May 18, 2016

Google Logo Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

36 Years Ago Today: Mount Saint Helens

It's the 36th anniversary of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens. Please take a moment to remember those who died that beautiful May morning, and to appreciate the power of a volcano to change our lives forever

By Dana Hunter

Image courtesy USGS

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Image shows the upper part of Mount St. Helens's truncated summit, with an enormous ash cloud roaring from it. Image is in color: the cone and cloud are dark blue-gray. The valley in the distance is covered in pale gray ash.
Mount St. Helens in eruption at 9:50am Pacific time on May 18, 1980. Public domain image courtesy USGS.

It's the thirty-sixth anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Please take a moment to remember those who died that beautiful May morning, and to appreciate the power of a volcano to change our lives forever:

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

REID TURNER BLACKBURN

WALLACE NORWOOD BOWERS

JOEL K. COLTEN

RONALD LEE CONNER

TERRY A. CRALL

CLYDE ANDREW CROFT

JOSE A. DIAS

ELLEN DILL

WILLIAM (BILL) DILL

ARLENE H. EDWARDS

JOLENE H. EDWARDS

BRUCE EDWARD FADDIS

JAMES F. FITZGERALD JR.

THOMAS G. GADWA

ALLEN R. HANDY

PAUL HIATT

DAVID A. JOHNSTON

DAY ANDREW KARR

DAY BRADLEY KARR

MICHAEL MURRAY KARR

BOB M. KASEWETER

CHRISTY LIANN KILLIAN

JOHN G. KILLIAN

HAROLD (BUTCH) KIRKPATRICK

ROBERT E. LANDSBURG

ROBERT LYNDS

GERALD O. MARTIN

GERALD LLOYD MOORE

KEITH A. MOORE

SHIRLEY (SAM) MOORE

KEVIN CHRISTOPHER MORRIS

MICHELLE LEA MORRIS

EDWARD JOSEPH MURPHY

ELEANOR JEANNE MURPHY

DONALD R. PARKER

JEAN ISABELL PARKER

NATALIE ALI PARKER

RICHARD A. PARKER

WILLIAM PAUL PARKER

MERLIN JAMES PLUARD

RUTH KATHLEEN PLUARD

FRED D. ROLLINS

MARGERY ELLEN ROLLINS

PAUL F. SCHMIDT

BARBARA LEA SEIBOLD

RONALD DALE SEIBOLD

DONALD JAMES SELBY

EVLANTY V. SHARIPOFF

LEONTY V. SKOROHODOFF

DOUG THAYER

HARRY R. TRUMAN

JAMES S. TUTE

VELVETIA (VELVET) TUTE

KAREN MARIE VARNER

BEVERLY C. WETHERALD

KLAUS ZIMMERMAN

This was an event that changed the way we view the volcanoes in our back yard. You can read about the catastrophic eruption here. Can you believe there were survivors who were directly above the summit when it blew?

Monitoring active volcanoes is a terribly dangerous profession. Learn about the geologists who sacrificed their lives to keep us informed and safe here.

Volcanoes generally don't erupt without warning. A fascinating sequence of events lead up to the May 18th cataclysm. You can follow them starting here.

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe