Mount St. Helens

Introduction

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with destructive intensity. Rock and ash hurtled across the land to locations more than 35 miles away. The high temperature steam turned more than 70% of the snow and ice on the mountain into a violently raging wall of water that travelled through the adjacent valley in excess of 175 miles per hour. When it ended, 57 people lost their lives and countless species of wildlife were lost.

While scientists agree that future eruptions are certain, they can not say with any degree of certainly whether another eruption similar to the explosive episode of May 1980 will take place within the next decade or the next century. What they can agree upon, though, is that it should be planned for.

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Written by Catherine Pohlot