Photos show Mount St. Helens historic eruption: Cars sunk in volcanic ash, people wearing masks
N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
·1 min read
Forty years ago, Mount St. Helens erupted in southwest Washington killing 57 people in one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in U.S. history.
At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit and within minutes the volcano’s north flank collapsed, creating the largest landslide in recorded history, according to the US Geological Survey.
That landslide triggered powerful explosions that sent ash, steam, rocks and volcanic gas upward and outward. The lateral blast scorched and flattened about 230 square miles of dense forest, blanketing the area in hot debris.
Within 15 minutes, a plume of volcanic ash rose over 80,000 feet. Over the next few days, winds blew the 520 million tons of ash east across the U.S. causing complete darkness 250 miles away in Spokane. The ash circled the globe in 15 days.
Here is a look back at photos from the day Mount St. Helens erupted.
Volcanic ash and steam rise from Mount St. Helens as it erupts in Washington on May 18, 1980.
Denuded trees lay like matchsticks in the changed landscape around Mount St. Helens, Wash., shown two days after eruption, May 20, 1980.
The streets of Yakima, Wash., are dark at 3 p.m. after an eruption at Mount St. Helens, May 18, 1980. White volcanic ash covers the streets and passersby wear masks to avoid breathing the ash.
Mount St. Helens sends a plume of ash, smoke and debris skyward in its most violent eruption to date, May 18, 1980. The volcano, located 45 miles northeast of Portland, Wash., became active on March 27. Flooding in some areas has been triggered by the volcano and residents have been evacuated.
A logging operation along the Toutle River, Wash., about 20 miles from the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption, is in ruins after flooding from ice and snow melt from the mountain, May 1980.
Residents of Longview, Wash., continue clean-up operations as the city tried to get back to normal despite deposits of ash from Mount St. Helens, June 2, 1980. The volcano continues to spew small amounts of ash and steam.
Ashen clouds from the Mount St. Helens volcano move over Ephrata airport in Washington on May 19, 1980 days after the volcanic eruption.
Fifteen-year-old Heidi Havens gives Allen Troup, 16, a kiss as he prepares to board a Spokane City bus, May 27, 1980. Spokane residents have had to wear face masks while outside for nine days now because of possible health threats from volcanic ash sprayed over the area by Mount St. Helens on May 18. Having had them on for so long, some people are obviously forgetting.
A lone trailer is caught in the flooding following in the aftermath of Mount St. Helens' eruption, which brought rapid ice and snow melt to area streams and rivers, May 20, 1980.
Mud from the Toutle River rises about four feet in this area of Toutle as residents started digging out, May 31, 1980, after the area was hit by flash flooding in the wake of the May 18 eruptions on Mount St. Helens.
A car is shown submerged in ash in this May 20, 1980 from Mount St. Helen eruption in Washington State.
Jan Smith of Castle Rock, Wash., wears a gas mask after Mount St. Helens erupted filling the air with ash and smoke, May 29, 1980. Many areas of the northwest received varying amounts of ash after the May 18 eruption.
Two women cover up as they walk along a Portland street, May 26, 1980, after Mount St. Helens erupted spewing ash skyward with some of it landing on the city. Work crews have already started washing off the streets.
Mount St. Helens roars to life Friday, Oct. 17, 1980 sending a plume of smoke and ash skyward. The active volcano is located 45 miles northeast of Portland in Washington. Next to Mount St. Helens is Mount Rainier a dormant volcano. The plume was estimated to be 50, 000 feet.
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