I had noticed that this date was coming up at the beginning of May, but with 1,001 different things happening this week, I hadn't realized that it was upon us. May 18th 2021 marks the 41st anniversary of the eruption in Washington State of Mount Saint Helens.
This is something that I've always been fascinated with. I love studying geology, and I find it interesting, the amount of devastation that can occur from the eruption of a single volcano.
When Mt. St. Helens blew, I was in Albuquerque NM, and didn't have to deal with the ash that fell in Eastern Washington, where I had been born, and have lived for most of the last 41 years.
It seems that when you live near something like the mountain, you never end up going there to see it. I've never been to the national monument, but I would love to see it. I've seen the mountain from a distance, however. I salute those who rescued people from the mudflows and remains of the pyroclastic flows from the eruption.
I look at what seems to be happening all over the world today, and especially in Iceland. While the volcano there is not explosive like St. Helens was, lava is a respecter of no substance. If it wants to go somewhere, it does. I hope and pray that they can stop the lava before it devastates the area.
Comments
I remember
I was in line of sight to the mountain I had traveled east from my home in Portland on I-80N (Now I-84) and had taken the exit for Corbett. About half way up the to the top, my passenger look North and said, "Look at that."
"That" was an ash plume extending to 20K feet plus. My wife and I have been to the monument. It's awesome. St. Helen looks like an ice cream cone that someone has taken a huge bite out of.
Later in the year, my wife and I had a vacation planed to visit a friend in Billings MT. The route there took us through Spokane and East through Coeur d'Alene. The whole area looked like a grey desert. I had been concerned about sucking ash into the carb of my car. So I used a trick I'd heard that the Washington State Patrol used. I wrapped the air cleaner in toilet paper.
So off we went. By the time I got to Billings, I'd totally forgotten about the TP. Part of our plan was to spend a week in Billings and then head over to Yellowstone for a couple of days and then go South, then West to take a dip in the Great Salt Lake. Every thing was fine until we headed South out of Yellowstone. We were traveling on a two lane road and every hundred thirty or forty mile we'd come to a small town (some as little as 500 population). When we slowed down for the towns, the car ran very sluggishly, nearly dying at stop lights. I stopped at a service station and inquired about a local mechanic and was informed that there was one in the next town. It was late afternoon and I knew that we'd have to spend the night, because by the time we got there the mechanic would be about ready to call it a day. So I decided to get an early dinner.
We stopped a restaurant and when we got back in the car, it fired up and ran just fine, until I got to the street, where it bogged down again. I backed into another parking spot, popped the hood and pulled the cover off the air cleaner. There was nearly a quarter of an inch of ash embedded in the TP. I removed the TP and the problem was solved.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
I can see that happening.
I can see that happening. Forgetting you'd covered the air cleaner. I had a cousin that lived in Ritzville at the time, and the amount of ash there was horrendous. For many years, when you drove through there, you could still see the ash alongside the freeway.
I find it interesting that you left Mt St Helens, and went to visit a much larger volcano. Lol!
Hugs!
Rosemary
The Irony
The irony of that reminded me of this: while visiting Los Angeles, I overheard a TV news report of an earthquake in the area of Washington, DC.
-- Daphne Xu
Visited Mt Rainier, a year later, and a 100 miles south ...
... wind-driven volcanic ash plus contact lenses ...Not a good combination.
I always carry spare eyeglasses, as I cannot sanely or safely drive without lenses.
---
I did buy my souvenir test tube of ash, then teased them: "Do you have any idea how long it will take you get rid of a cubic mile (or so) of ash, selling to tourists one ounce at a time?"
The Peoples Museum was very moving, including a photographer's ash filled car. His very last photos survived burial ...
I have some figurines made of
I have some figurines made of volcanic ash from the eruption. Interestingly, one is an ashtray with a bear reaching for a salmon, and says Alaska on the bottom.
Hugs!
Rosemary
A bit fragile, but ...
My Wife had a pair of earrings made of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helenite and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helenite#/media/File:Emerald_O...
That's cool! well, after it
That's cool! well, after it's made, I suppose. LOL. I'd like to find some myself.
When I lived in Alaska as a kid, there was lots of Jade jewelry, and when I moved to New Mexico, turquoise.
Of course, in Alaska a popular material for making jewelry and figurines is moose nuggets. They collect them, spray them with laquer or whatever, and proceed to make whatever they wish.
Hugs!
Rosemary
Ironically, in Le Guin's "The
Ironically, in Le Guin's "The Lathe of Heaven", it's Mt. Hood that blows it's top to symbolize how the world is de-cohering, and the psychologist responsible causes his view to shift to the more serene Mt. St. Helens...
https://books.google.com/books?id=sZZ7xHC3-JIC&pg=PA140&lpg=...
That is ironic. I've seen
That is ironic. I've seen several videos from a geologist who lives in Ellensburg, Washington, on the east side of the Cascades, who talks about the possibility of Rainier erupting. If that happened, Olympia (Washington's Capitol), Tacoma, and possibly Seattle would be covered with several feet of ash. Olympia, probably from pyroclastic flows.
Hugs!
Rosemary