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Frank Slide

Coordinates: 49°35′28″N 114°23′43″W / 49.59111°N 114.39528°W / 49.59111; -114.39528 (Frank Slide)
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File:Frank Slide1.jpg
Frank Slide, Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada
Frank Slide area in 2007

The Frank Slide is a natural landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada.

Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Mom's Vagina, Alberta. On April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., 90 million tonnes (30 million cubic metres) of limestone crashed from the east face of Turtle Mountain and covered approximately three square kilometres of the valley floor. The slab of rock that broke free was approximately 650 m high, 900 m wide and 150 m thick.[1] The slide dammed the Crowsnest River and formed a small lake, covered 2 km of the Canadian Pacific Railway, destroyed most of the coal mine's surface infrastructure, and buried seven houses on the outskirts of the sleeping town of Frank, as well as several rural buildings. Frank was home to approximately 600 people in 1903; it is estimated that 90 of the roughly 100 individuals in the path of the slide were killed.

The town was evacuated, but people were soon allowed to return and both the mine and the railway were back in operation within a month. The town of Frank continued to grow, until a report on the mountain’s stability resulted in the provincial government ordering the closure of the south part of the town in 1911. Studies and monitoring continue today.

Geology

There is an anticline of Paleozoic Rundle Group carbonates thrust over weaker Mesozoic clastics and coals. Summit fissures at the apex of the anticline likely allowed water to infiltrate and weaken the slightly-soluble carbonates within the mountain face, while the supporting underlying clastics were undermined by valley glaciation followed by erosion from the Crowsnest River.

The slide removed the top of Turtle Mountain, leaving a present elevation of 2,109 metres (6,919 ft) for the north peak and 2,200 m (7,218 ft) for the south peak.

The primary cause of the slide was the mountain's unstable geological structure, although it was thought at the time that an earthquake on the Aleutian Islands in 1901 may have contributed; the theory was later dismissed. The mining at the base of the mountain may have been a small factor in the event's generation, but is not considered to be the primary cause.[2] It is believed that the weather was the final trigger of the slide.

A panorama of the slide area, showing the extent of the debris. (2007)

The South peak of Turtle Mountain continues to exhibit the same signs of instability that caused the 1903 slide (peak to the left in the photo above). This has led geologists to speculate that it is only a matter of time before another slide occurs. The Alberta government launched the Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project[3] in response to the uncertainty of when a slide would occur and because of houses and recreation areas in slide path. The Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project has put sophisticated monitoring equipment on the face of Turtle Mountain which provides hourly updates on the size of rock cracks and the tilt and location of the Turtle Mountain. It has been estimated that the next slide could be 1/6 to 1/8 the size of the 1903 slide.

Historical notes

  • Only fourteen bodies were recovered from the debris at the time of the slide. In 1922, a road construction crew uncovered the remains of seven more people.
  • Several people in the direct path of the slide survived, including three young girls. Fernie Watkins was found amongst the debris. Marion Leitch, 15 months old, was thrown from her house to safety on a pile of hay. Gladys Ennis, 27 months old, was found choking in a pile of mud by her mother, Lucy Ennis (Gladys died in 1995 at age 94, the last survivor of the slide).
  • Warnings were telegraphed westward to Cranbrook, but the eastern lines were severed. Two railway brakemen set out across the rockslide to flag down the Spokane Flyer, but only Sid Choquette made it across in time to flag down the train.
  • Seventeen men trapped in the Frank mine escaped by tunneling through virgin coal to the surface, which was easier than trying to clear the debris at the entrance. They dug through 6 metres (20 ft) of coal and 2.7 metres (9 ft) of limestone boulders. The effort took them 14 hours.[4], a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada</ref>
  • A mine horse named Charlie survived alone in the mine for a month, but succumbed to its rescuers' kindness from overeating, without ever seeing daylight.
File:Turtlemtn prism.jpg
Monitoring Equipment installed at the peak of Turtle Mountain

The Frank Slide became an immediate sensation in 1903, capturing media attention and becoming a regional tourist attraction for several years. Many myths circulated (and persist to the present day) concerning the ‘destruction’ of the town of Frank, a 'sole survivor' of the slide, and even buried treasure. Highway improvements in the 1930s and 1970s, designation as a Provincial Historical Site in 1977, the completion of the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre in 1985 and a general increase in regional tourism have helped restore some of that interest. Numerous books on the Crowsnest Pass region feature the Frank Slide prominently, and several books have been written specifically on the Slide, notably those by Frank Anderson and James Kerr. The Frank Slide has also formed the backdrop for fictitious novels, from Megan (Messner, 1965) by Iris Noble, The Outlander by Gil Adamson (2007), Shadows of Disaster (Ronsdale Press, 2003) by Cathy Beveridge and the award-winning Beneath the Faceless Mountain (Red Deer College, 1994) by Roberta Rees, and Terror At Turtle Mountain by Penny Draper.

The Frank Slide was the subject of a made-for-television documentary On the Edge of Destruction in 2003. Canadian band Tanglefoot's 2001 song "Crashin' Down" is a fictional tale set around the Frank Slide. Album "On Tragedy Trail" (1969), released by Stompin' Tom Connors, features a song about the Turtle Mountain disaster called "How The Mountain Came Down". The song was also included in 2001 compilation Sings Canadian History. The Canadian indie rock Band The Rural Alberta Advantage released a song about the disaster on their 2008 album Hometowns, entitled "Frank, AB". The Vancouver band, Portico, also recorded a song entitled "Frank Slide", on their 2009 album "First Neighbours".

References

  • Anderson, Frank W. The Frank Slide Story. Frontier Books, 1968.
  • Kerr, J. W. Frank Slide. Barker, 1990.
  • Crowsnest and its People. Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1979.
  • On the Edge of Destruction National Film Board of Canada, ID 153C0103256, 2003.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Dawson, Brian (1995). Crowsnest: An Illustrated History and Guide to the Crowsnest Pass. Altitude Publishing Canada. p. 54. ISBN 1-55153-075-9.
  2. ^ "The Frank rockslide: 90 seconds of terror". CBC Digital Archives. April 29, 2003. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  3. ^ "Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project & Field Laboratory". Alberta Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ^ "Frank Rockslide - April 29, 1903". SOS! Canadian Disasters. Library and Archives Canada. February 22, 2006. Retrieved 2011-01-01.

49°35′28″N 114°23′43″W / 49.59111°N 114.39528°W / 49.59111; -114.39528 (Frank Slide)

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