Wellington, Washington Avalanche
What is an avalanche?
An avalanche is a large mass of either snow, ice, or rocks going down a mountain very rapidly.
What causes an avalanche & where do they occur?
Natural things can cause avalanches such as snow piling on top of more snow on a mountain, wind, earthquakes, temperature, & also any vibration from machinery or construction could cause one. Avalanches can occur anywhere there are mountains & are common in Canada & its regions.
Can it be predicted?
Avalanches can be predicted by researching their snow pits. The snow pits can help predict based on the stability of the layers of snow.
How to prevent people from being killed by an avalanche & how to prepare for one:
It can be prevented by studying bulletin of the mountain or look for signs or recent avalanche activity & don't travel in an uncontrolled avalanche terrain. You can prepare for one by making sure you have the right equipment & know that the equipment works.
Event Information
Wellington Avalanche
When?
Tuesday, Mar 1, 1910, 06:15 PM
Where?
Wellington, Washington, United States
What was the cause of this avalanche?
The cause of this avalanche was the rain & thunder that was happening. During the storm, 2 trains were trying to get back to safety in a tunnel, but could not go any farther into it. Therefore, the trains were buried in up to 70 feet of snow.
The damage:
There were 96 people that had gotten killed by this disaste. The only damage there were was the train tracks, which took 3 weeks to let any more trains pass.
3 Facts:
1. Only 23 people survived
2. The train had been traveling through Wellington for a week
3. Bodies were not retrieved until months later
Citations:
interestingcanadianhistory.wordpress.com
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5127
myplace.frontier.com