Mt. St. Helens

Some facts about the eruption of May 18,1980 The eruption leveled 230 sq. miles of forest in less than 10 minutes. Mt. St. Helens lost 1300 ft. of height
The eruption began with a massive landslide. The largest landslide in recorded history. It buried 14 miles of river valley to an average depth of 150ft.
The blast killed trees up to 17 miles north of the volcano, 230 sq. miles of forest.The winds were up to 670 mph with temps. reaching 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
It obliterated all wildlife and killed 57 people.
Today it is a scientific workshop for biologists, geologists, etc. Things that survived were beetles, voles (most animals that were underground), fish in cold water lakes. Meta Lake is one of the lakes where fish and other life forms survived.
On the northeast side you drive through miles of standing dead and blown-down forests. Pictures show the immense floating log mat.
It is so hard to phantom that this happened 29 years ago and you can still see a lot of the devastation.
We climbed 445 steps up to Windy Ridge only to see the clouds move in and obliterate the view.
The lake level in Spirit Lake rose 400ft. When the mudflow hit the lake it pushed the water up the side of the mountain. Because it was so acidic it killed everything it touched up the side of the mountain. The sides were scared for 20 years. vegetation has returned.
The car in the picture is one a couple left at the bottom of a hill and went up to their cabin. They were 5 miles away. The blast killed them and tossed the car were it landed. Also killed was Harry Truman an 84 yr. old who would not leave his home on Spirit Lake.
First pictures are going to the blast area.