Boom! A once ice-capped mountain peak explodes as ash fills the air. “‘Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!’”Those were the last words of expert geologist David Johnston (Gunn 561). In 1980, Mount Saint Helens of the state of Washington erupted, filling the air with ash and causing mudflows powerful enough to lift tons. It decimated everything in its path. The eruptions, mudflows, and ash caused great damage on the landscape, yet it gave us information on how catastrophes happen and how they affect society and the surrounding landscape. The data acquired can also help us understand the way the landscape was formed. Mount Saint Helens caused much damage, but also helped people understand the science behind it. The eruption on Mount Saint Helens has a specific cause and comes with many effects. A multifold of people would say that the “mountain looked like the site of an atomic blast” (Bredeson 30). That is a very accurate depiction as it took great power to inflict as much damage as it did. The reason for this impressive amount of force is that when magma is built up with pressure and an earthquake hits, the pressure gets magnified and the volcano explodes (Lewis). This is exactly what happened inside Mount Saint Helens. Furthermore, it has been revealed that “The earthquake that triggered the explosion was a 5.2 on the Richter scale” (Gunn 559). The earthquake to the magma can be compared as a match to gasoline. Even though the earthquake was not huge, the scale of the eruption was much greater than that of the earthquake (Gunn 560). The earthquake was only the trigger that allowed for more devastating things to occur. Thirteen hundred feet of the volcano were lost in the explosion followed by landslides, mudslides, and lava flows... ... middle of paper ... ...hes thick (Austin). As a matter of fact, all of this happened in a short period compared to previous thought time frames. The peat was both compositionally and texturally similar to certain coal beds in the eastern United States. On the other hand, coal has been thought to take a thousand years an inch to form (Austin).This challenged many prior theories and conclusions and helped benefit a better understanding of how geography and landscape can be changed. In conclusion, this powerful event tore the landscape, obliterated the geography, and had a colossal impact on the environment and the way that people observed data. These examples of explosions, mudslides and ash helped make improvements towards the future and understandings of past events. Even though Mount Saint Helens destroyed the landscape, it built a better understanding of human knowledge.
Thus, the geologic history of the Palouse indicates the formation of the landscape that we live on presently formed across a time span of millions of years. From the lava flows almost 17 million years ago to ash falls just recently in the 1980’s (Mt Saint Helens) the Palouse has been altered and shaped by a series of natural events.1.
The eruptions were very different too. Here are a few differences of Mt. St. Helens, it was 9,600 feet tall in a symmetrical cone shape, it erupted on May 11 1980 at 8:32am, the eruption blew the whole side of the mountain off and the eruption removed the upper 1,300 feet off forming a horseshoe shaped crater, it
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes in the United States. Even though it only lasted less than a minute, the damages and aftermath of the earthquake were disastrous. These damages were not just from the earthquake, but also from other hazards that occurred because of it. It also had a huge effect on the people living in San Francisco. Many people, the government, and other countries helped the city of San Francisco with relief goods like food and clothing. The city used up their resources in order to rebuild the city and spent a lot of money. This earthquake also started a scientific revolution about earthquakes and its effects.
...815 eruption of Mount Tambora. With over 70,000 deaths and a rating of 7 on the volcanic exclusivity index, this eruption is one of the largest in recorded history. Not only did this volcano cause destruction in Indonesia but the consequences were further felt around the world, as volcanic ash and sulphuric gases were dumped into the stratosphere causing a global climate shift. Dark clouds covered the sun, and dramatic weather changes ensued. Flash floods frequently occurred wiping out a great deal of crop eventually causing prices to skyrocket. Disease began to spread due to malnourishment and unsanitary living conditions. Eventually these consequences subsided and citizens began to migrate towards Mount Tambora once again. Today the government has placed seismic sensors are set up in the most volatile areas to ensure preparedness in the event of another volcano.
The physical damage done to San Francisco due to the earthquake was extensive. The earthquake caused gas lines to rupture and chimneys to collapse which resulted in perhaps the greatest devastation from the earthquake, the fires. About fifty fires broke out around the city that in combination with the earthquake caused the destruction of about 28,000 buildings (The Great San Francisco Earthquake: One of America's Worst Urban Disasters. 2005). The fires continued to burn for four days because the water mains had burst; therefore, the hydrants had no water. Desperation sunk in and the fire department and military, having no water to stop the fires, used dynamite to create firebreaks. This ultimately backfired and led to the fires expanding. When the fires stopped, the city was left in ruins with 80% of it being destroyed (Dean. Pg 506).
The first time I saw Mt. Rainier for myself, was last summer when my boyfriend and I drove to Washington. It was the most beautiful, peaceful looking mountain I have ever seen. However, underneath it's great beauty, it hides a deadly secret. Mt. Rainier is one of the most dangerous volcanoes that we have here in the United States. One of the reasons it is so dangerous is because of it's great beauty. People enjoy looking at it, and the area that surrounds it, so they have made their homes here. Mt Rainier is not the only volcano I am interested in, in fact this last summer I also went to Mt. St. Helens and Crater Lake. But it is the volcano I chose to research for this paper because it does have so much beauty and at the same time so much power. I already know the basics about volcanoes, how they form, the different types, etc., but I wanted to find out more about what would happen if this great volcano were to erupt, what type of eruption would it be, and how would it affect the people that live around it.
MILLER, C. D. POTENTIAL HAZARDS FROM FUTURE ERUPTIONS IN THE VICINITY OF MOUNT SHASTAVOLCANO, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. N.p.: US Government Printing Office, 1980. Print.
57 people were killed, and 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways and 185 miles (300 km) of highway were destroyed. The eruption blew the top of the mountain off, reducing its summit from 9,677 feet to 8,364 feet in elevation and replacing it with a mile-wide horeshoe-shaped crater. Like most of the other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, St. Helens is a great cone of rubble, consisting of lava rock interlayered with ash, pumice and other deposits. Volcanic cones of this internal structure are called composite cones or stratovolcanoes. Mount St. Helens includes layers of basalt and andesite through which several domes of dacite lava have erupted.
On May 18th, 1980, one of the most prominent volcanic eruptions in US History took place in the state of Washington. Mount St. Helens had been dormant for almost 100 years before March 15th. On this day, two months before the eruption several small earthquakes shook the earth. This indicated a magma buildup below the surface, and the first minor event that would lead to one of the greatest eruptions the US has ever known. Following the first set of earthquakes, “Steam explosions blasted a 60- to 75-m (200- to 250-ft) wide crater through the volcano 's summit ice cap and covered the snow-clad southeast sector with dark ash. Within a week the crater had grown to about 400 m (1,300 ft) in diameter and two giant crack systems crossed the entire summit area. Eruptions occurred on average from
Hidden underneath the park, powerful volcanic, magnetic, and hydrothermal forces are reforming the land. Several earthquakes, uplifting, and subsidence of the landscape proves that these powers exist. Recent studies have caused scientists to think that Yellowstone could be growing larger as flowing molten rock builds up below the ground. In a period of 10 years, the volcano has risen 5 inches, not a significantly detectable difference, but it may have split the ground in the Norris Geyser Bassin that could reawaken some of the geysers, like the Steamboat. In spite of this newly found information, scientists do not speculate the volcano erupting any time soon, but with time, it will end with a super natural disaster, destroying everything in its path
Mount St. Helens Location: Washington, United States Latitude: 46.20 N Longitude: 122.18 W height: 2,549 meters or 8,364 feet - 9,677 feet before May 18, 1980 Type: Stratovolcano Number of eruptions in past 200 years: 2-3 Latest Eruptions: Between 1660-1700, around 1800-1802, 1831, 1835, 1842-1844, 1847-1854, 1857, 1980-? Present thermal activity: strong steaming Nickname: Mount Fuji of the West Remarks: continuous intermittent activity since 1980 with occasional eruptions of steam and ash; occasional pyroclastic flows; intermittent dome forming. MSH is considered a young volcano that developed over the last 40,000 years and is one of the most active volcanoes in the Cascade Range. Geologists predicted that the volcano would erupt before the year 2000. The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount SH was the most destructive in the history of the United States. In a matter of hours, MSH caused loss of lives and widespread destruction of valuable property because of the avalanche, lateral blast and mudflows. On March 20, 1980, starting with an earthquake that was followed by many others, MSH became active again after a quiet period of 123 years. On March 27, 1980, there was a huge explosion and MSH began blowing ash and steam. This lasted until May 14, 1980. The explosion in March opened up two craters that quickly became one huge crater. While this was happening, an enormous bulge on the north side of the mountain top appeared. It grew about six feet each day. Geologist kept measuring the bulge, recording the earthquakes and sampling the ash and gases. By May, the bulge was 300 feet wide and more than one mile in length. On May 18 at 8:32 in the morning, Mount St.. Helens erupted taking the top 1,200 feet off the volcan...
Want to go on a family vacation? Washington is the answer! Mount St. Helens is the only volcano in the continental United States to erupt in recent history. Washington’s weather is affected by rain shadows. Waterways are used for transportation, but some industries are building aircraft and growing fruits. Many people lost their lives during two major historical events. There are many different details about Washington.
Volcanoes can cause damage by spewing lava, but earthquakes before the eruption can also cause damage. These earthquakes open fissures and let magma out to the surface. When the magma exits these fissures, streams of lava up to hundreds of feet can shoot into the air. The picture below shows the lava erupting from the fissures created by the earthquakes in...
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano located in southern Italy, near the bay of Naples and the city of Naples. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Vesuvius rises to a height of 1277 m (4190 ft). Vesuvio (Vesuvius) is probably the most famous volcano on earth, and is one of the most dangerous.