"Mount St. Helens ~ Born of Fire & Ice" Top 5 Page for this destination Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument by starship

Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument Travel Guide: 124 reviews and 314 photos

Mt. St. Helens Pre-1980 View ~ postcard pic.

What Happened The Morning of May 18, 1980

What were you doing on May 18, 1980? Was the eruption of Mount St. Helens the kind of event where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news? The eruption of Mount St. Helens was a natural disaster so monumental that it could only be rivaled by other natural disasters in American history such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906!

On that spring day in 1980 at 8:32am, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake was followed seconds later by the monumental collapse of Mount St. Helens' summit which literally blew off the north face of the mountain and released a lateral blast that changed the mountain forever!! Or at least until the next eruption....

The Eruption and Its Impact

North Face Missing

The powerful earthquake had suddenly released and spewed forth the gas rich magma and super-heated groundwater which had been trapped inside the mountain. The resulting lateral blast literally flattened 230 miles of forest in less than 3 minutes! The magma had melted the snow & ice mantle of the volcano causing a landslide and flood said to cover 5 miles in about 40 seconds, or the area between the volcano and what is now Johnstons Ridge Observatory. Volcanic ash and pumice, shot 15 miles into the atmosphere, was so thick that day became night and everything was engulfed in a smothering cloud across eastern Washington state. The darkness was so complete that streetlights automatically lit at 9:50 in the morning in cities such as Yakima, Ellensburg, and Ritzville. Heavy concentrations of ash were swept over states as far east as Idaho, Montana and beyond. Within a matter of minutes, the enormous landslide and blast had ceased but the eruption column, mudflows and pyroclastic flows continued through the following morning. Sadly, 57 people lost their lives during this event.

The Aftermath

A forest lays in ruins

In the aftermath of the eruption, the devastation was clear. Old growth forests lay leafless and flattened into a pattern that resembled flattened fur at a distance or as some would describe it, as a lunar landscape. Pictures I have seen made the downed trees look like a herringbone pattern to me. Further on, melting snow & ice, and mudflows carrying debris caused another type of death & destruction on the Toutle River.

Mount St. Helens Today

Decades later, Mount St. Helens would let us know that she was only sleeping and not to be forgotten. In September, 2004, a white plume of smoke filled the sky above the volcano! Thousands of small earthquakes were recorded, but Mount St. Helens is biding her time.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Magnificent beyond belief!
Cons:It could all happen again!
In a nutshell:Formidable, Breathtaking, You Won't Want to Leave

Last visit to Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument: Jun 2004
Intro Updated Feb 8, 2011
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Reviews (9)

Northface on a calm day from Johnston Ridge - Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument

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Johnston Ridge Observatory - Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument

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Courtesy of Blue Heron web site - Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument

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Comments (32)

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bijo69 Apr 9, 2013 at 10:23 AM

Great page Sylvia. Too bad I missed Mt. St. Helens when I worked at the Paradise Inn in Mt. Rainier NP.
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  starship Apr 9, 2013 at 12:54 PM
  
  Hi Birgit! I guess we're even because I really did not get to visit Mt. Ranier NP. Are you ever planning a return visit to the USA?
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HORSCHECK Apr 9, 2013 at 5:34 AM

Sylvia, lovely little page about the "Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument" Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument is probably the longest term in the VT database - I must admit that I have never heard the expression "cookie-cutter hotel". *winkygrin* and *verybigsmile*
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toonsarah Feb 13, 2013 at 8:05 AM

Very interesting page Sylvia. I especially enjoyed reading your very well-written introduction. I would love to visit here one day!
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  starship Feb 13, 2013 at 8:57 AM
  
  This is another place where I was fascinated by the scenery and by the facts of the eruption. Hope you are able to visit here one day soon!
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Yaqui Jun 21, 2011 at 4:47 PM

Neat page Slyvia. I have a wolf sculpture that is made out from the volcanic rock from Mt. Saint Helens. I bought at Yellowstone of all places. I will not forget that day myself.
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scottishvisitor Mar 30, 2010 at 2:14 PM

What a great natural place to visit I do like this type of place
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Ryat Dec 19, 2009 at 3:38 PM

Were was I May 18, 1980? I was 4 days from turning a year old, living in a trailer at Kennewick, Washington.
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amandajayne81 Oct 27, 2009 at 1:09 AM

Great information about Mt St Helens. We look forward to hopefully seeing it ourselves next year.
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deecat Oct 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM

Wow! I agree that these are 5 star tips with lots of valuable information. Of course, the photographs that accompany the info are fantastic. It's a spot I've never seen and appreciate such in-depth coverage.
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margaretvn Aug 30, 2009 at 3:16 AM

had another peep at your greta page!!
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csordila Jul 20, 2009 at 10:58 PM

A lot of particularly interesting informations about this super volcano. Since I came back recently from Santorini, I have been crazy for the volcanos. Best. L.