The first and only time I had been through the Crowsnest Pass was in 1967.  That was a lot of years ago.  I did not appreciate the history of the area.  I do remember having a photo taken beside a big boulder at the Frank Slide site.  Since that time, an interpretive centre has been built there.  Visitors can stop and learn about the slide.

I did not have the opportunity to stop in during my weekend road trip but the Centre is definitely on the to-do list for the future.  I cannot imagine what the scene was like on April 29, 1903 when Turtle Mountain came tumbling down.  The landslide is said to have lasted 90 seconds and could be heard up to 200 kilometers away.  It fell under the cover of darkness when the residents of Frank were tucked in their beds.

The boulders at the slide site lay strewn on either side of the highway and either side of the rail line.  Some of them have been defaced with graffiti.  Trees are growing in between the rocks.

As I drove through the area looking at the slide site, I was in awe of the power exerted by Mother Nature.  



http://www.history.alberta.ca/frankslide/frankslidestory/frankslidestory.aspx