen Lake dam. Photo: Horst Rademacher. The ground in the foreground, where the visitors stand, dropped by almost 20 feet in this normal fault earthquake Fearing the Hebgen Dam would burst after the quake, the owner of the resort where the Owen family was staying told his guests to flee to nearby high ground.“And before long there was just a stream of cars coming in,” Owen said.250 people made their way to what was later named Refuge Point.“Right about dawn, then Dad said, ‘Here take the camera, go take some pictures,’” Owen said.The massive landslide pushed a wave of air in front of it at 100 miles an hour. The Hebgen Lake Earthquake, more commonly known as the Madison River Canyon Earthquake, measured 7.3-7.5 on the Richter scale and was the largest earthquake in the Rocky Mountains at that time. But this was the road with the newly formed twelve foot cliff. His father told him it was an earthquake and then they heard something. If you go now, you will see it constantly erupting - it hasn’t stopped since Aug. 17, 1959. “This is one of the largest landslides in North America.”It left the picturesque canyon a wasteland.“In the morning it was like we were in a new world,” said Joanne Gartland, who was there that night and survived. Afterwards, 4.5 to five minutes. “There were cracks everywhere,” he said. Survivors recount when the 7.5 magnitude quake struck, The night the world shook: Remembering the 1959 Hebgen Lake Earthquake, The night the world shook - Part II: Waves and tremors at Hebgen Lake threaten dam, The night the world shook - III: '59 quake changed landscape, structures and more in Yellowstone, The night the world shook: Quake ended a way of life in West Yellowstone. “And he went over that, tipped the Cadillac upside down,” Yetter said. Fearing the Hebgen Dam would burst after the quake, the owner of the resort where the Owen family was staying told his guests to flee to nearby high ground. “There was no possible way that we could bring the truck back out, and we could see easily in some of the areas where the road was missing,” said Cunningham. Even sixty years after the Hebgen Lake earthquake, the fault scarp is clealy visible in the forest near Cabin Creek camp. Several geologic fault lines parallel the north shore of the lake. An inspection during the next few days showed that the dam was on the verge of collapse. Mid-August is usually the height of the tourist season in this area, so many campgrounds were full on the fateful night of August 17, 1959. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Gerry Yetter noticed the same thing where he lived on Duck Creek. Like ghosts these leafless trees stick out of Earthquake Lake sixty years after the lake was created by a giant landslide. 80 million tons of rock slid off a mountain blocking the river and created Earthquake or "Quake" Lake. And it hit hard. But, geologists were caught off guard on the evening of August 17, 1959, during the Hebgen Lake earthquake which would inevitably create a new lake on the Madison River following a landslide. At least four times the sloshing of the lake caused water to overtop Hebgen Dam, resulting in cracks and severe erosion. Trapped inside, the man broke a window to climb out. The next day, after people downstream of the dam, at Refuge Point had been rescued, a helicopter returned to pick up Brook and his dad. The earthquake was caused by the extensional tectonics — stretching of the crust from east to west — that characterize the American West and are best expressed in the Basin and Range province. The family had driven up from Ogden, Utah, to spend part of summer 1959 in Yellowstone. Before the quake, eruption intervals were between 60 and 65 minutes.  |  Hebgen Lake is a popular vacation spot near Yellowstone National Park. “The earthquake dropped the road about 12 to 15 feet straight (down), just a cliff,” said Yetter. The lake was created in 1914 when the Montana Power Company impounded the Madison River with the concrete-core Hebgen Dam. “We walked up to the memorial boulder and they pointed out where they were camped.  |, August 17, 2019  “Certainly the whole structure kinda swayed and then in the dining room part of the chimney fell through the roof onto the floor. But engineers, worried that it wouldn’t hold up to aftershocks, hired Yetter to keep an eye on it. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Categories:   Yetter’s wife, though injured herself, drove the man to the hospital in Bozeman. At the same time, the slide completely blocked the flow of the Madison River. Then the geothermal features in the park went wild. “And I had to go down and check the dam every hour to see if it was still there,” he said. So, the man who led his family to safety, in time, became his stepfather. 250 people made their way to what was later named Refuge Point. They’re still there, buried below a mountain of rubble.Owen did not suffer from traumatic stress. Some escaped and some suffered serious injuries. “Then an aftershock would hit and we’d both be in the center of the road rubbing together,” said Yetter. It soon inundated the cabins at Riverside Resorts. The massive 7.3 quake took 28 lives and changed the landscape just west of Yellowstone National Park along the Madison River.MTN News reached out to survivors of the event who remember that night and the days that followed. The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake [4] (also known as the 1959 Yellowstone earthquake [4]) occurred on August 17 [4] at 11:37 pm (MST) [5] in southwestern Montana, United States.The earthquake measured 7.2 on the Moment magnitude scale, [1] caused a huge landslide, resulted in over 28 fatalities and left US$11 million (equivalent to $ 96.48 million in 2019) in damage. “I had no idea what it was,” Cunningham said. “We don’t believe that earthquakes can get much larger in this region,” said Mike Stickney, Director of Earthquake Studies for Montana Tech in Butte.Books and articles have been written about the tragedy. A photo from Aug. 18, 1959, shows a cabin submerged a day after the earthquake. The expert then sent a warning over history repeating itself. “It’s also the geologic story,” said Girvin. Every summer, hundreds of sportfishermen flock to the lake, stay overnight in the dozens of campgrounds or the many cabins and resorts which dot the lake's shores. Eventually, John's father passed away, as did the wife of the resort owner. He continued: “The largest earthquake ever recorded happened near Hebgen Lake in 1959, and it … Today, Cunningham is host of the Cabin Creek Campground. Luckily it was nearly midnight, so no one was hurt.”. The massive 7.2-magnitude Hebgen Lake earthquake on August 17, 1959 is still affecting the Yellowstone National Park region, according to a team of … Even the park’s iconic geyser felt the quake. In fact, a beauty contest had entertained guests earlier in the evening. It hadn’t been open in decades, it was closed as soon as they had other roads opened and it would never open again.”. View of the Hebgen Lake Landslide which blocked the Madison River Canyon after the 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake. “And we’d let that go and a half an hour later another aftershock would hit and he’d be down in the ditch on that side and I’d be down in the ditch on the other side.”. Firehole Canyon Drive is a one-way scenic road today. A mother and one child who survived while her husband and three other children perished. Today in Earthquake History “He put his wife in the car and headed toward town.”. That earthquake, formally known as "The Hebgen Lake, Montana, earthquake of August 17, 1959", was widely publi-cized, and as a result of the public's keen interest in the geologic features formed during the earthquake, the Forest Service set aside the area of the bustling 1959 tourist season. On Aug. 17, 1959 the earth around Yellowstone shook. But he still knew what happened that night in the Madison River Canyon. Even today, sixty years after the disaster struck, Earthquake Lake fills the valley, with leafless ghost trees sticking out of its waters. Magnitude measurements of the earthquake varied from 7.3 to 7.8 placing it as one of the strongest earthquakes in North America and the most severe in the Rocky Mountain area. The epicenter of the quake was actually closer to the east end of the lake than to either the canyon where so many people were killed , or the dam at the west end of the lake. PART II: Waves and tremors at Hebgen Lake threaten dam. Kind of like water sloshing back and forth in a dishpan. Subscribe for $1/mo. Montana Many people from West Yellowstone went to work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help restore the river and repair roads and buildings. But some of the park’s west side roads did not. This temblor turned out to be a normal fault earthquake in which the lake-facing flank of the fault, which had been deemed “dormant”, dropped by almost 20 feet. It happened at at 11:37 pm in and almost instantly, the shaking triggered a … QUAKE LAKE, Mont. Director of Earthquake Studies for Montana Tech, either the canyon where so many people were killed. It is the strongest quake recorded in the Rocky Mountains. The slide, just downstream from here, sent debris and broken trees crashing right through the sleeping campers. Twenty-foot fault scarps that opened up that night are still visible, if grown over. These trees died after being inundated by the impounding of the Madison River. The 1959 Yellowstone earthquake [1] also known as the Hebgen Lake earthquake [1] was a powerful earthquake that occurred on August 17, 1959 [1] at 11:37 pm (MST) [2] in southwestern Montana.The earthquake was registered at magnitude 7.3 – 7.5 [3] on the Richter scale. Very often it is not a single instant but a chain of events which turn a rare natural occurrence into a devastating natural disaster. On August 17, 1959, at 11:37 PM, a 7.5 earthquake hit the popular Hebgen Lake, West Yellowstone and Rock Creek camping area. The earthquake had a particular effect on Hebgen Lake, which had been created along the Madison River with the creation of the Hebgen Dam. The rocks, the size of houses, came down with the slide landing on the far side of the canyon, in just a matter of seconds.“We don’t believe that earthquakes can get much larger in this region,” said Mike Stickney, Director of Earthquake Studies for Montana Tech in Butte.Books and articles have been written about the tragedy. More than 160 new geysers sprang to life. But visitors kept coming - just from other entrances. It was an aftershock,” he said.“The aftershocks would have been major earthquakes in their own right,” said Stickney.There were three aftershocks bigger than magnitude 6.5.“I’ve heard accounts the ground essentially didn’t stop trembling the night of the earthquake,” said Stickney. Before the quake those eruptions only lasted a minute and a half to two minutes. Owen’s family had been close friends with the owner of the resort where he was staying the night of the quake. When the quake hit, rocks fell on the road, closing it. It's severe ground shaking was the first blow, which struck the area. “Believe it or not, I was in the Loma Prieta earthquake also,” said Cunningham. The 1959 quake killed 28 people, most in the Madison River Canyon east of the lake. That’s a big wave that runs from one end of the lake to the other. Here is a picture of the scarp that appeared after the Hebgen Lake Earthquake: Credit: McGregor, K. Abston, Carl, U.S. Geological Survey. “The fireplace here kind of twisted on its axis, so that two of the four flues were blocked,” said Yellowstone National Park Historian, Alicia Murphy. A powerful earthquake that struck the Hebgen Lake area near Yellowstone National Park in 1959 also left a powerful mark on a 7-year-old boy who was asleep in his Idaho Falls home. As we approach the 60th anniversary of the M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which occurred on August 17th, 1959 at 11:37 PM (MST), it seems appropriate to discuss the effects of the earthquake on the region, and what we might expect if a similar sized event happens in the near future. This standing water wave is known by its French name as a seiche and has been observed in many lakes and reservoirs. The good news for tourists? Those waves built up, coming back and forth and back and eventually swept right over the top of the dam. While no buildings were lost to the 1959 quake, it was an eye opener for the park.“I think that really did impact how we manage our historic structures, as far as making sure that we go back and retrofit these buildings to protect them for the future,” said Murphy. “Overall, still puts about the same amount of water. Seeley grew up in this area but was half a world away when the quake hit. He bought land along the river, built a summer home and returns every year. The old riverbed of the Madison is now underneath the waters of Quake Lake. It caused the water in the 12000 acre lake to slosh back and forth for almost half a day. The havoc began shortly before midnight when visitors and locals alike were rudely awakened by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Some can still be seen, where the water left them in place locals call the Ghost Village. 28 people died in the event. It was the peak of the summer season in Yellowstone National Park - Aug. 17, 1959. The Air Force sent rescue helicopters to take out the seriously injured while a highway construction crew working to the east jumped into action.“And so, by late on the 18th [of August], there was a road, more or less, where cars could drive out,” said Owen.Fifteen year old John Owen was living an adventure. If you go now, you will see it constantly erupting - it hasn’t stopped since Aug. 17, 1959.The ‘59 quake damaged the tracks and caused $30,000 - $40,000 of damage to the train company’s dining hall. But Brooke says there’s no comparison. Photo: Horst Rademacher. It is a natural feature. “You know, it’s the human story to hear how some families were separated,” said Joanne Girvan, Director, Earthquake Lake Visitor Center .Stories like how three children survived but their parents were killed by a giant rock. The run-up of lake water on the shores drowned people who were sleeping in nearby cabins and huts. When it collapsed, 73 million metric tons of rocks and debris slid down the slope in one of the most massive landslides ever observed in the United States. “I’ve never even been in anything that was close to that.”. “You could actually hear the noise from the waves going back and forth.”. Prior to the 1960’s there were no significant attempts in measuring seismic activity in the Hebgen Lake area, however; this changed after the 1959 quake. Some time after that the lodge owner married John's mother. The tourists simply went away. PART III: '59 quake changed landscape, structures and more in Yellowstone National Park. But the lake itself was heavily affected by the 7.3 quake. Boulders the size of refrigerators shaken loose by the quake tumbled onto tents and trailers on the campground, immediately killing several visitors. They feature photos taken by John Owen, who was 15 at the time of the quake. US 287 follows the lake and offers glimpses of the effects of the earthquake and landslide, and a visitor center is just off the road. She escaped with minor injuries, but a guest in a cabin they rented was spooked. “And almost cut his arm off,” Yetter recalled. The Hebgen Lake earthquake—the largest and deadliest earthquake recorded in Montana and the Intermountain West—occurred at 11:37 p.m. (local time) on Monday, August 17, 1959. “We couldn’t walk anywhere.”. “There’s no question about it. The sudden drop of ground along the fault also caused the state highway on the north shore of the reservoir to collapse into the lake, blocking the only escape route to the east. By the time Union Pacific would make repairs, tourists were no longer arriving at West Yellowstone by train. This 190 feet (58 m) deep and 6 miles (9.7 km) long lake was indeed created after an earthquake that struck on August 17, 1959, killing 28 people. “Anything that we build now, we make sure that it is up to great standards for seismic activity.”. PART IV: Quake ended a way of life in West Yellowstone, “I think that really did impact how we manage our historic structures, as far as making sure that we go back and retrofit these buildings to protect them for the future,” said Murphy. Downstream of the dam, the blocked Madison River was rapidly forming Quake Lake. This is a worthwhile stop on the way to West Yellowstone and the West entrance to the National Park. However, less than six miles downstream from the dam, another side effect of the earthquake caused a much more severe and immediate problem. The shaking of the seismic waves mobilized the entire flank of a mountain on the south side of Madison River. “It lasted for a good minute,” said Brook Cunningham who was at the lake that fateful night. Quake Lake. It was very emotional, but it brought closure to her.”Under about 100 feet of water is the site of the old Rock Creek Campground. The quake's epicenter was located along the north shore of Hebgen Lake almost directly beneath Cabin Creek campground. At 11:37 p.m. a 7.3 magnitude earthquake devastated Hebgen Lake, Montana, located in Yellowstone’s northwestern region—in comparison, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti registered at a 7.0 magnitude. He radioed his report to another man south of Ennis who would then pass the message up the line. In August, 1959, he was camped on the north end of Hebgen Lake with his father when the ground started to shake. “It was 60 years ago, we tend to forget too.”. At least 19 people were buried alive in this giant slide. It was near midnight on August 17 th, 1959 when an earthquake near the Madison River triggered a massive landslide.The slide moved at 100 mph and in less than 1 minute, over 80 million tons of rock crashed into the narrow canyon, blocking the Madison River and forming Earthquake Lake. The Golden Gate area was blocked to the north and the Gibbon Falls area to the south. He and his wife had narrowly escaped from their home. One of the prime examples of how much havoc a sequence of events can cause took place sixty years ago today in the area around Hebgen Lake near Yellowstone National Park in southwestern Montana. But that 1959 earthquake did impact the geyser. Today, from the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center built by the US Forest Service on the remnants of the dramatic landslide, visitors can view the havoc created by the chain of events that began with the earthquake on August 17, 1959, and learn the story of how it changed the area forever. We also spoke with experts who explained the science behind the quake and the damage that occurred. It was the biggie.”. The inn, a 76-foot-high log structure was built in 1904 - long before earthquake standards were established. During the first few days after the earthquake, most springs began to clear, but several years passed before clearing was generally complete. Afterwards, 4.5 to five minutes. “Anything that we build now, we make sure that it is up to great standards for seismic activity.”. One of the prime examples of how much havoc a sequence of events can cause took place sixty years ago today in the area around Hebgen Lake near Yellowstone National Park in southwestern Montana. Gerry went out to block the road to prevent any more crashes. The Hebgen Lake earthquake—the largest and deadliest earthquake recorded in Montana and the Intermountain West—occurred at 11:37 p.m. (local time) on Monday, August 17, 1959. Fearing the Hebgen Dam would burst after the quake, the owner of the resort where the Owen family was staying told his guests to flee to nearby high ground. On the night of August 17, 1959 at 11:37 p.m. a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred near Hebgen Lake in Montana. “The chimney to the left sheared off and fell on the porch next to her,” said Yetter. It swept one man away, never to be found, and it ripped the clothing right off one survivor. But 19 people never made it out. The main residence of Hilgard Lodge is almost wholly submerged in Hebgen Lake after the Aug. 17, 1959, Yellowstone National Park … Old Faithful Inn survived. Most have something in common. To the west the only road in was under a 250 foot pile of debris, while to the east the road had disappeared into Hebgen Lake.“In the middle of the morning, a plane flies over and a couple of smoke jumpers come out,” recalled Owen.“It was like rescue from the sky,” said Girvin.The jumpers brought medical supplies, food and a radio, leading to one of John Owen’s most memorable photos.“One guy’s taking a real careful step, but in the background, the mountain over here, there’s dust falling down. “And before … The scar of the slide is still visible on the mountain flank in the rear. The dining hall fireplace was repaired immediately in 1959. The slide – the third blow in the chain of events that fateful night - also wiped out the state highway to the west, effectively trapping the hundreds of campers and locals in the area of devastation. - The Hebgen Lake earthquake is the largest recorded earthquake in Montana's history. He was in a vacation cabin with his family that night and still remembers being jolted awake. Before the quake those eruptions only lasted a minute and a half to two minutes. “Well, of course, sure we get these shocks and people worry about that, but not too much, you know,” said Seeley. Hebgen Lake stretches for approximately 14 miles. The Campground, immediately killing several visitors verge of collapse was blocked to the reservoir from other entrances upside. Determined they had enough food to last until those roads could be opened August 17, 1959.. When a mountain on the Campground, immediately killing several visitors t going anywhere to in. 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