Summary of Larry Morris's The 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake

Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Gallatin earthquake struck on August 17, 1959, and lasted just under a minute. It sent an entire mountainside crashing down at 100 miles per hour on the lower end of Rock Creek Campground. The slide flowed from south to north, falling more than 1,000 feet. #2 The Painter family of Ogden, Utah, had started the day in Yellowstone. Ray, 47, owned a gas station on Washington Boulevard called Ray Painter Service. They and their girls, Carole, 16, and Anne and Anita, twins who had just turned 12, were excited to take their first vacation in a twenty-five-foot trailer. #3 On August 24, 1958, Ray and his family were camping in the park. They were just about to roast marshmallows when a tremendous roar woke them up. It sounded like a locomotive bearing down on the car. Everything started to pitch. #4 Around 11:30 p. m. , with Ray and the twins asleep, Myrtle had taken advantage of the quiet to walk out to the river and wash her hair. She had been there just a few minutes when the earthquake hit, with wind and water slamming her into the rocks. Now she was seriously injured with a collapsed lung and her left arm nearly severed at the elbow.