Day 23. Today's Volcano

After detouring East to see Mount Rainier, we made our way back West again today. We were up and off early (having to put on our heated gear as it was so cold) and had a mission.

We had an amazing ride on empty, windy roads under clear blue skies. By 9:00am we were in sight of this:

We are approaching the West side of Mt St Helens, another stratovolcano, which famously erupted on May 18th, 1980. We had an exhilarating ride closer and closer to the volcano until we reached the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

Up here we were gazing directly at the North face which is the area that blew off in the blast of the eruption. Close up views show the crater and the lava dome which has built up inside the crater since the eruption.

The crater is one mile in diameter and contains a glacier - most of which is covered with rocks and debris, appearing black.

The desolation which still remains all these years later gives some idea of the magnitude of the eruption. We were standing 5 miles away from the Mountain and apparently it took 43 seconds for the blast to reach the area where we stood. The pyroclastic flow from the eruption flattened vegetation and buildings over an area of 230 square miles, the ash plume was 12 - 15 miles high and ultimately circled the earth in ash. The area was heavily forested and there was extensive logging. 3 logging camps, 12 million board feet of logs, 650 miles of roads, 19 bridges and 16 miles of railroad were destroyed.

 This tree was flung by the force of the blast and is buried into the hillside where we stood.

These mangled stumps are all that remain of 50 foot trees snapped like matchsticks by the blast.

We walked down and away from the observatory and paused at the memorial wall bearing the names of the 57 people who lost their lives in this natural catastrophe. Many of the people who died were in what was considered to be a "safe" zone as the power of this eruption was drastically underestimated.
The observatory itself has been named after David Johnston, a geologist who was observing the mountain from the ridge where we stood, on the day it erupted, he did not survive.

It was a fascinating visit and reminds us of the forces of nature and of the fact that we inhabit a living planet.

Tonight, we are in Ilwaco, WA, a funky fishing port. This is our last night in this State, Washington has been very good to us.