On Thanksgiving morning I got up early to drive out to Earthquake Lake outside of West Yellowstone, Montana and (hopefully) catch some nice clouds and colors from the sunrise. Things worked out quite nicely, as you can see! It was a cold morning with the temperature hovering right around zero degrees, but the beautiful view was worth the cold. Earthquake Lake is very unique. It was formed from an earthquake on August 17, 1959 that caused a massive landslide which blocked the flow of the Madison River and created the lake. The earthquake measured 7.3 - 7.5 on the Richter scale.
Fearing that the pressure from the rising water would cause a flood, the Army Corps of Engineers cut a 250 foot wide and 14 foot deep channel into the slide. By September 10th water was flowing through the slide. To prevent more erosion another channel was cut, this one 50 feet wide and was completed on October 29th. It is definitely one of the most unique features in the West Yellowstone area.
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