Mt St Helens
Mount St. Helens.
Mount St Helens is a volcano in a national park in Washington State, USA. It had been thought to be dormant for many years, until in 1980, when it suddenly burst to life.
On March 20th, the huge volcano suddenly ‘woke up’ when there was a 4.1 Richter scale earthquake, and over the next 28 days, there were hundreds of other recordable earthquakes. On the 25th March, there were 22 significant earthquakes in just 8 hours. On March 27th, a huge earthquake ripped a massive crater into the side of Mount St Helens, changing the face of the mountain for ever.
On April 3rd, in just a few moments, a massive 100m high bulge appeared on the north side of the volcano. This huge bulge was cause by magma suddenly rushing near to the surface of the volcano. The budge was under enormous pressure, and a national state emergency was declared in Washington state, as scientists finally realised that there was a risk of an eruption. On the same day, some restricted zones were set up by the police. There was a ‘red’ zone, which was a complete no-go area around the volcano, and a ‘blue’ zone, which was a restricted area. Although in theory, these zones should have kept people miles away from the volcano, in reality, they were not round at all, and it was very possible for some loggers or workers to come within a few miles of the mountain, without any restrictions. Incidentally, some people hoping to see a volcano erupt, stupidly followed the workers up close to the volcano, so they could have a better view.
On 18th May 1980, Mount St Helens erupted. At 8:32 am, without warning, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, positioned directly below the north face, triggered that part of the mountain to slide for about 10 seconds, in one of the largest landslides recorded in history. The extreme pressure of the landslide, cause the magma to blast through the volcano in a huge explosion, which flung millions of tonnes of lava and ash into the sky. The explosion resulted in
Mount St Helens is a volcano in a national park in Washington State, USA. It had been thought to be dormant for many years, until in 1980, when it suddenly burst to life.
On March 20th, the huge volcano suddenly ‘woke up’ when there was a 4.1 Richter scale earthquake, and over the next 28 days, there were hundreds of other recordable earthquakes. On the 25th March, there were 22 significant earthquakes in just 8 hours. On March 27th, a huge earthquake ripped a massive crater into the side of Mount St Helens, changing the face of the mountain for ever.
On April 3rd, in just a few moments, a massive 100m high bulge appeared on the north side of the volcano. This huge bulge was cause by magma suddenly rushing near to the surface of the volcano. The budge was under enormous pressure, and a national state emergency was declared in Washington state, as scientists finally realised that there was a risk of an eruption. On the same day, some restricted zones were set up by the police. There was a ‘red’ zone, which was a complete no-go area around the volcano, and a ‘blue’ zone, which was a restricted area. Although in theory, these zones should have kept people miles away from the volcano, in reality, they were not round at all, and it was very possible for some loggers or workers to come within a few miles of the mountain, without any restrictions. Incidentally, some people hoping to see a volcano erupt, stupidly followed the workers up close to the volcano, so they could have a better view.
On 18th May 1980, Mount St Helens erupted. At 8:32 am, without warning, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, positioned directly below the north face, triggered that part of the mountain to slide for about 10 seconds, in one of the largest landslides recorded in history. The extreme pressure of the landslide, cause the magma to blast through the volcano in a huge explosion, which flung millions of tonnes of lava and ash into the sky. The explosion resulted in