Overview/Background

From a Naturalist's Perspective

Lower Slide Lake was formed when the landslide dammed up the Gros Ventre River. Many of the trees that once grew along the river were submerged, and today the tops of several of these trees can be seen at the far side of the lake.

Lake trout, Snake River cutthroat, mountain white fish, Utah suckers, and Utah chubs inhabit the lake.

Upper Slide Lake, formed long before man roamed this area, has no connection with the Gros Ventre Slide disaster.

Trees On The Slide
Several of the trees at the base of the slide are growing at abnormal angles. These trees were swept downhill with their roots still intact in the soil. They came to rest in the position in which you see them today.

It is interesting that trees over 40 years of age succumbed to the shock of that traumatic transplanting, while the younger trees were able to adapt and continue growing.

In the crystal clear water of the lake, some trees can still be seen standing erect where they were transported by the slide more than half a century ago.

Trees found in the Gros Ventre area are lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, subalpine fir, Douglas fir, Rocky Mountain juniper, and aspen.

Life On The Rocks
Pikas, the smallest members of the rabbit family, also known as coneys, range from approximately 6 to 8 inches in length. They are grayish brown in color. These small herbivores do not hibernate; instead, they store little piles of dried plants under the snow for use in winter. Pikas make their homes under the rocks that were transplanted in the slide. They can be heard “bleating” as they travel along their trails under the rocks.

Lichens are plants composed of two different organisms: microscopic green or blue-green algae and colorless fungal threads. Lichens grow on the surface of rocks. Their colors vary from black to gray, rust, green, and brown. These small plants are important because they break rocks down into small pockets of soil on which other plants will grow.