Frank Slide In Alberta Canada

The Frank Slide: Alberta’s Deadliest Rockslide In the early hours of April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., the sleeping mining town of Frank, Alberta was forever changed.
A massive 110 million tonnes of limestone broke loose from Turtle Mountain and thundered down the slope in under 100 seconds. The rockslide buried the eastern edge of the town, the Canadian Pacific Railway line, and part of the coal mine in one of Canada’s largest and deadliest landslides.  Frank Slide 

The human cost 
Of the roughly 600 people living in Frank, more than 100 were directly in the path of the slide. Between 70 and 90 lives were lost — most remain buried beneath the enormous debris field to this day. Only 23 people in the affected area survived, along with 17 miners who were trapped underground but managed to dig themselves out.  

Why it happened 
Turtle Mountain was geologically unstable. A combination of the mountain’s fractured rock layers, years of coal mining, a wet winter, and a freezing night likely triggered the catastrophe.
Today the massive grey scar and boulder field at Frank Slide stand as a powerful and haunting reminder of nature’s force and the resilience of early Albertans. The site is now home to the excellent Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, where you can learn the full story.

A quick but unforgettable piece of Canadian history — one that still echoes through the Crowsnest Pass.  KassDays 

Frank Slide in Alberta

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