Mt. St. Helens catastrophically erupted on May 18, 1980, totally devastating the surrounding area, killing 57 people, destroying 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railway, and 185 miles of highway. The mountain had been called the Mt. Fuji of the US because of its snowy and perfect cone shape 
 Photo of Mt. St. Helens before the erupt... |
 Everything beyond this bridge is in the ... |
. Much of the area, however, has been reforested and restored.Most of the 57 bodies have never been found. It was fortunate, however, that the eruption took place on a Sunday, because on a week day loggers would have been at work and the death toll would have been far greater.
The National Volcanic Monument has been established to study and preserve the area.
It is interesting to note that MSH has been VERY active, both before and since the May 1980 eruption. It last erupted in 1430; there has been reported activity off and on ever since: 1805-06, 1830’s, 1840’s, 1857, the 1890’s….In fact, there was ample warning just prior to the 1980 eruption that she was at it again. In March there was an earthquake, followed by steam venting and then a huge bulge appeared in April. All this activity concluded with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake on May 18, 1980--the single-most deadly and economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. The cost to the US is estimated at $1 billion. Ash was carried north/northeast in tremendous proportions….Yakima received 600,000 tons of ash, day became night, streetlights came on in the middle of the day. Mud slides buried homes, trees, cars….
When put into perspective however, this eruption was small when the “ejecta” is compared to other volcanic eruptions in the world
 In the scheme of "ejecta" from other vol... |
 You don't need to hike in if you have a ... |
Native Americans have lived in this area for over 6000 years and of course, have a different way of looking at these volcanic events: In their lore, the two sons of the chief god fought over a maiden, who was unable to choose between them. In their fight for the maiden the two young gods caused villages and forests to be buried. The earth was devastated and it shook violently. The chief god in his disgust struck down the two sons, turning them into mountains: One becoming Mt. Hood and the other Mt. Adams. Mt. Adams looks over to his love, Mt. St. Helens whose name in native American means “smoking or fire-mountain”.
 If you look real hard you can see snow-c... |
Our stay here was at the Silver Cove RV Resort, which is new and not totally finished. It sits on the shores of Silver Lake and is filled with fishermen and boaters, in addition to visitors to MSH. The sites are VERY large, probably the largest we have seen. We were pleased to have a Deer-buddy visit us in the early morn….
 She was having breakfast outside our win... |
