Earthquake Visitors’ Center
August 4, 2007
The mid Saturday of camp is a confusing time of us two-weekers, what with all the first weekers leaving, and the second weekers coming in. So, it’s a good idea to get out of camp for at least a couple of hours that day. I hopped on my bike late in the morning and headed over the the Visitors’ Center at the earthquake dam, a visit Jan J. had been pushing on campers all week. There, after paying the $1 bicycle entrance fee (vs. $3 for cars), I watched the film on the August 17, 1959 quake and viewed the various exhibits around the center. The 7.5 magnitude quake late that night caused the dolomite buttress that was holding the mountain together to fail, resulting in a massive slide that filled the valley to a depth of about 300 ft., and pushed huge dolomite boulders up the far (north) side of the valley. One such boulder is now “Memorial Rock”, dedicated to the 28 (or 29?) who died as a direct result of that quake.
Slide area
Typical unstable soil in the road cut above the highway
What remains of the Dolomite buttress that held the mountain together before the
earthquake
Earthquake Visitors’ Center, and Earthquake Lake
Memorial Rock
Spillway that was dug out in the months following the quake. It's expected that
the lake will drain completely and be gone in about 100 years
photos by Wayne Deeter