Sheep Mountain Slide

We decided to explore the area to the east of us near Kelley and outside of the park.  As the road climbed we notice the side of Sheep Mountain had washed away.  About that point we stopped at an information kiosk.  This was not a recent event.  

In 1925 after prolonged and heavy rain (and possibly aided by an earthquake) earth, rock and debris moved rapidly from at altitude of 9,000 feet down into the valley and up the slope of the red bluffs on the opposite side.  About one mile long, 2,000 feet wide and several hundred feet deep, the action lasted only a few minutes but a river was damned and the landscape changed.  The damned river formed the Gros Ventre Lake but just 2 years later, in May 1927 a part of the damn gave way sending a wall of water, mud and rock down the canyon 3.5 miles towards the village of Kelley.  The residents had just minutes to try to escape the flood.  6 people died and only 2-3 buildings survived.  Today the lake is called the Lower Slide Lake and is a destination for boaters, wind surfers and kayaks.