St. Helens erupted on May 18th 1980, an event I can vaguely recollect ( I was 7 years old) but such was the uniqueness of the event, it was a volcano that I enjoyed teaching in Geography teacher at the beginning of my career.
Rather than erupting vertically like most volcanoes do, due to a blockage from previous eruptions, Mt St Helen's erupted horizontally which had a devastating impact on the environment and the people who were to the north of the volcano. Wikipedia refers to the eruption as:
"the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed."
It is thought that every living thing died in the blast area.
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| The Impact of the Eruption |
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| The impact can still be seen today. |
Although the journey from highway to Mt. St Helens is approximately an hour, there was no visual evidence of the eruption because we arrived from the south. Upon arrival however, the devastation is clear to see, not least as you are confronted by the shell of the former mountain.
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| Unfortunately the cloud prevented a better picture. See below for a before and after shot. |
The excellent visitor centre located at Johnson Ridge (named after the volcanologist David Johnston who was the first to die in the eruption) is well worth a look around and the cinema show drawn to a close by the curtains opening to reveal the mountain.
Another spectacular view was offered by a helicopter flight up the Toutle River and into the crater.
As we arrived at the volcano to our right, to the left was Spirit Lake which changed dramatically due to the eruption. The landslide at the beginning of the eruption caused a 800ft tsunami in the lake which uprooted thousands of trees. Spirit Lake is now 200ft higher than it was pre eruption.
The pilot then flew us into the crater. What a buzz!
Another spectacular view was offered by a helicopter flight up the Toutle River and into the crater.
As we arrived at the volcano to our right, to the left was Spirit Lake which changed dramatically due to the eruption. The landslide at the beginning of the eruption caused a 800ft tsunami in the lake which uprooted thousands of trees. Spirit Lake is now 200ft higher than it was pre eruption.
The pilot then flew us into the crater. What a buzz!
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| Inside the Crater |
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| Me and my buddy Ricki - 2001 |
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