Frank Slide Interpretive Centre

The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre is located on the site of the FRANK SLIDE, in the municipality of CROWSNEST PASS, Alta. On 29 April 1903 part of Turtle Mountain broke away and slid through part of the mining community of Frank. There is still considerable controversy over the cause of the slide. Some believe unsafe mining practices contributed to the slide, while others believe it was simply a natural disaster. Whatever the cause, some 70 people died in the slide, which left millions of tonnes of rock strewn across the Crowsnest River Valley.

The Frank Slide Centre interprets more than the slide, however. Open year round, it introduces visitors to the fascinating history of the coal-mining communities of the Crowsnest Pass. In addition the centre has several interpretive trails and can introduce visitors to other historic sites in the area like the Bellevue Mine, Hillcrest Cemetery, where the victims of Canada's worst mining accident are buried, or the abandoned townsite of Lille.

Author DEBORAH WELCH and MICHAEL PAYNE

Links to Other Sites
Frank Slide Interpretive Centre
This site highlights programs and events at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. Also a brief account of the Frank Slide.

Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project & Field Laboratory
About the Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project, which involves geological studies related to the development of an avalanche early warning system in the South Peak area. Check out the stunning Turtle Mountain web cams, slide show, and videos. Also provides an illustrated overview of key equipment used in this project. An Alberta Geological Survey website.

The 1903 Frank Slide, Alberta, Canada : A Review Of One Hundred Years Of Investigation
A brief academic article about the geological forces responsible for the Frank Slide and similar phenomena (a pdf file). From the European Geophysical Society.

The Mountain That Moves
An illustrated article about the monitoring of geological activity in Turtle Mountain. From the University of Calgary "OnCampus Weekly.”

The Canadian Register of Historic Places
Canada is home to a vast array of fascinating historical sites. Many of them are illustrated and described in this searchable online database of Canadian historic places that are of local, provincial, territorial, and national significance.