In 1903, 110 million tonnes of rock fell on a sleeping Canadian town in two minutes; even now, part of Frank remains buried beneath the mountain

In just two minutes, an estimated 110 million tonnes of rock changed the town of Frank, Alberta, forever.

In the early hours of April 29, 1903, rock slipped from the eastern side of Turtle Mountain and fell onto the sleeping town and the valley below. Those awakened by the chaos heard a sound compared with steam howling under high pressure. The noise was reportedly heard as far away as Cochrane, Alberta, about 200 kilometres from Frank.

When the slide came to a halt, around three square kilometres of the valley had been buried. Homes, cottages, work camps, farms and businesses were covered by debris about 14 metres deep, reaching as much as 45 metres in some places, as per a report. More than 120 years later, part of Frank remains beneath the rock.

Canada's deadliest landslide

The collapse split Turtle Mountain into two peaks and became known as the Frank Slide. It remains the deadliest landslide in Canadian history. The number of people killed is still uncertain, with estimates ranging from about 70 to more than 90, as per a Canadian Geographic report. Only 18 bodies were recovered.

Today, giant chunks of limestone still line the highway built through the rubble. Pull-outs along the road allow visitors to stop and see the site where the slide came to rest.

The area is now a designated burial ground and a provincial historical landmark. The Frank Slide Interpretive Centre educates visitors about the disaster, and more than 50,000 people visited the centre in 2022.

The mountain that moves

Turtle Mountain had long been known for its instability. The Blackfoot and Kutenai Peoples called it “the mountain that moves” and would not camp near it, as per the Canadian Geographic report.

Since the 1930s, geologists from the Alberta Geological Survey have monitored the mountain, measuring fissure growth, tracking shifts in the rock and identifying potential danger zones.

Geologists say another landslide will eventually occur. They expect it to be much smaller than the 1903 Frank Slide and do not believe it will happen soon, unless an earthquake changes conditions.

Life continued after the disaster

Many residents stayed in Frank, and the coal mine reopened within weeks. The urgent need for construction and repair workers helped the town's population grow to almost 1,200 by 1906. Five years after the slide, however, a study determined that Turtle Mountain still posed a landslide risk.

The provincial government ordered all buildings in the potential impact zone to be moved to a new townsite across the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks or destroyed.

The Imperial Hotel, built in 1902 and the heart of Frank, was moved more than 100 kilometres away to Vulcan, Alberta, where it remains.

Eventually, the mine closed, the population declined and Frank amalgamated with four nearby towns to form the Crowsnest Pass municipality.

Today, the Frank Industrial Park occupies the original 1901 townsite at the base of Turtle Mountain.

Growing up among the rocks

Bruce Kutcher has called Frank home for more than seven decades. His grandparents immigrated to the area around 1920.

As a child, Kutcher scrambled across the rocks, played tag and jumped from boulder to boulder. He said, “Instead of a sandbox to play in, we had Frank Slide,” as quoted by Canadian Geographic.