Mount Saint Helens still menacing after 35 years
May 18, 2015
Editors Note: The eruption of Mt St Helens always has held significance in my life. Nuff said...
Thirty-five years ago this Monday, Mount St. Helens in southwest Washington state erupted, killing 57 people, blasting more than 1,300 feet off the top and raining volcanic ash for miles around.
Today, the volcano has become a world-class outdoor laboratory for the study of volcanoes, ecosystems and forestry, as well as a major recreational and tourist destination.
But as scientist learn ever more about the nature of Earth's hellish interior and ability to repair itself, the mountain is slowly but surely recharging its magma reserves and will one day explode once again.
Saint Helens, the most active volcano in the Cascade range, is still active. 'But it's not erupting now,' said Carolyn Driedger with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Scientists, however, are constantly recording activity in and around the mountain, including tiny temblors and gas releases.
In September 2004, after 18 quiet years, the volcano rumbled back to life with a swarm of tiny, shallow quakes. The first of a series of small explosions on Oct. 1 shot volcanic ash and gases into the air.
A lava dome began to rise in the volcano's crater, building slowly over three years during the eruption period that lasted from 2004 to 2008.
The volcano hasn't erupted since 2008, but it has been changing very subtly. Last year, scientists confirmed suspicions that fresh molten rock has been recharging the volcano since 2008.
The magma reservoir about 5 miles beneath the volcano has been slowly re-pressurizing since 2008.
The uplift is slow, steady and subtle, measuring about the length of a thumbnail over six years, scientists said in 2014.