| Midland Provincial Park | |
| Photo Width: | 250 |
| Map: | Alberta |
| Map Width: | 200 |
| Location: | Drumheller / Starland County, Alberta, Canada |
| Nearest City: | Drumheller |
| Coordinates: | 51.4781°N -112.7722°W |
| Area: | 6.3 km2 |
| Established: | 5 Jun 1979 |
| Governing Body: | Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation |
Midland Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Alberta, Canada.
Once the site of the Midland Coal Mine, it was designated as a provincial park on June 5, 1979. It now hosts the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
It is located 6 km west of Drumheller on Highway 838 (North Dinosaur Trail).
Activities in the park include canoeing, kayaking, fishing, wildlife viewing and hiking through willows and cottonwoods along the Red Deer River. Points of interest are fossil beds, a mine site and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
Following a two-day halt in operations due to overproduction, 237 miners resumed work at the Midland Provincial Park mine.
At around 9:40 a.m., three blasts from the mine whistle alerted nearby residents to an emergency. The explosions were likely triggered by a spark, which could have been caused by a rock fall, a lamp flare, a short in an electric cable, or a prohibited cigarette. This spark ignited methane gas, which stirred up coal dust, leading to further blasts throughout the mine's tunnels. Of the 237 miners that had entered the mine that morning, only 46 emerged.
In addition to the initial explosions, the resultant lack of oxygen and the rise in poisonous carbon dioxide gas, known as "blackdamp" or "afterdamp," posed significant threats. The force of the explosions also had above-ground impacts, including the destruction of a 20 cm (8 in.) thick concrete wall of the hoist house.[1]