Mount St. Helens
 ount St. Helens is located in southwestern Washington State, about 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. It is in the Cascade Range of mountain. It was named in 1792 in honor of the Baron St. Helens. American Indians of the Pacific Northwest called it "Louwala-Clough" or "smoking mountain." The volcano was active in the mid-1800s, but most people in this century did not see it as a menace. In fact, the mountain was snow-covered and very beautiful. The forest on it and around the base was filled with wildlife. At the base of the volcano was Spirit Lake, a clear mountain lake that was very good for fishing and boating.
 n the spring of 1980, everything changed. First, there was a series of earthquakes and then came one or maybe two thunderous explosions. Mount St. Helens began to spew forth ash and steam. Two craters formed on the volcano and there were avalanches of snow and ice, darkened by ash. Over the next two months, the volcano continued to be active, simmering almost like a pot boiling on a stove. Then on May 18, 1980, the volcano suddenly erupted. Part of the volcano collapsed and became a huge landslide that eventually covered an area of about 24 square miles. There was also a release of pent-up pressure form within the volcano. There was a huge blast of rock, ash and hot gases that devastated an area of about 230 square miles north of the volcano. To the south, the devastated area was much less. Scientists have calculated the blast started at about 220 miles per hour but increased to about 670 miles per hour. The blast was heard as far away as Montana, Idaho, Canada and California.
 he eruption cost 57 lives and many injuries. Many buildings were buried and more than 200 houses and cabins were destroyed. Many tens of thousands of acres of prime forest, as well as recreational sites, roads and trails were destroyed or heavily damaged. More than 185 miles of highway and roads were destroyed or extensively damaged. Four billion board feet of timber was damaged or destroyed and many animals, including dear, elk and bear were killed. Many small animals, such as rodents, frogs and crawfish managed to survive because they were below ground level or water surface. While the ash destroyed many crops in the area, the ash may provide beneficial chemical nutrients to the soil in the future.
Mount St. Helens information courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey/Department of the Interior
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