Earthquake Lake, commonly referred to as “Quake Lake” in the area, was created in 1959 when a massive landslide, caused by a 7.5 Mag earthquake at a depth of only 125 feet plugged the Madison River. This was just west of the manmade Hebgen damn that created Hebgen Lake. Unfortunately, twenty-eight people lost their lives in the Valley.
Your still able to see the dead trees that were once on dry land, just incredible! It’s scenes like these that really hit home, You can see the devastation of the area.
The area is so beautiful, it’s sad that the beauty is scoured due to the loss of life. Those poor souls, didn’t know what hit them as this happened during the night.
The Army Corps of Engineers came in the next day to start rescue and fix the natural dam. They did not want the natural dam to burst, as the new lake’s water levels kept rising in the days and weeks after the event. So, they created a new channel for the Madison River to flow. Absolutely incredible work, when you're at the interpretive site, your standing on the remnants of the mountain, It’s just beyond words! It was very impactful, when looked at that way.
Walking Trails…
There are many walking trails that incorporate educational plaques to help you better understand what took place here. Highly recommend you at least walk the easy “paved” trails up to the Memorial Boulder.
The Stone pathways are a bit steep and uneven for those people who have trouble with that sort of thing, Keep that in mind. I would recommend walking these unpaved outer trails, if you can. You get some really unique vantage points of Earthquake Lake and the land slide area.
I would not recommend taking small children on the stone outer trails, there are unprotected drop-offs. Though, I love the fact that they left these walking trails as rugged as they are, It further drives home, that you are walking on what used to be a mountain. I hope this never changes.
With that said, there are easier paved walking trails for you to walk and get equally stunning views of the lake and slide area. You don’t get the impact of it though until you walk on the debris of the slide.
The Landslide…
A Memorial to those who lost their lives…
This is the Memorial Boulder that is to remember those 28 souls who lost their lives during the event.
