Before the devastating May 18, 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens was considered to be one of the most beautiful and most frequently-climbed peaks in the Cascade Range. Spirit Lake was a vacation area offering hiking, camping, boating, and fishing.
USFS Photograph taken before May 18, 1980, by Jim Nieland, U.S. Forest Service, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
After
Mount St. Helens and the devastated area is now within the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, under jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service. Visitor centers, interpretive areas, and trails are being established as thousands of tourists, students, and scientists visit the monument daily. Mount St. Helens is once again considered to be one of the most beautiful and interesting of the Cascade volcanic peaks.
USGS Photograph taken on May 19, 1982, by Lyn Topinka.
Today
Mount St. Helens as seen from Harrys Ridge, 5 miles to the north.
USGS Photograph taken on April 20, 2007, by Gene Iwatsubo.
9 responses so far ↓
Pinto // Jan 12, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Nice article.
I’ll always remember the day I heard the news about Mount St. Helens. Living in the Northeast it’s easy to forget the power that vulcanism has to build up and tear down the landscape, but around the pacific rim it’s a whole ‘nother story.
nurve_damage // Jan 13, 2008 at 12:19 am
amazing
Anonymous // Jan 13, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Wow
foster LAMB // Jan 13, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Measure the distance between Edmonton,AB and MT St. Helen. I was vacationing on the weekend just sw of Edmonton and I could see the column of smoke/ash. The erution caused an immediate change in the weather and I elected to strike camp and just as we got to our parking outside the apt. rain/hail thunder and lightning occurred. At the time I had no idea what had occurred at the mountain.
lee smith ;)1 // Jan 16, 2008 at 1:35 am
tht is toatly awsume dude (y)
matt // Jan 19, 2008 at 10:09 pm
five years later iu was in the high desert outside of the cheney wa. The ash was a layer in the soil. as fine and as beautiful as recent geology.
someone // Jan 27, 2008 at 7:46 am
it sound really amazing and it has totally ruined the whole area around it. it looks like cr@p now!!
bob // Jun 5, 2008 at 7:04 pm
that sucks the area around it reeks im doing a project on it
emilee // Jul 10, 2008 at 8:57 am
i will aways remember when st helens blew its top
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