Mt St Helens Research Paper

Mount Saint Helens is volcanic structure located in Skamania County, Washington. On March 27, 1980 Mount Saint Helens began spewing molten ash. This caused the Forest Service to evacuate a 1.5-mile radius around the dome of the mountain. About 400 people decided to evacuate and a few brave souls decided to stay. By March 20, tourists were swarming the area near the mountain. Some people even trespassed on the mountain by foot or hired charter planes to see the lava up close. On March 30, 1980 the FAA recorded a total of 70 illegal fly-overs in one day (“Mount St. Helens Erupts Video”). As a result, on April 4, 1980 the governor called in the National Guard to help control the trespassers. Although people couldn’t see any change from the outside of the mountain, the lava rose 5 feet each day. Many residents were eager to return to their homes and collect their valuables. Therefore, on May 17, 1980 some …show more content…
The mountain erupted for a total of nine hours. The force of the eruption was 500 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima (“Mount St. Helens Erupts Video”). It also triggered the largest debris avalanche in recorded history. As a result of the eruption, the mountain’s peak dropped 1,313 feet which is 14% of its total elevation (“Mount St. Helens Erupts Video”). Spokane, Washington, located 250 miles away, was coated with ash as a result of the eruption. Washington worked to remove about 900,000 tons of ash from highways and roads. The eruption killed everything within 230 square miles including more than 11 million animals, 4 billion feet of lumber, and 57 people (“Mount St. Helens Erupts Video”). According to the Mount St. Helens Information Center, a study determined that an estimate of $1.1 billion by the International Trade Commission at the request of Congress regarding the cost of the destruction and damage from the eruption (“Mount St. Helens Eruptive

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