Frank Slide and Borelli's Comet

[Benjamin]

(Image: Turtle Mountain before the slide. The village of Frank can be seen at the foot of the mountain. Photo is pre-1903.)


There is a very famous natural disaster site located in southwestern Alberta, Canada known as Frank Slide (HeRMIS, Wiki). On Apr. 29, 1903 at 4:10 am, an entire northeast section of Turtle Mountain slid off, crushing the southern end of the mining village of Frank and killing between 70-90 of its residents. It is estimated that a section 1000m wide by 425m high and 150m deep (3300ft x 1394ft x 490 ft, 30 million cubic meters) weighing 82 million tonnes (121 million US tons) of limestone, broke away and travelled at 112 km/h (70 mph), carpeting the valley below one minute and forty seconds later with four kilometres of dust particles to house sized boulders.

The original village of Frank had been built in 1900 to house the workers and families for the coal mining operation located at the foot of the northeastern section of the mountain. This mining operation is reported as being one of the factors causing the slide.

The main reason for the slide was concluded to be the geology of the mountain itself. The top layer of limestone that slid off was resting on a softer layer of clastic rock and coal. Movement in the mountain created cracks and fissures that allowed water to seep in and erode the softer substratum away over time. In winter, the water would also freeze and expand thus creating pressure. Around the time of the rock avalanche, the winter was unusually warm, apparently causing the water to thaw during the day and freeze at night repeatedly. A heavy snowfall in March was followed by a warm April which increased the amount of water in the rock. And on the night of the slide the temperature shot below -18C (0F). GSC geologists at the time speculated that the sudden freezing of this water resulted in the expansion of the fissures and concluded that the slide was ultimately triggered by the weather.



(Image: Turtle Mountain before and after.)


Beginning sometime in October of 1902, the miners started to notice some abnormalities in the mine. 2x4 support timbers would be found splintered the next morning, coal was reported as “mining itself”, the empty seams that were mined of coal were found closed the next day, and reports of tremors akin to “the starting and shuddering of a ship struck by a wave” were felt on certain nights between 1-3 am, although there was never a report, before or after, of there being any volcanic, earthquake or explosive activity.



(Screenshot: Overhead view of the Turtle Mountain debris field. The current location of Frank is marked with a blue flag. (© Apple Maps))


After the disaster, it was reported that a massive fissure had opened up on the north side of the mountain that was three quarters of a mile long and many feet wide. In the map above, you can see the fissure extending north from the foot of the mountain.

Turtle Mountain is nestled in a valley known as Crowsnest Pass. The name ‘Crowsnest’ has 4 possible origins but I’m just going to select the one that has an interesting connection with Turtle Mountain itself.

“Oral Native traditions offer a different, more interesting explanation. Legend tells of an epic battle between the Blackfoot people and the invading Crow tribe from Montana in 1853. In the midst of battle, a piece of the mountain broke off and fell onto those fighting, killing over 200 men. The Blackfoot people believed that this was a sign from Napi (Old Man), the creator in Blackfoot mythology, to cease fighting. The battle ended, and the Blackfoot carved, “Peace forever in this valley. Let no one break the peace” onto a piece of fallen rock. The area was named ‘Crow’s Nest Pass’ to honour the Crow Indians that died in battle.”

The rocks that killed the tribe members has been attributed to having come from Turtle Mountain. From at least 1853, the Blackfoot called Turtle Mountain, “the mountain that walks/moves” and have refused to camp beneath it. Whether this story is true or not, it could be viewed as a type of parable.

In a nutshell, that is Frank Slide, and the official conclusions causing that disaster may be completely correct. But I’d like to add a possibility.

About a year ago, I had an odd urge to look into Frank Slide and I found exactly the same thing as I have written above. Not being able to go anywhere else with it, I set it aside, and was a bit disappointed. During that time, I read CatHoM, and Pierre’s two books on comets. And then a few days ago, Frank Slide popped into my head again, only this time with an inspiring question. Was there a comet around that time?

Well, lo-and-behold…

On June 22, 1903, Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borelli (Borrelly) of Marseille, France, discovered a comet. During my research, I found there were actually a number of “Borelli’s comets” that I ran into in the old newspapers which made it quite confusing; the most notable headache being the one now designated P19/Borrelly, a periodic comet discovered on Dec. 25, 1904. But after sorting it all out, the one that concerns this article has no other name than ‘Borelli’s comet’, a parabolic (‘one shot’) traveller. (I eventually found its designation: ‘C/1903 M1 (Borrelly)’.)

This comet, that was widely reported in the newspapers, created quite a sensation apparently, even though, as it turned out, it was maybe a bit ‘over-hyped’ in comparison to other comets like the Great Comet of 1843 and Comet Donati of 1858.

The earliest mention I could find of this comet is on page 22 from the June 30, 1903 edition of the “Report of the Superintendent of the United Stated Naval Observatory”. It specifically mentions the comet “Borelli” being observed twice in 1903. And this report had to be compiled and printed before June 30.

Here are a few newspaper selections:

July 13, 1903- The Evening Star, Image 1

“Bright Comet Coming”:



(Image: Drawing of the position of Borelli's comet by Father C. M. Charropin.)

“San Jose, Cal., July 13. - Prof. W. W. Campbell of Lick observatory gives out the following:

“The comet discovered by Borelli at Marseilles three weeks ago has been under observation by various members of the Lick observatory staff. It promises to be an unusually interesting object. Its brightness has increased very rapidly, until it is now as easily visible as a forth magnitude star.

“On Monday evening observers should experience no difficulty in detecting it about one or two degrees southwest of the bright star Alpha Cygni. Its motion is carrying it southwestward about five degrees daily.

“The orbit of the comet has been computed by Prof. Perrine. It is now in a parabola in such a way that its nearest approach to the sun will occur August 27 at a distance of about 31,000,000 miles. Its present distance from the sun is about 1000,000,000 miles and from the earth about 20,000,000. To the unassisted eye the comet will appear as a hazy patch of light. An acute eye should be able to detect a short tail projecting away from the sun.

“Our photographs have recorded two prominent tails, each several degrees in length. While it is always unsafe to make predictions as to how bright a comet will grow, yet there is little doubt that this one will be a fairly conspicuous object in the evening sky. In fact, I expect it to be the brightest comet of the past ten years.”

July 16, 1903- The St. Louis Republic, Image 1”

“New Comet Is Studied by St. Louis Astronomer”:

“Astronomers think it possible that the phenomenon recorded in 1858, when Donati’s comet for nine months was visible, stretching from horizon to zenith, a stream of fire, a translucent radiance, will be repeated.

In three curves such bodies travel - the ellipse, the parabola, the hyperbola. If an ellipse, the comet will return, since its course is defined. If an hyperbola, or a parabola, then the vagrant is indeed a vagrant, and concerning it only one thing is sure. Never will it return, once gone. Away it whirls, often moving 100 miles a second, to follow its parabolic or hyperbolic curve until it comes within the influence of another sun; and then it begins upon another parabola. With such a chariot one could visit all the remote corners of the universe if a few million years were available for the journey.

Father C. M. Charropin, astronomer at St. Louis University, has observed the comet Borelli. …

“It is a matter of great interest,” said he, “but of no moment. I do not expect the comet to develop into one of unusual proportions. As it approaches the sun, the tail becomes larger. First the tail is behind, like that of a kite, but after it passes perihelion, goes round the sun, then the tail switches to the front.

“Why is this? Some astronomers say it is an electric force of repulsion emanating from the sun, but not all are agreed. …

“That it should have two tails is not remarkable. One seen in 1843 had seven tails. The name comes from the Latin ‘coma,’ meaning hair.

“The comet’s coming is no menace to the earth. We could collide with it, and not suffer material damage. In 1858 the earth passed through the tail of Donati’s comet, but no effects were seen. The gases of the comet did not penetrate our atmosphere. Had they done so, the consequences might have been serious.”

July 18, 1903- Evening Star, Page 3, Image 3

“The New Borelli Comet”:

“According to the measurements of the new comet Borelli, based on photographs taken by the Yale observers, the tail of the comet is at least 3,000,000 miles long. William L. Elkin, director of the Yale observatory, said last night:

“The comet is the only important one see in the past eight years. It is the brightest comet since Smith’s, about twelve years ago. It will be at its brightest from now until July 21. Just now it is as bright as the pole star. According to the observations it is about 26,000,000 miles from the earth at present and rapidly travelling away. It is travelling at about twenty-five miles a second.””

July 22, 1903- The Birmingham Age-Herald, Page 4, Image 4

“Borelli’s Comet”:

“The comet was first seen by Borelli in Marseilles about a month ago. It was then apparent only to well-equipped astronomers, and in three weeks it has increased in brightness seventeen times. Professor Campbell of the Lick Observatory predicts that the new comet will be one of the most brilliant of recent years.”

Published in the March, 1904 edition of Astrophysical Journal, vol. 19, an article titled "Photographic Observations of Comet 1903 C (Borrelly)" by Sebastian Albrecht details the analysis of the thirty-six photographs taken by the Lick Observatory between June 22 and August 18. It is an interesting read with evidence of 'tail separation' that was apparently only speculated up to that point. The comet was a decently lively one.



Image: Three of the thirty-six photographs taken of Borelli's comet by the Lick Observatory. Notice the 'tail separation' (reported in the papers as 'broken tails').


August 03, 1903- New-York Tribune, Image 1

“The Borelli Comet Photographed”:

“(Washington, Aug. 2) - "... The comet was discovered by the astronomer Borelli on June 22…”

August 5, 1903- Willmar Tribune, Page 2

“Comet Has Four Tails”:

“New Haven, Conn., Aug. 3 - The astronomers at Yale observatory have just made photographs of Borelli’s comet showing faint indications of the presence of a forth tail. Previous observations showed only three.”

July 29, 1903- The Lancaster Ledger, Image 1

“The New Comet”:

"New Haven, July 21- “…Borelli’s comet is attracting more attention than any comet that has appeared in years.”

“The new comet’s nucleus is 400,000 miles in diameter, while the tails appear to be between two and three million miles long. They may be much longer as the astronomers are unable to tell at just what angle we observe them. The new comet will continue to increase in brilliancy…”

(Another newspaper reported the nucleus being only 250,000 miles in diameter.)


July 20, 1903- Rock Island Argus, LAST EDITION, 4:30 O'CLOCK, Page 8, Image 8

“Borelli’s Comet Now Visible To The Naked Eye”:

“Except as an object of interest, Borelli’s comet will have no influence upon the earth and its inhabitants, according to astronomers. It does not even affect the weather.”

August 28, 1903- The Saint Paul Globe, Page 2, Image 2

“Borelli's Comet Is Nearing The Earth”:

“A comet is nothing but a ‘sand bank,’” said Prof. C. A. Young, of Princeton, “that is, it is a swarm of solid particles of unknown size and widely separate - say pinheads several hundred feet apart, each particle carrying with it an envelope of gas, largely hydro carbon, in which gas light is produced either by electrical discharges between the particles or by some other light, the evolving action due to the sun’s influence.”

Scientists have attempted to figure out what would happen if Borelli’s comet should strike the Earth. The comet from its nose to the end of its tail is at present about 200,000,000 miles long.”

On page 203 of the “Scientific American Supplement, No. 1656” from Sep. 28, 1907:

“Borelli’s comet of 1903 was photographed by Barnard at the Yerkes Observatory. To the naked eye the tail of this comet was faintly visible to a distance of only 4 degrees from the head, but the photographs showed a tail of 17 degrees in length. A photograph taken on July 24 revealed a phenomenon never before observed with certainty. The tail was suddenly cut off at a distance of 2 or 3 degrees from the head, the severed portion being left behind but remaining parallel with the rest.”

In the November, 1903 edition of “Popular Science Monthly” magazine, there was a “letter to the editor” submitted by Alexander Graham Bell in Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, titled "The Aurora Borealis of August 21" describing several magnificent displays of aurora seen on Aug. 21 in answer to another letter describing a display observed in York Harbor, Maine by Dr. King on the same night. At the end of his detailed descriptions he writes:

“The aurora, however, is believed to be a strictly terrestrial phenomenon in the nature of an electrical discharge in the higher regions of the atmosphere; although good grounds exist for supposing that there is some intimate connection between great auroral displays on the earth and disturbances going on in the sun.

In this connection it would be interesting to know where Borelli's comet was at the time. It was then rapidly nearing its closest approach to the sun.”

Now, this is speculative, but after reading the books by Laura and Pierre, I do question if the electrical nature of this brand new comet, at the time, contributed to the apparently weakened nature of Turtle Mountain?

 

[Benjamin]

Along with Frank Slide, I took a quick look at other natural disasters of 1903.

Earthquakes

There were 11 earthquakes reported above magnitude 6.0.

April 28: Mus Province, Ottoman Empire (Turkey), The Manzikert Earthquake- it was only a 6.3M but it had the highest death toll that year at 3,560. At least 1,001 people were injured, 12,000 homes destroyed and 20,000 animals killed. Depth unknown.

August 11: Kythera, Greece- 8.1M at a depth of 80 km (49.7 miles), 2 deaths and some damage.

Floods

June 14: Heppner, Oregon, USA- Strong thunderstorms brought torrential rain to the area after an exceptionally dry spring flooding Willow Creek, Balm Fork and Hinton Creek. A storm three days earlier prevented the water from being absorbed into the earth. A laundry building built across Willow Creek on the edge of Heppner acted as a dam that failed, sending a 15-50 ft (5-15m) wall of water slamming into the village of roughly 1000 people. Many houses were destroyed with 140 structures being washed away. 247 people died. (Heppner flood of 1903- Wikipedia)

Wild Fires

April 20: Adirondack, New York, USA- the Adirondack Fire (The Great Fire of 1903) burned a 600,000 acre area mostly in the Adirondack Forest. A farmer had lost control of a fallow fire which spread quickly due to drought and dry weather conditions.

Drought

1895-1903: Australia- The Federation Drought was the worst drought in Australia’s history hitting livestock hard. Ending by 1903, 54 million sheep (almost half) and 3 million cattle (in Queensland alone (more than 40%)) had died from starvation.

Other

March 22: Niagara Falls, New York, USA- Due to an ice jam near Goat Island, the American side of Niagara Falls almost completely ‘dried up’ as most of the water was diverted to the Canadian side with water three feet higher than usual above the jam. (Newspaper)

Solar storms in 1903.

I took a look to see what kind of solar activity occurred in 1903 and a few interesting things emerged.

In a 1955 report titled “Sunspot and Geomagnetic-Storm Data, Derived from Greenwich Observations, 1874-1954”. Under the category of “Catalogue II.- Small Geomagnetic Storms” (p. 87) listed four small storms: Apr. 6, Apr. 9, Oct. 12-14 and Dec. 30- Jan. 1.

Then under “Catalogue I.- Great Geomagnetic Storms” (p. 76 & 80) there is listed two: Oct. 31- Nov. 2 and Dec. 13- 14. Even though Borelli’s comet was well past by this stage, I learned some other interesting things. I learned from a 2020 article titled “The Solar Minimum Superstorm of 1903” (Original report) that 1901 was the solar minimum low point of the already weak Solar Cycle 14 and that, on Oct 31, 1903, a fast CME (~1500 km/s (932 m/s)) with a minimum Dst’ of ~-513 nT, created the 6th strongest geomagnetic storm ever reported to hit the Earth. It was the most significant storm in a solar minimum period on record. Telegraph wires were popping and snapping with electricity and communications were widely disrupted as reported in the papers.

 

[Pierre]

Now, this is speculative, but after reading the books by Laura and Pierre, I do question if the electrical nature of this brand new comet, at the time, contributed to the apparently weakened nature of Turtle Mountain?

Very interesting analysis. Did the electric nature of this comet contribute to the weakening of the Turtle Mountain? I think it's possible but we might never for sure. Comet Borrelli almost certainly affected the Solar activity, how else could we explain a very strong geomagnetic storm during a Solar minimum:

Oct 31, 1903, a fast CME (~1500 km/s (932 m/s)) with a minimum Dst’ of ~-513 nT, created the 6th strongest geomagnetic storm ever reported to hit the Earth. It was the most significant storm in a solar minimum period on record. Telegraph wires were popping and snapping with electricity and communications were widely disrupted as reported in the papers.

The strong earthquake that you found:

August 11: Kythera, Greece- 8.1M at a depth of 80 km (49.7 miles), 2 deaths and some damage

might be due to the influence of comet Borelli on Solar activity since there's a clear correlation between high Solar proton density reaching Earth and strong earthquakes:

On the correlation between solar activity and large earthquakes worldwide - Scientific Reports

The concluding sentences of the paper are:

In conclusion, the analysis of the 1996–2016 worldwide earthquake catalogue shows a significant correlation with the measured proton density in the same period. Such correlation is described by a larger probability for earthquakes to occur during time windows 24 h long just after a peak period (meant as a period spent over a certain threshold) in proton density due to solar activity. This kind of correlation between worldwide seismicity and solar activity has been checked also with other variables linked to solar activity, including proton velocity, dynamical pressure of protons, proton flux, and proton density. However, a significant correlation can be only observed with proton flux, besides proton density. The correlation is anyway much sharper using simple proton density, so evidencing that this is the really influent variable to determine correlation with earthquake occurrence. This correlation is shown to be statistically highly significant. The high significance of the observed correlation is also strengthened by the observation that, increasing the threshold magnitude of the earthquake catalogue, the correlation peak becomes progressively larger.

 

[Benjamin]

It never actually occurred to me to look for other large slides where a comet was nearby. But after looking around, I quickly realized that it was rather pointless. There are just too many of both. So, I narrowed my scope by looking for slides that are just like Frank. There are a few, but I’ll only mention two. The first does not quite fit the criteria but I thought it was pretty wild to think about. It’s the second one that really caught my eye.

c. 48.8 Mya: Heart Mountain Landslide, Wyoming, USA
- largest landslide on record
- 400 square mile slab (basically a limestone mountain range 31 miles long) slid on a less than 2 degree slope for up to 50 miles, leaving chunks of itself behind as it went. It has been proposed that it covered the distance in 3 minutes, travelling on a bed of CO2, at 1/3 the speed of sound. A violent volcanic eruption in Wyoming’s Absaroka volcanic field is suggested as being the culprit. (Link)

c. 8,000 BCE: The Saidmarrah (Seimareh) Slide, Kabir Kuh, Zagros Mountains, SW Iran
- map location at 33N, 47.65E
- area is known for earthquakes
- One date was reported by Shoaei and Ghayoumian (1998) of 10,370 +/-120 years BP.



Image: In this Google Maps image from 2009 you can clearly see the area that broke away creating Saidmarrah Slide.



Image: Saidmarrah Slide with outlines highlighting the source (white) and the best guess of the debris field (black). The white section has a length of around 15 km (9.3 miles) long. (Link)

The slide had an estimated surface area of 166 km2 with a volume of 24-32 km3.

The cause of the slide is controversial but, like Frank slide, erosion of an apparent weaker under-layer is seen to be a major player, although it is suggested that due to the size of the slide, an ‘external factor’ may have been the trigger, such as an earthquake (or a nearby meteorite?). (Link) I don't think mining had anything to do with this one.

The resemblance to Frank Slide, I think, is quite remarkable except for the scale. This one is so much bigger. But in an area apparently prone to earthquakes, why just this section? And no other section of rock is subject to erosion of a weak underlayer in +10,000 years? I suppose I could ask that question about every mountain, though.

Anyway, I ran through the graphs in Pierre’s CE chapter “The 10,000 BP (8,800 BC) Event” (p. 147+) and found some interesting spikes around the 10,300BP lines (based on Shoaei and Ghayoumian’ estimate), but it’s just not enough.

At least I can say, the ‘style’ of Frank Slide is not an isolated event.