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Bellevue UndergroundMine Tour | Burmis Tree | Hillcrest Mine Disaster and Memorial Cemetery | Leitch Collieries
Frank Slide and Memorial Grave | Frank Slide Interpretive Centre | Crowsnest Art Gallery
Crowsnest Museum |
Frank Slide and Memorial graveDetails | History
The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre highlights the rich history of the Crowsnest Pass amid the breathtaking beauty of the Canadian Rockies. Visitors can experience a variety of interpretive programs, presentations and special events. A feature "Edge of Destruction" tells the human story of the Frank Slide event and is shown daily.
Crowsnest Pass, Alberta,
Canada, DetailsType of Attraction:
Historic attraction, Natural attractions
| Event Directions:
Located 90 km west of Fort Macleod, 27 km east of the British Columbia border. |
HistoryOn April 29, 1903, at 4:10 am, 82 million tonnes (30 million cubic metres) of limestone crashed from the summit of Turtle Mountain and buried a portion of the sleeping town of Frank. The dimensions of the rock mass that fell are 150 metres (500 feet) deep, 425 metres (1,400 feet) high and one kilometre (3,280 feet) wide. The mechanism of movement that enabled the rockslide-avalanche to spread over 3 square kilometres (1.2 square miles) of the valley in less than 100 seconds has been the subject of considerable discussion.
At daylight, the inhabitants of Frank and area scrambled onto boulders and viewed a grey rocky landscape swirling with dust. The main part of the town was intact, but the mine entrance and mine buildings were buried. Seventeen miners trapped inside performed an astonishing self-rescue. They tunnelled upwards and broke through the surface on the face of the mountain. Out of 600 people in Frank, 100 were in the path of the slide. Cottages at the east end of town were crushed; amazingly 23 people in that area survived. Out of approximately 70 people killed, only 12 bodies were recovered. A memorial grave is located at the west end of the old road through the Frank Slide. A little further west of there, building foundations of the former town, and a lone rusting fire hydrant are visible. The mine re-opened and continued working until 1917. The town of Frank gradually moved north, to its present location and a 1911 Royal Commission report warned that another slide was possible.  The primary cause of the Frank Slide was the mountain's unstable structure. Underground coal mining, water action in summit cracks and severe weather conditions may have contributed to the disaster. There are several theories to explain how the debris was able to travel such a distance from the mountain, but most scientists accept that the material flowed like a thick liquid.
The Frank Slide is a landscape feature of unique geologic and historic interest. It is known to earth scientists from around the world. Three generations of geology students have read and studied pictures of the slide and many of them have visited the site. Most recently, monitoring equipment has been set up which monitors the mountain's movements, which can be viewed at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. For more information on the Frank Slide, visit the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. "Edge of Destruction", an HDTV moviecan be seen daily at the Centre.
Phone (403) 562-7388; Fax (403) 562-8635 | 
