Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is an active volcano in Washington State, in the Cascade range of the United States. Since 1857 the volcano has not been functioning, but then began showing signals of activeness in 1980. Then on May 18, 1980 the volcano erupted with such fury that the top of this active volcano blew off, as ash and gasses were sent to an altitude of 12 miles. It looked spectacular from far away as it erupted. I watched it with binoculars.

The blast killed about 57 people in the area. It also destroyed everything in an area of 70 square miles. A huge area was covered mostly with ash and debris. Once in a while ash and steam come out. After the volcano erupted the height of the volcano was reduced from 9,677 feet to 8,364.

A National Monument was established here in 1983.