The Toutle River Valley
Take a moment and really look at the terrain below. If you were standing here May 17th, 1980 you wouldn't have been able to see it because you would have been standing in an old growth forest of Douglas Fir on both sides of the river. The valley, which was six hundred feet deeper, was lush with ferns and flowers were beginning to bloom because, like in this shot, the snow had just melted. The initial blast from Mount Saint Helens started at 220 mph and accelerated to approximately 670 mph, (the blast was heard in Montana but not in Portland Oregon leading some to believe that it was supersonic) about the speed of sound, and ripped ALL soil and vegetation from the valley before burying it in a tidal wave of debris propelled by gas and the instantly liquified glaciers.
It is against the law to walk off trail anywhere in the blast zone which extends from the crater nearly 15 miles down that valley, (about the Hoffstadt Bluff Rest Area) as scientists from all over the globe study this erosion, growth, sediment deposits etc. to gain a better understanding of the effects of these violent Earth burps. (patent pending) :)
The Toutle River Valley
Take a moment and really look at the terrain below. If you were standing here May 17th, 1980 you wouldn't have been able to see it because you would have been standing in an old growth forest of Douglas Fir on both sides of the river. The valley, which was six hundred feet deeper, was lush with ferns and flowers were beginning to bloom because, like in this shot, the snow had just melted. The initial blast from Mount Saint Helens started at 220 mph and accelerated to approximately 670 mph, (the blast was heard in Montana but not in Portland Oregon leading some to believe that it was supersonic) about the speed of sound, and ripped ALL soil and vegetation from the valley before burying it in a tidal wave of debris propelled by gas and the instantly liquified glaciers.
It is against the law to walk off trail anywhere in the blast zone which extends from the crater nearly 15 miles down that valley, (about the Hoffstadt Bluff Rest Area) as scientists from all over the globe study this erosion, growth, sediment deposits etc. to gain a better understanding of the effects of these violent Earth burps. (patent pending) :)