Mike Neilson's Images
Assorted Images from my collection
The Cascade Range of Western USA and Canada contains many active volcanoes, including Mts Ranier, Hood, Adams and Shasta, all formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate by the North American plate. The best known of those volcanoes is Mount St Helens, which erupted on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. local time. Like Vesuvius, Mount St Helens was a plinean style eruption that produces an cloud that deposited ash up to 900 miles away. Early in the eruption the northern wall of the volcano was blown out and a huge debris avalanche flowed down the valley of the north fork of the Toutle River. The blown-down trees lay with their trunks pointing away from the volcano. Hot lava melted the snow on the mountain causing surges of water and rocks to flow off the mountain.
Mount Saint Helens
