The Seismic Shake that Shaped this Lake
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 51.326 W 111° 23.685
12T E 468809 N 4966966
Gallatin National Forest sign about the August 17, 1959 earthquake and the resulting changes to the area.
Waymark Code: WMCRAP
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/06/2011
Views: 6
Gallatin National Forest sign about the August 17, 1959 earthquake and the resulting changes to the area. The sign is located at a large turnout on U.S. Hwy. 287 at about mile point 5.7 in the Madison River Canyon Earthquake Area.
Text of Sign:
Imagine . . . in a blink of your eye
. . . you feel the earth rumble beneath your feet
. . . you watch 80 million tons of rock, half a mountain, crashing down
. . . and then the water begins to rise by your campsite
At 11:37 p.m. on Aug. 17, 1959 a 7.5 earthquake shook this area and triggered a massive landslide. Rushing currents of the Madison River were blocked and churned behind the massive rock dam created by the slide. The water rose quickly submerging Rock Creek Campground by 6:30 a.m. the following morning. The landscape instantly changed, lives were lost, and a lake formed. The eerie trees you see in the middle of the lake are reminders of the dynamic forces which formed Earthquake Lake.
Over three miles of former U.S. Highway 287 are under Earthquake Lake and landslide debris. A new road now exists along the north shore. Look for a spillway channel at the end of the lake going through the slide. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hurriedly cut the spillway through the slide to avert a possible flood downstream.
Describe the area and history:
The sign is located at a large turnout on U.S. Hwy. 287 at about mile point 5.7 in the Madison River Canyon Earthquake Area, a geologic special interest area on the Gallatin National Forest.
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