The Frank Slide was a massive rockslide that occurred at 4:10 a.m. on April 29, 1903, at Turtle Mountain near the mining town of Frank in what is now Alberta, Canada. In just 100 seconds, an estimated 44 million cubic meters (110 million tonnes) of limestone rock broke loose, burying part of Frank, the Canadian Pacific Railway line, the coal mine, and a section of the surrounding valley[1][2][3].
The slide destroyed several cottages, businesses, ranches, and a 2-kilometer stretch of road and railway, killing between 70 and 90 people, making it the deadliest landslide in Canadian history[1][2][4]. Many victims remain buried beneath the rocks, as only a handful of bodies were ever recovered[1]. Remarkably, 17 miners trapped inside the mountain managed to dig their way out after being entombed for 13 hours[1][4].
The immediate causes of the Frank Slide have been widely debated. The primary contributing factor was the unstable geological formation of Turtle Mountain: layers of hard limestone rested atop softer materials, and extensive fissures allowed water to seep into the core. Other factors included coal mining operations that might have weakened the slope, a very wet winter, melting snow, and a severe cold snap that led to freeze-thaw cycles further destabilizing the rock mass. Local Indigenous oral traditions referred to Turtle Mountain as “the mountain that moves,” indicative of long-standing concerns about its stability[1][4].
The aftermath brought significant change to the community. Although Frank was not entirely destroyed, fear of further slides led to portions of the population and infrastructure relocating. Mine operations resumed shortly after the disaster but ceased permanently in 1917. The slide remains an important subject of geological study due to its scale and impact on disaster preparedness in Canada. Today, the site is a major historic and educational destination, commemorated at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre[1][3][4].
Aftermath of the Frank Slide showing the rock debris field and scar on Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada.
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide
- https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-1903-frank-slide-in-the-shadow-of-the-mountain/
- https://frankslide.ca
- https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11500
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