the wandering chick
...Mount St. Helens
and her path of destruction
MSH destruction path
Above and Below: The path of destruction that has yet to recover, near what is now the Johnston Ridge Observatory
MSH and the Toutle River Valley

Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. It was 8:32 on a Sunday morning.

She erupted from her side, meaning all the force of the blow, instead of heading skyward, headed north toward the hills traveling at a speed of 300 miles per hour. Everything in its path for 17 miles was completely destroyed.

The eruption caused the largest landslide in recorded history. Debris traveled at speeds between 70 and 150 miles per hour. As a result, 57 lives were lost, , 250 homes destroyed, 27 bridges and 185 miles of highway wiped out. The Toutle River was buried hundreds of feet under the debris.

And it's still evident today. Tree stumps dot the hillsides, and in some cases, the hills are bare. The Toutle River Valley is completely changed, with no water and little vegetation. It resembles more the moon than it does the rich lusciousl forest that it once was.

The mountain itself changed also. It lost 1300 feet at its top, which is now a 1-mile-wide crater shaped like a horseshoe. If any good can come from such disaster, it is the creation of new lakes. Coldwater Lake and Castle Lake were created after the eruption, when debris blocked the flow of the melted snow. Since the water had nowhere to go, it collected, forming these two lakes.

Four informative Visitor Centers along the Route 504 take you back to the time of the eruption, offering educational and emotional information on the disaster and the mountain itself. The last one, the Johnston Ridge Observatory, is located only about five miles away from the north face of the mountain, with excellent views of the crater and the path of destruction.

If you get a chance to visit the area, do so. I think we often don't realize and appreciate the severity of such disaster until we see it - or its results - first-hand.

MSH
MSH and the Toutle River Valley
This is a closeup of the inside of Mount St. Helens, taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, about five miles away. The photo on the right is of her west side.
MSH
MSH, west side
Toutle River Valley
Toutle River Valley
These are mountains that may or may not have been around before Mount St. Helens erupted. The area around the mountain changed dramatically as existing mountains were displaced, blown away or left treeless.
tree that was blown away
Spirit Lake
All over the hillsides near the Johnston Ridge Observatory you see what used to be beautiful giant trees that were shredded by the force of the charging debris.
The lakes around Mount St. Helens were effected by the eruption. Some new lakes were formed, and others, such as Spirit Lake, to the east of the eruption, were changed completely, for example, in depth and size.
Castle Lake
Castle Lake (Above and Below) was created by the eruption.
Castle Lake
Silver Lake and MSH
Silver Lake (Above and Below) is probably the most popular lake in the area that was changed by Mount St. Helens' eruption. It was created by a much, much earlier eruption of the mountain.
Silver Lake
bridge
MSH in distance
This bridge and the overview where this picture was taken from is 15 miles from Mount St. Helens. It marks the western edge of the blast zone.
Mount St. Helens in the far distance from the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center
Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center
The Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center, one of four VCs along the Route 504 with excellent information regarding Mount St. Helens
autumn trees near the Hoffstadt Bluffs VC
On the grounds of the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake
This and the remaining pictures are of Coldwater Lake. This lake did not exist before the eruption of Mount St. Helen in May of 1980. It was such a beautiful autumn day when I visited the area, I spent an hour or more there, photographing the water and the surrounding hills.
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake'
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake
This is Coldwater Lake with Mount St. Helens in the background.
Coldwater Lake

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Coldwater Lake

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