What) Frank, Alberta was a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass. On April 29, 1903, at 4:10am, 90 million tonnes (30 million cubic metres) of limestone crashed down from the east face of Turtle Mountain and covered approximately three square kilometres of the valley floor. The slab of rock that broke free was approximately 650m high, 900m wide and 150m thick. The slide dammed the Crowsnest River and formed a small lake, covered 2km of the Canadian Pacific Railway, destroyed most of the coal mine's surface infrastructure, and buried seven houses on the outskirts of the sleeping town of Frank, as well as several rural buildings. Frank was home to approximately 600 people in 1903; it is estimated that 90 of the roughly 100 individuals in the path of the slide were killed.

    Several people in the direct path of the slide survived.  Marion Leitch, 15 months old, was thrown from her house to safety on a pile of hay. Gladys Ennis, 27 months old, was found choking in a pile of mud by her mother, (Gladys died in 1995 at age 94, the last survivor of the slide). Seventeen men trapped in the Frank mine escaped by tunneling through virgin coal to the surface, which was easier than trying to clear the debris at the entrance. They dug through 6 metres (20 ft) of coal and 2.7 metres (9 ft) of limestone boulders. The effort took them 14 hours. (1)

    Why) I have driven by here several times over the years and every time I stop and stand in the rubble it gives me chills.  These massive blocks of rock are so big and powerful compared to human bodies.  To imagine them flying through the air is ...