MOTHER NATURE AT WORK

We spent our 2nd day off visiting the nearby town of Kelly and taking a short hike to the Gros Ventre slide area.   Kelly has a population of a little over 200 and is located 2 miles east of the campground where we are staying for the summer.  In our four previous trips to the Jackson area, we have never gone this direction before. 

History lesson:  On June 23, 1925 following weeks of heavy rain, approximately 50 million cubic yards of rock slid off the north face of Sheep Mountain, and into a valley formed by the Gros Ventre River. The rock formed a large natural dam, backing up the water and forming Lower Slide Lake.  After viewing this enormous pile of rock and timbers, it is difficult to imagine that mother nature via streaming water could cause such damage.  The dirt area at the top of the first picture is where the debris was once located.

In May of 1927 after a winter of heavy snow, residents started to notice debris from the flooding of the upper valley floating downstream in the river. Several alarmed residents from Kelly went to the dam to discover that the lake had overflowed the top of the dam and was beginning to erode it. A "Paul Revere" type of warning was given, and the residents of the town evacuated. The ensuing flood was 6 feet deep for at least 25 miles downstream. The flood destroyed most of the town, leaving only the church and the schoolhouse standing.  Fortunately only six people perished in the flood.