Quake Lake

On August 17th, 1959, as families camped along the Madison River in Southwest Montana the unspeakable happened. A 7.5 earthquake shook the region causing a landslide that in less than one minute, dammed the Madison River and caused the area to fill with water, creating a lake.

It is estimated that 40-50 families were camping at the time of the trajedy. 28 people lost their lives that night, 19 of which were buried alive and their bodies never found.