Uncategorized
Earthquake Lake Visitor Center back after major renovations
Published
10 years agoon
Grand re-opening is Memorial Weekend
By Emily Wolfe Explore Big Sky Managing Editor
HEBGEN LAKE – JoAnn Smith Gartland and her family woke at midnight, their camper shaking violently. Earthquake.
With potential for Hebgen Lake Dam to collapse, they piled into their ’57 Chevy and drove the opposite direction, west from Beaver Creek Campground along the Madison River.
“You couldn’t see a thing,” Gartland, 65, recalls of that night 54 years ago. “We couldn’t figure out why it was so dusty. It was hard to breathe. Then we ran into a huge boulder in the road and couldn’t go any farther.”
Her father turned off the pavement, drove uphill as far as he could and parked. A Scotsman, he always had a bottle of whiskey, so he gave them all a swig. Gartland was 11 at the time; her sister 7. Aftershocks continued as the family scrambled to higher ground. The night was cold, and Gartland remembers hearing cries for help far below them.
Morning lit the wreckage: A massive rockslide had buried two campgrounds under 80 million tons of rock and dammed the river.
This spot, 27 miles northwest of West Yellowstone, Montana, was 17 miles west of the epicenter of the Hebgen Lake Earthquake. Measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, the earthquake also caused smaller landslides in Yellowstone National Park, shaking seven other states.
Sitting on the landslide debris, the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center draws 45,000 people annually. Among them are earthquake survivors, Yellowstone area tourists, and geology students, says Joanne Girvin, who has managed it for the Hebgen Lake Ranger District for two decades.
Built by the Gallatin National Forest in 1967, the visitor center’s 180-degree views overlook the slide to the south and the spillway to the west, where the Army Corps of Engineers dug an outlet at the downstream end of the newly formed lake.
Interpretive exhibits include a working seismograph, a display on plate tectonics, and a movie depicting the geology and the human story of the earthquake.
Operating the center is expensive, said Gallatin National Forest Developed Recreation Program Manager Jane Ruchman, but a partnership with the Yellowstone Association since the 1980s has offset costs.
In 2011, with costs rising and budgets declining, Ruchman secured approximately $1 million from the agency’s Washington office for renovations to improve energy efficiency and visitor services, while reducing operating costs.
Also new is an expanded partnership between the Forest Service and Y.A. Under the agreement, Y.A. staffers will work at the center, overseeing sales and the bookstore’s daily operations. This, Girvin says, will help Forest employees focus on education and interpretation.
“Our mission is, through education, to connect visitors to Yellowstone National Park and our natural world,” said Daniel Bierschwale, Y.A.’s Director of Sales and Marketing. “The National Forest is certainly [another] one of the opportunities for the American public to connect with our natural world.”
The 1.8 million-acre Gallatin National Forest is a crucial part of the nearly 20-million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Bierschwale said.
This story was adapted from a piece originally published in Yellowstone Quarterly.
What: The Custer-Gallatin National Forest’s Hebgen Lake Ranger District is hosting a grand re-opening of the newly renovated Earthquake Lake Visitor Center, along with interpretive facilities surrounding Earthquake Lake Geologic Area and the new Yellowstone Association bookstore. Admission is free.
When: Open to the public at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 23
Where: Earthquake Lake Visitor Center is located at the west end of Earthquake Lake, 61 miles south and west of Big Sky, 27 miles northwest of West Yellowstone, and 99 miles southwest of Bozeman.
The new structure: Completed this summer, the project expanded the building from 1,500 to 2,400 square feet and made it accessible to people with disabilities. Other new features include a windbreak by the entrance, solar tubes for natural light, an expanded Yellowstone Association bookstore. Newly installed heating and cooling systems, lights and windows will boost efficiency; the building is now wired for photovoltaic panels, and Ruchman is seeking funding for PV cells or a wind generator.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
more
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
29mar3:00 pm4:00 pmGood Friday Mass: St. Joseph Catholic Mission3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Event City:Big Sky
Event Details
Friday of the Passion of the Lord St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Friday of the Passion of the Lord
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Friday) 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm