ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
August 17, 1959
Quake Lake is Formed After a Missive Earthquake
Strikes Southwestern Montana
On this day in 1959, a massive earthquake with a magnitude 7.3 on the Richter Scale rocked Southwestern Montana
causing an 80 million ton landslide which killed 28 people and formed what is now called Quake Lake.
Quake Lake is 190 feet deep and six miles long and resides primarily within the Gallatin National Forest. This
earthquake was one of the largest to hit the United States in recorded history.
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