Mt. St. Helens
Mt. St. Helens, WALocation= 46.2N, 122.2W
Elevation= 8,363ft (2,549m)
Mt. St. Helens, WA
On May 18th, 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted, blowing off the top 1,300 ft. of the volcano (Volcano).
But, that was not the first sign that the Volcano was about to blow. Two months prior to the pyroclastic, a tremendous hot ash explosion,
a 4.0 earthquake started the disasterous chain of events. This was followed by other quakes, phreatic "steam blast" eruptions, but as of then
there was no magma, the name of molten rock after it reaches the surface (Nodak).
All of these events happened on the north side of the volcano causing the rock in that area to buldge out over 300ft.
This growth occured at about five feet per day (Nodak).
On the fateful day of the 18th of May a magnitude 5.1 earthquake tore loose the bulge causing the largest
landslide in recorded time. With this sudden upheavel a lateral blast of rock, ash, and hot gas rought havoc on over
150 sq. miles. The blast flattened trees for up 6 miles and leveled vegitation for up to 13 miles in an 180 degree arc
facing the north of the volcano (Nodak). After the lateral blast a vertically directed ash column, in the end it was found
that over 0.5 cubic miles of uncompacted ash was deposited in the atmosphere chilling the climate by a recorded 1 degree, was directed from the new
horseshoe crater (USGS). The ash deposited into the atmoshpere was distributed over 22,000 sq. mile area incompassing most of the Pacific Northwest (Nodak).
The result of the ash colum, or called pyroclastic eruption, was the melting of the snow, on what was left of the volcanoes summit,
and its mixing with the ash to form a lahar, or a flow of volcanic debris and water resembling concrete (Nodak).
Following the May 18th eruption five more explosive eruptions rocked Mt. St. Helens in 1980 (Nodak). But, their size never
matched the main eruption on the 18th. Yet they were able to ash columns that reached up to 25,000-50,000ft.
They also helped to start the rebuilding process in the form of lava domes, built between June 12 and October, but the only dome
to survive was the October dome that forms the present day dome (Nodak).
Even today the May 18th eruption causes problems on and around Mt. St. Helens. Mudflows are common when snow covers the floor of the
crater nd the heat melts it. But, the eruption also gave us valuable information. We know that in 1800 Mt. St. Helens erupted and that it also erupted 
in 1980. With this information geologists are trying to predict the next eruption if it stays true to a model they have worked up.
Even if they are able to become accurate to within two years people and property can be saved (USGS).
