Picture of the day - April 1, 2006

Mount St. Helens

Photo courtesy of Paolo Gaspar. Today's picture features beautiful Mount St. Helens, the site of the most famous volcanic eruption of modern times. Part of the Cascade Mountain range, Mount St. Helens lies approximately 100 miles south of Seattle, Washington. Mount St. Helens had lain dormant since its last eruption back in 1857, but this sleeping giant awoke at 8:32 am on May 18, 1980 sending a huge mushroom-shaped column of ash thousands of feet into the air. Day turned into night in many communities as the ash drifted downwind. Prior to the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens had a nearly perfect symmetrical volcanic cone reminiscent of Japan's Mount Fuji, but on that fateful day much of the mountain's north face simply collapsed, becoming a massive avalanche of rocks. 230 square miles of Washington forest land was either buried beneath volcanic deposits or blown down by the force of the blast in a virtual instant. Today, the long-famous volcanic cone is gone and a gigantic crater sits in its place. Residents of the Pacific Northwest and points downwind from Mount St. Helens now live with an uneasy feeling about their famous neighbor. Although the time since the last eruption has been relatively quiet, the giant has certainly not went back to sleep. Columns of volcanic ash and gas continue to rise from the enormous crater, and geologists believe that another major eruption is a real possibility.   Picture Of The Day Homepage | Submit a photo Interesting Articles