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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

today

Is the 51st anniversary of a day that changed my life.  Although it didn't actually do the changing until eleven years ago...

The Hebgen Lake earthquake was the largest earthquake ever to hit Montana.  It struck just west of Yellowstone National Park, and changed the landscape of the park forever.

It also was part of the inspiration for a trilogy of books I've been writing on ever since.  I don't know why I combined it with Grand Geyser to make a time travel device, but that's the way my brain works.

I don't mean to trivialize the devastation this quake caused -- it killed 28 people and caused over $11 million in damage in 1959 dollars, which was a terrible thing.

But my fictional hero learned to bless it for the changes it caused in his life.  And I have to say I appreciate the inspiration it has provided in mine.

2 comments:

  1. As we were saying recently on Sites and Stories...sometimes nature brings on massive changes we can't predict. And the changes can have unexpected impacts for years to come! Looking forward to reading your trilogy one day.

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  2. Yes, it does. The Hebgen Lake Earthquake is still effecting the world, fifty-one years later.

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