MOUNT SAINT HELENS

BYSHANJESSICA

PRINCESSKHALIA

Where is it located?St.Helens is located in Washington

State,USA.

When did it erupt? It erupted in 1980.

How many died?57 people died.7,000 big game animals, 12 million

Chinook and Coho salmon, and millions of birds and small mammals are believed to have died in the eruption.

What damage did it do? The lateral blast swept out of the north side of

MSH at 300 miles per hour creating a 230 square mile fan shaped area of devastation reaching a distance of 17 miles from the crater. 

With temperatures as high as 660 degrees F and the power of 24 megatons of thermal energy, it snapped 100 year old trees like toothpicks and stripped them of their bark.

The snow on MSH that was not instantly flashed to steam by the heat, melted and formed large mudflows that destroyed 27 bridges, 200 homes, 185 miles of roadway, and 15 miles of railway.

Interesting Facts Pyroclastic flows rolled out of the crater for hours after the

eruption.  Covering 6 square miles, they sterilized the remaining soil with temperatures nearing 1,300 degrees F.

The massive ash cloud grew to 80,000 feet (18 kilometers) in 15 minutes and reached the east coast in 3 days.  Although most of the ash fell within 300 miles of the mountain, finer ash circled the earth in 15 days and may continue to stay in the atmosphere for many years.

Volcanoes provide us with geothermal energy, valuable minerals, fertile soil and recreational opportunities.

St.Helens