Wender·Vista
Quake Lake from US 287
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana
on US 287 northwest of West Yellowstone

Quake Lake from US 287

— the night the mountain came down.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“On August 17, 1959, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake shook the Madison Range and dropped half a mountainside into the river canyon. The slide killed 28 people in their tents and dammed the Madison River overnight. The new lake holds drowned trees that still stand grey above the water. US 287 climbs the south shore past a Forest Service visitor center built into the slide scar.

from the studio
Quake Lake from US 287
— bring it home

Quake Lake from US 287, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Quake Lake from US 287

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Quake Lake, officially Earthquake Lake, sits along US 287 in the Madison Valley of southwestern Montana, about 27 miles northwest of West Yellowstone. The lake formed on the night of August 17, 1959, when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake on the Hebgen Lake fault sent 80 million tons of rock into the Madison River canyon. The slide built a natural dam roughly 220 feet high, and water backed up behind it for weeks.

— the year

The 1959 quake remains the largest recorded earthquake in the Rocky Mountains. It struck just before midnight, when Rock Creek Campground at the canyon mouth was full. The landslide buried 19 campers; in all, 28 people died. The Army Corps of Engineers cut a spillway through the slide the following month to keep the rising lake from overtopping the dam and flushing a wall of water down the Madison Valley.

— the visit

The Earthquake Lake Visitor Center, run by the Custer Gallatin National Forest, stands on the slide itself, about 400 feet above the water. It is open daily from late May through mid-September, with exhibits on the geology and the night of the quake. A short interpretive loop runs along the slide face. The pullouts on US 287 are free and accessible whenever the road is open.

— where
United States · Madison County, Montana
— position
44.8320° N · 111.4120° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
8 km SE
Hebgen Lake
reservoir
43 km SE
West Yellowstone
gateway town
at the lake
Madison River
river
N
Quake Lake from US 287
Hebgen Lake
West Yellowstone
Madison River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Quake Lake from US 287 — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It is a lake in southwestern Montana that formed on August 17, 1959, when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake triggered a landslide that dammed the Madison River. The lake is about six miles long.

Along US 287 in Madison County, Montana, roughly 27 miles northwest of West Yellowstone and just downstream of Hebgen Lake. The Forest Service visitor center marks the slide site.

Twenty-eight people died, most of them campers at Rock Creek Campground at the mouth of the canyon. Nineteen of the dead remain buried beneath the landslide.

Yes. The slide scar on the south wall of the canyon is visible from US 287 and from the visitor center, which sits directly on top of the slide debris.

Yes. When the river backed up behind the slide, mature lodgepole pines were drowned where they stood. Many of the grey trunks still rise above the lake more than sixty years later.

No. It is typically open daily from late May through mid-September. The pullouts and overlooks along US 287 remain accessible whenever the highway is clear of snow.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Quake Lake is one of the most-told stories of the upper Madison, and locals carry it. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio works well for a fishing camp or river home.

Mountain-modern, river-lodge, and warm minimalist rooms. The drowned-forest greys and Madison blues anchor wood-panelled walls and stone hearths without overwhelming them.

Place-with-a-story art has gained ground inside the broader mountain-modern category since 2022, especially among collectors who want pieces that carry a narrative rather than a generic scene.

A single Large reads from across a great room. A 4-tile Mural fills a wider sofa wall, and a 9-tile Mural carries a long console or stair landing.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for vertical installations behind a stove or a vanity. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and does not lift with steam.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. The surface is non-porous, so household cleaners are unnecessary and abrasive pads should be avoided.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license outside work.

— if this one stayed with you

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