Mount St. Helens, Washington

On Monday we visited Mount St. Helens. There are two very nice visitor centers and the observatory, which is at the end of the road and the closest view (5 miles) to the mountain.

At 8:32 a.m. on May 18,1980, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Mount St. Helens, triggering a massive explosion. The release of gases trapped inside the volcano sent 1,300 vertical feet of mountaintop rocketing outward to the north. Super-heated ash roared 60,000 feet into the sky. The cataclysmic blast - carrying winds that reached 670 miles per hour and temperatures of 800 degrees flattened 230 square miles of forest. Fifty-seven people were killed including USGS scientist David Johnston who they named the observatory after - Johnston Ridge Observatory. The largest landslide in recorded history swept through the Toutle River Valley, choking rivers and lakes with mud, ash and shattered timber.

The clouds hung in front of the crater all day blocking our view somewhat.




View of the ash covered valley below the mountain.


This was Toutle creek which turned into the wide flow area of the ash, mud and trees. Ash still flows down the creek 28 years later.


What is left of a tree blown over - notice how greenery is growing around the stump.