One great day trip in Southern Alberta, in the Crowsnest Pass, is the Frank Slide. The town of Frank, Alberta, was a mining town in the early 1900's. Approximately 600 residents were sleeping, and there were miners in the coal mine at the bottom of Turtle Mountain, when in the early morning hours of April 29, 1903, a massive chunk if rock broke away and tumbled down the mountain. As it fell, it broke apart leaving a mass of destruction in its path.
Some people living on the outskirts of Frank were killed in the landslide. The entrance to the mine was blocked, but the miners were able to dig themselves out.
The rubble that was strewn across the base of Turtle Mountain was left as is, and the side of the mountain remains as it was over 100 years ago after the slide happened. Visitors can walk around the area on a 1.5km pathway to view the damage. There are signs along the highway and around the Visitor Centre that tell the story of Frank and the Frank Slide. The Visitor Centre also offers an interpretive tour that offers more information about the area and the Frank Slide.
For more information, visit: http://history.alberta.ca/frankslide/
~Angie
