The Hebgen Lake Earthquake Area, Montana and Wyoming

Abstract

The Hebgen Lake Earthquake Area, in southwestern Montana, extends westward from the east edge of Hebgen Lake through the Madison River Canyon, a narrow, deep gorge cut through the Madison Range, to Missouri Flats, west of the range. Hebgen Lake, about 8 mi (13 km) north of West Yellowstone, Montana, lies at the base of the east flank of the Madison Range directly west of the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The lake is used as a storage reservoir impounded behind Hebgen Dam, an earth-filled structure built by Montana Power Company in 1914. The earthquake area is easily reached from almost any direction by major all-weather surfaced highways (inset map, Fig. 1). The area is accessible from the east through Yellowstone Park’s West Entrance, which leads directly into West Yellowstone; from the south by multi-lane U.S. 20, which also passes through West Yellowstone; from the north via U.S. 191, which threads then arrow, deeply forested and scenic Gallatin Canyon; and from the west via U.S. 287, which passes through Ennis, a ranching center that still retains the flavor of the old west. The West Yellowstone airport also gives access to the area. The Hebgen Lake area is a favorite tourist and reort area. Lodging is available in West Yellowstone and at several motels along the north shore of Hebgen Lake. Excellent campsites, well maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, are along U.S. 191 north of West Yellowstone, and in Madison River Canyon (Montana 287) west of Hebgen Dam. Most services are available throughout the year in West Yellowstone, although many hotels and some restarants close for the winter soon after Labour Day.

Revisiting the 1959 Hebgen Lake Earthquake Using Optical Image Correlation; New Constraints on Near‐Field 3D Ground Displacement

“…These are west‐dipping normal faults with a cumulative length of approximately 35.4 km and maximum vertical offsets of 6.1, 5.8, 0.6, and 1.2 m, respectively (Figure 1, Witkind et al., 1962). Despite some geometric complexity, the ruptures generally strike 130° ± 10°, consistent with the fault plane solution from the main shock (Barrientos et al., 1989; Doser, 1985), and dip SW by 50°–85° (Witkind, 1964). Doser (1985) and Ryall (1962) locate the epicenter 15 km northeast of Hebgen Lake, with a depth of approximately 15–25 km.…”

“…Previous studies measured the surface fault offset in the field (Witkind, 1964) and from an airborne LiDAR surface model (Johnson et al., 2018). The average offset measured in the field along the RCF and HF scarps was ∼2.4 and ∼1.6 m, respectively.…”

“…Figure 3. (a) LOESS regression for the LiDAR(Johnson et al, 2018), field(Witkind, 1964), and optical image correlation (OIC) data with envelopes showing the standard errors of the regression models. The OIC data represent the dip-slip component.…”

Tree-ring dated landslide movements and their relationship to seismic events in southwestern Montana, USA

“…The largest historic earthquake recorded in the Intermountain Seismic Belt, magnitude 7.5 (Ms) (Doser, 1985), occurred on August 18, 1959, in the Hebgen Lake region, about 30 km east of the study area, and caused considerable damage. It triggered a large rockslide that overran a campground and killed 26 people, burying them under an estimated 21 million m 3 of debris (Witkind and Stickney, 1987). This rockslide dammed the Madison River and formed Earthquake Lake.…”

Geologic field-trip guide to the volcanic and hydrothermal landscape of the Yellowstone Plateau

“…The slide dammed the Madison River to create Earthquake Lake (locally known as Quake Lake). Heavy equipment was rapidly brought in to create a stable overflow channel and lower the level of Quake Lake (U.S. Geological Survey, 1975;Witkind and Stickney, 1987;Morgan and others, 2008 fig. 1, inset), note the ridge/small domes to the north.…”