Mt. Saint Helens

I have been fascinated with Mt. Saint Helens since it erupted in May 1980. Iwas six years old and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Of course, that was before I knew more than 50 people were killed by the blast and untold damage was done to the communities north and west of the mountain.

My first view of Mt. Saint Helens, looking up the Toutle River Valley.

The explosion blew off the north face of the mountain, creating the largest landslide in recorded history. It also blew 1000' off the top, reducing the height from 9300' to 8365'. Mt. Saint Helens used to be a perfectly simmetrical volcano, like a minature Mt. Fuji, but now it is something of a deformed hulk; I think it is beautiful.