Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Wortley built the wooden backpack she used while retracing Alexandra David-Néel’s journey from a chair she found on the street in London.
How Elise Wortley Climbed Mont Blanc in 1830s Women’s Attire
28 days ago
Simplicity is key: Just a slice of bread with a sprinkling of salt and pepper is the perfect accompaniment.
The Sweet Second Life of Creole Cream Cheese
28 days ago
My rendition of frog legs, popping mushroom curry, pad prik khing with salted egg yolk, and sweet khanom thuai.
Recreating My Favorite Meal From Thailand
28 days ago
Inside London’s Gorgeously Curated ‘Art Restaurants’
28 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Washington Leavenworth Wellington Avalanche Site

Wellington Avalanche Site

Train debris from the deadliest avalanche in United States history can still be found in the ravine where so many perished.

Leavenworth, Washington

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Wellington Avalanche Site   Wikipedia
Wellington Avalanche Site   Wikipedia
Wellington Avalanche Site   Brooke Graham on Flickr
Wellington Avalanche Site   Brooke Graham on Flickr
Wellington Avalanche Site   Brooke Graham on Flickr
Wellington Avalanche Site   Brooke Graham on Flickr
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the wilderness of Washington's Tye River Valley near Stevens Pass are twisted pieces of rusting metal slowly being overtaken by the surrounding foliage which look like they might simply be discarded bits of industrial detritus. However these bits of scrap are actually the final remnants of the Wellington Avalanche of 1910 that would go down in history as the deadliest disaster of its kind in American history.

On February 28th, 1910 the small rail station in what was then called Wellington, Washington was in lockdown after almost a fortnight of blizzard conditions that had left the area buried in an impassable layer of snow. Despite the best efforts of the depot workers, two trains - one a passenger train called the Spokane Express, the other a mail carrier - were snowed in place for six days there at the base of Windy Mountain. With telegraph lines downed by the storm, all communication to the small town and station had been effectively cut off, and a number of passengers decided to simply trudge off the mountain on foot, but many more remained waiting for the weather to give them a break that would sadly not come in time.

As February turned to March, the heavy snows turned to a rainy, windy storm, undoubtedly giving some degree of hope to the passengers waiting to escape their mountainous purgatory. However in the wee hours of March 1st, 1910, lightning struck the mountainside and triggered a massive avalanche that sent a towering wave of snow thundering down toward the depot. The cascade of "White Death" obliterated the station and much of the small community of Wellington, and rolled the waiting train cars over 150 feet down into the Tye River Valley, burying the wreckage in dozens of feet of snow. In the final accounting, 96 souls were lost in the disaster including passengers and train workers, making it the deadliest avalanche in the country's history. None of the people who walked off the mountain are reported to have perished. 

After the tragedy, the community of Wellington was renamed Tye to distance itself from the deaths, but even this name change could not save the small town which eventually dissolved.

Today, hikers on the Iron Goat Trail can still find bits of the warped wreckage that were not carried off the mountain, crumbling under the overgrowth as a reminder of nature's terrible wrath.  

Related Tags

Disasters Disaster Areas Railroads

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

Martin

  • Martin

Published

January 19, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/trains-buried-by-avalanche
  • http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5127
  • http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2011211746_wellington28m.html
  • http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-02-10-washington-iron-goat-trail_N.htm
Wellington Avalanche Site
Leavenworth, Washington, 98826
United States
47.749444, -121.119444

Nearby Places

Iron Goat Trail

Leavenworth, Washington

miles away

Espresso Chalet

Gold Bar, Washington

miles away

Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

Leavenworth, Washington

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Leavenworth

Leavenworth

Washington

Places 4

Nearby Places

Iron Goat Trail

Leavenworth, Washington

miles away

Espresso Chalet

Gold Bar, Washington

miles away

Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

Leavenworth, Washington

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Leavenworth

Leavenworth

Washington

Places 4

Related Places

  • Old railroad tunnel on upper part of Iron Goat Trail.

    Leavenworth, Washington

    Iron Goat Trail

    The site of the Wellington avalanche, one of the America's worst railroad disasters.

  • The slide scarp.

    Sunshine Valley, British Columbia

    Hope Slide

    The morning of January 9, 1965, over 46 million cubic meters of earth, rock, and snow broke free, obliterating a section of the highway below.

  • The site today.

    Maricopa, California

    Lakeview Gusher

    Remnants of the United States's largest accidental oil spill still mar a California valley.

  • The angel backdropped by a sea of stars.

    Chornobyl, Ukraine

    'Monument of the Third Angel'

    The biblical sculpture honors those who lost their lives, homes and communities to the Chernobyl disaster.

  • Carmen Tower.

    Tlalpujahua, Mexico

    Carmen Tower

    This lonely tower survived the landslide that devastated much of a Mexican mining town.

  • Fergus Falls, Minnesota

    Broken Down Dam Park

    A riverside park built around the ruins of a massive dam that collapsed in 1909.

  •  The breach in the dam wall.

    Dolgarrog, Wales

    Remains of the Dolgarrog Dam Disaster

    The worst flood disaster in Welsh history might have been a lot worse if it had not happened on movie night.

  • The view of the dam and the valley behind.

    Vilminore di Scalve, Italy

    Gleno Dam

    The sinister ruins of one of the worst dam failures of the 20th century lie in this astonishing alpine setting.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.