Imagine you’re sitting outside admiring the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, then, in the blink of an eye, eighty million tons of rock are coming straight at you at a hundred miles per hour. That is, unfortunately, the fate of 28 lives, but also the birth of Quake Lake.
Quake Lake is very unique to Yellowstone, although it resides just outside of the national park, in Idaho. On August 17th, 1959, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Hebgen Lake in Montana. This resulted in 80 million tons of rock sliding down the mountain into a narrow canyon, effectively blocking Madison River and creating a 170-foot-deep lake called Earthquake Lake, Quakelake for short. This earthquake caused $11 million worth of damage and is considered the second-worst earthquake on record in the lower 48 states.
Today there are spots where tourists can go and visit to learn about tectonic plates, and Quake Lake is a prime fishing spot for many locals.