Frank Slide and Turtle Mountain

The Town of Frank

In the early 1900s, many coal mining towns were established throughout the Crowsnest Pass region of the Northwest Territories, which would later become the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

One of the first of these coal mines was developed by American entrepreneurs Sam Gebo and Henry Frank [1]. Located at the base of Turtle Mountain the town of Frank sprang up to support the mine with its first buildings being constructed on an area of flat land between the mine at the base of the mountain and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line that ran through the pass [1].

The town’s grand opening happened on September 10, 1901. Presided over by Henry Frank, the celebration was an all-day event which included sporting competitions, tours of the coal mine, a banquet, and a dance [1]. Two special train cars were brought in to support this event. One was to bring in gourmet food for the day and the banquet, including a substantial amount of ice cream. The second car was to bring in the guests, which included the first premier of the Northwest Territories, Frederick W. A. G. Haultain and his public works minister [1].

Frank was the first incorporated town in the Crowsnest Pass and by 1903 served over 1000 people. The town included two dozen businesses and services, a two-story brick school, and a regional post office [1].

The Slide

The Frank Slide is the deadliest and largest in Canadian history. It occurred on April 29^th, 1903 at 4:10AM [1,2]. The block of rock that fell from the east face of Turtle Mountain was estimated to be over one kilometre wide and fell at speeds over 70 kilometres per hour. Overall, more than 44 million cubic metres of limestone fell and left rockfall covering an area of three-square kilometres on the valley floor [1,2].

Contrary to popular belief, the town of Frank was not actually situated in the path of the rockfall. However, several buildings on the outskirts of town were and the slide destroyed seven houses, a ranch, some commercial buildings, all surface operations of the coal mine, and about 2km of the CPR line [1]. Of the 600 people living in Frank at the time, approximately 100 of these were in the path of the slide. It is estimated that about 90 people were killed, but because the bodies could not be recovered from under 45 metres of rock, the exact number will never be known [2]. An additional 23 people were living in the buildings destroyed by the slide and survived, while 17 miners were trapped inside the mine from the rockfall and had to dig themselves out [2].

The slide’s primary cause was the unstable geology of Turtle Mountain. Referred to as “the mountain that moves” by Indigenous Blackfoot and Kuetani peoples, scientists say that Turtle Mountain was inevitably going to slide, and it was just a matter of when [2].

The primary geological reason is derived from a large thrust fault that ran through the middle of the mountain, called the Turtle Mountain Thrust Fault [2]. As the surface of the mountain was subjected to natural erosion and weathering processes, more water and ice could enter the fault and increase erosion inside of the mountain. This eventually led to a split through the middle of the mountain’s geology that allowed for the east face to cleave off [2].

Further analysis by geologists indicated that the coal mine at the base of the mountain contributed to its instability, and perhaps speed up the processes that lead to the slide. However, this was still a secondary contributing factor and the primary cause of the slide was the natural geology of the mountain and the disaster would have eventually happened with or without the mining operations below [2].

The Aftermath

When the slide happened, Frank was evacuated but residents were allowed to return shortly after and within a month both the mine and railway were both back in full operation. Some residents moved away, but the town continued to grow [1,2]. As the population expanded, there was no room for the town to develop in its original location and “New Frank” took root to the northwest across the CPR tracks [2].

The geological stability of Turtle Mountain remained under scrutiny, however. In 1911, a Royal Commission of scientists determined that the north peak of Turtle Mountain was unstable and a threat to the townsite below. The provincial government decided that to be safe, all of the remaining buildings from “Old Frank” should be relocated to the site of “New Frank,” which was far enough away from the mountain to be safer. All of the original buildings from Frank were relocated and some were moved to other towns in the Crowsnest Pass, while the Imperial Hotel was relocated all the way to Vulcan, Alberta [2].

In more recent years, Turtle Mountain has continued to be monitored and studied by geologists; it has been determined that the north peak is unlikely to produce a landslide of any significant volume.

Frank Slide Today

Today, Frank is a quiet residential community of about 200 people, and is part of the larger Crowsnest Pass municipality. In 1977 the Frank Slide was designated as a Provincial Heritage Site, and on April 28^th, 1985 the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre was opened [1].

This site receives over 1,000 visitors annually. Turtle Mountain continues to be monitored by geologists and it is likely that it will be the site of more major rockslides in the future [2].

Notes:

This site is located on Treaty 7 Territory of Southern Alberta, which is the traditional and ancestral territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy: Kainai, Piikani and Siksika as well as the Tsuu T’ina Nation and Stoney Nakoda First Nation. This territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis Homeland. We acknowledge the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on or are visiting.

[1] Discover Crowsnest Heritage. 2010. Frank. Electronic document, http://www.crowsnestheritage.ca/history/frank/, accessed on August 5, 2020.

[2] Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. 2020. Learn. Electronic document, https://frankslide.ca/learn, accessed on August 5, 2020.

All historical images were sourced from the Glenbow Archives. Modern images have been sourced from Atlas Obscura, Wikipedia, Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, and Alberta Southwest.