Mount St. Helens, located in southwestern Washington
about 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon,
is one of several lofty volcanic peaks that dominate
the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest.
The modern name, Mount St.
Helens, was given to the volcanic peak in 1792 by
Captain George Vancouver of the British Royal
Navy, a seafarer and explorer. He named it in honor
of a fellow countryman, Alleyne Fitzherbert, who
held the title Baron St. Helens and who was at the
time the British Ambassador to Spain.
Louwala-Clough ... Loowit
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Northwest Indians told early explorers about the firey Mount St. Helens. In
fact, an Indian name for the mountain, Louwala-Clough, means "smoking
mountain". According to one legend, the mountain was once a beautiful maiden,
"Loowit". When two sons of the Great Spirit "Sahale" fell in love with
her, she could not choose between them. The two braves, Wyeast
and Klickitat
fought over her, burying villages and forests in the process. Sahale was
furious. He smote the three lovers and erected a mighty mountain peak where
each fell. Because Loowit was beautiful, her mountain (Mount St. Helens) was a
beautiful, symmetrical cone of dazzling white. Wyeast (Mount Hood)
lifts his head in pride, but Klickitat (Mount Adams) wept to see the beautiful
maiden wrapped in snow, so he bends his head as he gazes on St. Helens.
Mount St. Helens - a Stratovolcano
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Geologists call Mount
St. Helens a composite volcano (or stratovolcano),
a term for steep-sided, often symmetrical cones constructed
of alternating layers of lava flows, ash, and
other volcanic debris. Composite volcanoes tend to
erupt explosively and pose considerable danger to
nearby life and property.
The local Indians and early settlers in the then
sparsely populated region witnessed the occasional
violent outbursts of Mount St. Helens. The volcano
was particularly restless in the mid-19th century,
when it was intermittently active for at least a
26-year span from 1831 to 1857.
Some scientists
suspect that Mount St. Helens also was active sporadically
during the three decades before 1831, including
a major explosive eruption in 1800. Although
minor steam explosions may have occurred in
1898, 1903, and 1921, the mountain gave little or
no evidence of being a volcanic hazard for more
than a century after 1857. Consequently, the
majority of 20th-century residents and visitors thought
of Mount St. Helens not as a menace, but as a
serene, beautiful mountain playground teeming with
wildlife and available for leisure activities throughout
the year. At the base of the volcano's northern
flank, Spirit Lake, with its clear, refreshing water
and wooded shores, was especially popular as a
recreational area for hiking, camping, fishing, swimming
and boating.
The tranquility of the Mount St. Helens region was
shattered in the spring of 1980, however, when the
volcano stirred from its long repose, shook, swelled,
and exploded back to life. The local people rediscovered
that they had an active volcano in their
midst, and millions of people in North America were
reminded that the active-and potentially dangerous-
volcanoes of the United States are not restricted to
Alaska and Hawaii.
Excerpts from:
Tilling, Topinka, and Swanson, 1990,
Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, and Future,
USGS Special Interest Publication; and
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gifford Pinchot National Forest
"Mount St. Helens" Broshure, 1980:
Government Printing Office GPO 1980 699-331
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