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Turtle Mountain (Alberta)
Encyclopedia
Turtle Mountain is a mountain
in Alberta
, Canada
.
It is located in the Crowsnest River
Valley and is part of the Blairmore Range of the Canadian Rockies
. The headwaters of the Oldman River are found here.
The mountain is most famous for the 1903 Frank Slide
in which 30 million cubic metres (82 million tonnes) of limestone broke away from the top of the mountain, burying the town of Frank
and killing about 70 of the approximate 600 residents of the town. However, only 12 bodies were ever recovered. The mountain has been monitored since 1903 with the most recent project established in 2003.
of Paleozoic
Rundle Group carbonate
s thrust over weaker Mesozoic
clastics and coal
s. Summit fissures at the apex of the anticline likely allowed water to infiltrate and weaken the slightly-soluble carbonates within the mountain face, while the supporting underlying clastics were undermined by valley glaciation followed by erosion from the Crowsnest River.
Implementing the project required a collaborative effort between contractors, the Government of Alberta and universities. Initial stages of the state-of-the-art predictive monitoring system were designed and deployed by March 31, 2005. The Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project was administered by Emergency Management Alberta (EMA), with technical direction from the Energy Resources Conservation Board
/Alberta Geological Survey
(ERCB/AGS).
As of April 2, 2005, ERCB/AGS assumed responsibility for the long-term operation, maintenance and upgrading of the mountain-monitoring system, as well as facilitating research using the system. Since taking over the project, AGS has reviewed the near–real-time data stream from the sensor network installed on the south peak of Turtle Mountain. The data show corresponding trends between temperature and the slow, long-term creep of South Peak. The present project updates and modernizes some of the components of the more recent monitoring programs, as well as adding newer, more high-tech systems.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It is located in the Crowsnest River
Crowsnest River
The Crowsnest River is a tributary to the Oldman River in southern Alberta, Canada. It meanders through the Crowsnest Pass and Frank Slide. The Crowsnest River is a highly productive river with a substantial insect population that fuels a world-class sport fishery for rainbow trout, cutthroat...
Valley and is part of the Blairmore Range of the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
. The headwaters of the Oldman River are found here.
History
The mountain was named in 1880 by a local rancher as its shape at the time resembled a turtle.The mountain is most famous for the 1903 Frank Slide
Frank Slide
The Frank Slide is a natural landslide feature in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada, and a significant historical event in western Canada.Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta...
in which 30 million cubic metres (82 million tonnes) of limestone broke away from the top of the mountain, burying the town of Frank
Frank, Alberta
Frank is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass....
and killing about 70 of the approximate 600 residents of the town. However, only 12 bodies were ever recovered. The mountain has been monitored since 1903 with the most recent project established in 2003.
Geology
Turtle Mountain is an anticlineAnticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
of Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
Rundle Group carbonate
Carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, . The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C2....
s thrust over weaker Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
clastics and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
s. Summit fissures at the apex of the anticline likely allowed water to infiltrate and weaken the slightly-soluble carbonates within the mountain face, while the supporting underlying clastics were undermined by valley glaciation followed by erosion from the Crowsnest River.
Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project & Field Laboratory
On April 29, 2003, at the ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Frank Slide, the Hon. Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta, announced $1.1 million in funding for a monitoring program on Turtle Mountain.Implementing the project required a collaborative effort between contractors, the Government of Alberta and universities. Initial stages of the state-of-the-art predictive monitoring system were designed and deployed by March 31, 2005. The Turtle Mountain Monitoring Project was administered by Emergency Management Alberta (EMA), with technical direction from the Energy Resources Conservation Board
Energy Resources Conservation Board
The Energy Resources Conservation Board is an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the Government of Alberta. It regulates the safe, responsible, and efficient development of Alberta's energy resources: oil, natural gas, oil sands, coal, and pipelines...
/Alberta Geological Survey
Alberta Geological Survey
Alberta Geological Survey is part of the Energy Resources Conservation Board, a provincial agency of the Government of Alberta. Alberta Geological Survey provides geological information and expertise to government, industry and the public about Alberta’s Earth resources and geological processes for...
(ERCB/AGS).
As of April 2, 2005, ERCB/AGS assumed responsibility for the long-term operation, maintenance and upgrading of the mountain-monitoring system, as well as facilitating research using the system. Since taking over the project, AGS has reviewed the near–real-time data stream from the sensor network installed on the south peak of Turtle Mountain. The data show corresponding trends between temperature and the slow, long-term creep of South Peak. The present project updates and modernizes some of the components of the more recent monitoring programs, as well as adding newer, more high-tech systems.