Mount St. Helens
I will never forget when I
finally saw Mount St. Helens. Located in
Washington State within the Gifford Pinchot National forest, and over eight thousand
feet tall it is an incredible site to see.
Mt St Helen and other volcanoes are located in the Cascades arc because
of the subduction that has taken place in that area. Although, it was silent that day you could
see the remains of what looked like a warn battlefield. From a glance the beautiful mountain top
covered with snow but from a closer point a view there was a story that could
be told. It was easy to see the large
crater where previous volcanic explosions had happened. The ridges down the mountain side made by
once flowing lava to the base of the pumice plain. I knew from previous research that this
mountain had produced two kinds eruptions. One that is violently explosive producing
volcanic tephra and the second, quiescent, produced a much quieter flowing
lava. I could see the basalt and
andesite rock from previous eruptions.
I know that with this
particular volcano there are different hazards associated with it. Since there is a large amount of snow due to
the location and altitude that can cause a couple of different issues. Firstly, if the volcano was to erupt again it
would cause the ground to heat up and could cause water to leak into the earth
by melting snow or ice. As that water
would heat up, it would cause steam and pressure to build up under the surface,
which could cause a more explosive eruption. Not only would the smoke, ash and
lava be potential dangers, flooding could also be a potential danger. If the large amount of snow that currently
resides on the mountain were to melt it could cause large amounts of flooding
below the mountain. The closest town is
only 11 miles from the base of the mountain so it could be very dangerous for
the citizens of that area. Currently there is no way to tell for sure if and
when the volcano will become active again but it isn’t a place you want to be
if it does. What I found most interesting was the dried volcanic rock that was once flowing lava. Something that I was able to walk right on top of but at an earlier time would have melted anything in its path.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens
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