Happy St. Helens Day!

[seawasp]

May 18, 1980: Mount Saint Helens explodes in the most awe-inspiring eruption ever recorded in the contiguous 48 states, sending out a lateral blast wave that levels everything for almost 20 kilometers and whose vertical component ends up depositing detectable amounts of dust more than halfway across the country.

Comments

[sub-musashi.livejournal.com]

Boom! I have some St. Helens ash in my basement.

Re: Yes...

[sub-musashi.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's well worth the trip to see it if you ever get the chance. It's pretty awe-inspiring to realize that you can still see the blast pattern in the trees around it. And it's a very pretty drive up there, too.

Yes...

[seawasp]

... so do I. Alas, I have never actually SEEN the mountain, just the pictures. This coast is very boring in terms of geological activity.

Re: Yes...

[sub-musashi.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's well worth the trip to see it if you ever get the chance. It's pretty awe-inspiring to realize that you can still see the blast pattern in the trees around it. And it's a very pretty drive up there, too.

[kengr]

What's funny is that everyone was expecting Portland to get buried. Worst ashfall we ever got here (weeks after the initial eruption) was less that 1/16th of an inch.

Of course, working in a facilitiy with clean rooms meant that evem the "light dustings" were a hassle.