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| A panoramic view of the North side of Mt. Helens as seen from Johnson's Ridge in August 2000. |
In March of 1980, Mt. St. Helens sprang to life after around 140 years of sleep. It started with a shallow earthquake directly under the mountain followed by the opening of steam vents and many more earthquakes. By the Middle of May there was a tremendous bulge on the north side of the mountain which was growing at the rate of 5 feet a day. Finally on May 18, 1980, a tremendous land slide occurred in which a major portion of the north flank of the mountain slide down the hill and into Spirit Lake. The water in the lake slopped to the east and up the hills there and rushed back across the land slide and started a mud flow that ran down the Toutle and into the Cowlitz crushing everything in its way and finally reached the Columbia River and clogged even the mighty Columbia within a day.
Meanwhile back at the mountain, the departure of all the weight on the side of the mountain allowed the steam from melted snow and ice which had been trapped inside the mountain to relieve itself. The blowout took 1300 feet off the top of the mountain and ash and pumice drifted in quality all the way to Montana, and in a matter of days was measured around the world.
For my companion page see "Mt St. Helens Erupts" which features a photo taken by this author of this web site which is published no where other than here.
In August of 2000, I visited Mt. St. Helens and what follows is my report.
Since the eruption extensive tourist/visitor facilities have been developed related to Mt. St. Helens which is now a National Monument. A major highway has been reconstructed to Johnston Ridge which is an excellent viewing point north of the mountain, a point named after a photographer casualty of the 1980 eruption. The highway departs Interstate 5 at Washington Exit 49 and extends east about 50 miles to its terminus. It is a modern highway with passing lanes on the hills. It does have a number of fairly long 6% grades for those who care. There are multiple visitor facilities along the way. The first is at Silverlake, just 5 miles off of Interstate 5. It features an exhibit center, as well as a wetlands walk on an elevated walkway over a portion of the lake that is filled with wetlands plants.
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| Coldwater Lake and returning plant life--A panoramic view |
Other major visitor facilities include an outlook overlooking the Toutle River Valley, as well as a visitor facility at Coldwater Lake which does have a good view of the mountain, and the final destination at Johnson's Ridge. Within the blast zone the port of the property that was owned by Weyerhauser ( a major Washington State Timber Company) was salvage logged and replanted. The reforestation is doing nicely, with the trees 20 feet or so tall at this time. Douglas fir was planted at the lower elevations and Noble Fir was planted at the higher elevations.
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| A large herd of elk in the Toutle River Valley in August 2000. Photographed at a great distance with a 400 mm telephoto and cropped aggressively. |
On the Government land nothing was done to aid reforestation and the dominant plant are dandelions, although a variety of other species are appearing including alder trees in selected locations. To be sure various grasses, clover, loupen, fireweed and other plant life was observed. I also observed animal life ranging from squirrels to Elk.
Obviously, the area has a long ways to go before it fully recovers to the dense forest that it was before the eruption, but it is gradually returning to a forest already, and likely in another 50 years it will be grown up at least to hardwoods. The conifers will likely take longer because of a lack of a handy seed source, but the 'moonscape' appearance is clearly not for ever. The red alder is already started and widely scattered. Once the starts out there get large enough to produce a cone crop, I would expect that much of the area will sprout alder trees like oats. The mountain, itself is above timber line and overall the elevations are getting up there for trees so they won't do as well as they might in lower elevations, but alder will grow in pretty harsh climates, and likely the conifers will infill sooner than most expect. The Douglas fir which is native to the area has a pretty unique way of spreading. It produces a cone that 'freeze dries' open to drop its seeds. The seeds have wings on them, and it is thought they will blow for miles under the right conditions ( a frozen snow pack and a strong wind).
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| The Toutle River Valley taken from the same vantage point as the elk photo except looking downstream. What you are seeing is the residual river of mud from the mudflow. The river today is no more than 20 feet wide. |
Overall, if you are in the area in the summer, this site is a 'must see' and figure on it taking all day.
There is a lot of road to cover, and several places to stop and look. The visitor centers are extensive and have sort film strips as well as a collections of artifacts. You simply cannot take this in without making a day of it.