50th Anniversary of Earthquake Lake

On August 17, 2009, it will have been 50 years since the earthquake happened near Yellowstone. Come along with us as we visit the site…We drove out Hwy 191 and turned on Hwy 287 and entered the Gallatin National Forest

We drove up to the visitor center, watched a short movie, Zachary and Lauren checked

the seismograph meter and then we started our self guided tour.

This is

the mountain that all the rock slid from.

Across the road is the

boulder that rode the slide down the mountain across the river and road, and about half way up the mountain on the other side. Today it is a memorial to the ones that lost lives in the earthquake. You can almost see where you think this boulder would fit back on the top of the mountain.

This is a

look from the top of the memorial rock to the valley that lies below and to the other direction

is Earthquake Lake, which was formed in the aftermath of the quake.

This the

spillway. With time, they say that the waters from Earthquake Lake will all drain back into the river and the lake will once again be only a riverbed.

The

kids had fun playing by the river and

learned from Poppa how to skip rocks on the water.

As we continued on our tour…we drove back to the spot

where the rubble of house are still evident today.

We also visited the area that is known today as

ghost village. It is were houses were washed down stream and thrown up on the river banks.

However, today, almost 50 years later, we see the beauty that this quake left.

Hebgen Lake lies at the foot of the mountains,

Earthquake Lake reminded me of the power of nature, and the

beauty of the flowers that were blooming everywhere in the area reminded me that everyday is precious and that none of us know what tomorrow will bring...