Mount Saint Helens a volcano, which had been dormant since 1857, began to show signs of renewed activity in early 1980 when a column of magma began pushing up inside the mountain, causing the north face of the mountain to bulge out. On May 18, 1980, an earthquake caused a landslide on the mountain's north face, taking off the top of the mountain. The landslide triggered the main eruption by “uncorking” the column of magma that had been building up. The eruption spewed a cloud of ash and gases as high as 19 km (12 mi). The blast killed 57 people and damaged life in an area of some 180 sq km (some 70 sq mi), and a vast area was covered with ash and debris. As a result of the eruption, the mountain's elevation was decreased from 2,950 m (9,677 ft) to 2,550 m (8,365 ft). A minor eruption occurred in 1982, and the last magma-producing eruption was in 1986. The Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument was established there in 1983¹.

As Noel took us through the area leading  up to Mount Saint Helens he gave us a running commentary that put the events in a special light. Below are some of the photos that stood out for us.

Looking at the blast crater caused by the "uncorking"	Noel explaining some of the history to Bill	The entire valley was reshaped when the pyroplastic flow rushed down.	The Lake was entirely changed	Bill and Nancy with Mount Saint Helens in the background
Entire forests were blasted away by the eruption	Nothing was left standing in the blast zone	We walked along looking at the effects 20 years later	Such as trees laid out away from the blast.

1 Saint Helens, Mount," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.