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Summer Reading 2025: Remembering Mount St. Helens: Before the Blast

A guide for WSA's community read for Summer 2025: Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens, by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Mount St. Helens before eruption, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest historic photo.

A group of young hikers at the Spirit Lake Ranger Station in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1950 - US Forest Service photo

A group of young hikers at the Spirit Lake Ranger Station in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1950 - US Forest Service photo.

Spirit Lake Ranger Station before the eruption in 1980 - US Forest Service photo

Spirit Lake Ranger Station before the eruption in 1980 - US Forest Service photo.

Gifford Pinchot Spirit Lake Campground, before the 1980 eruption - US Forest Service photo

Gifford Pinchot Spirit Lake Campground, before the 1980 eruption - US Forest Service photo.

Spirit Lake beach and dock, 1978 - US Forest Service photo

Spirit Lake beach and dock, 1978 - US Forest Service photo.

Mt St Helens and Spirit Lake from Mt Margaret, pre-eruption, Photo #350, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Mt St Helens and Spirit Lake from Mt Margaret, pre-eruption, Photo #350, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Pre-eruption Spirit Lake, Mt St Helens, Photo #136 - USFS, Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Pre-eruption Spirit Lake, Mt St Helens, Photo #136, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Fishermen on Spirit Lake before the eruption, 1970s - US Forest Service photo

Fishermen on Spirit Lake before the eruption, 1970s - US Forest Service photo.

Sailing on Spirit Lake before the eruption, 1970s - US Forest Service photo

Sailing on Spirit Lake before the eruption, 1970s - US Forest Service photo.

Mount St. Helens in 1979, a year before the eruption - USGS photo

Mount St. Helens one year prior to the May 18, 1980, catastrophic eruption, showing glaciers at the summit - USGS photo.

Conical peak of Mount St. Helens before the May 18, 1980 eruption - Peggy Short-Nottage

Mount St. Helens had a conical peak until the May 18 eruption left behind a horseshoe-shaped crater. Spring, 1980. Courtesy of Peggy Short-Nottage, via The Statesman Journal.

View from NE of a small phreatic eruption on Mount St. Helens before the eruption, April 10, 1980. Photographer: Don Swanson.USGS

On March 20, 1980, after a quiet period of 123 years, earthquake activity once again began under Mount St. Helens volcano. Seven days later, on March 27, small phreatic (steam) explosions began, like the one shown here from April 10, 1980. USGS.

WA State Patrol road blocks - US Forest Service photo

After Mount St. Helens started erupting in March, 1980, the Washington State patrol was tasked with putting up road blocks to restricted areas - US Forest Service photo.

Mount St. Helens prior to eruption, March 24, 1980, Photo #056 - USFS, Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Mount St. Helens prior to eruption, March 24, 1980, Photo #056 - US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

In April 1980 a crack opens up on Mt. Saint Helens sending up ash, Photo #25, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest

In April 1980 a crack opens up on Mt. Saint Helens sending up ash, Photo #25, US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Spirit Lake before the eruption, April, 1980. Photographer: Peter Lipman. USGS

Spirit Lake before the big May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. View from the south. Mount Rainier, is in the distance. April 1980. Photo: Peter Lipman, USGS.

Volcano Ash sign from business in Cowlitz County, from April, 1980, when tourists flooded the area to get a look at Mount St. Helens - Gifford Pinchot National Forest historical photo

Volcano Ash sign from business in Cowlitz County, from April, 1980, when tourists flooded the area to get a look at Mount St. Helens - Gifford Pinchot National Forest historical photo

Steam blast ((phreatic) eruption from the summit crater of Mount St. Helens, April 6, 1980. Photographer: James G. Moore. USGS

Steam-blast eruption from summit crater of Mount St. Helens. Aerial view, April 6, 1980, looking southwest, showing a roiling, gray-brown, ash-laden cloud that envelops and almost completely hides an initial fingerlike ash column. USGS.

USGS scientists measure tilt in timberline parking lot at Mount St. Helens, April 1980. Photographer: Don Swanson, USGS.

Measuring tilt in Timberline parking lot in early April 1980 during lightly falling snow. Photo: Don Swanson, USGS.

Steaming Mount St. Helens as seen on April 12, 1980, from I-5 near Chehalis, WA. Photographer: Lyn Topinka. USGS

Steaming Mount St. Helens as seen from Interstate 5, at Chehelis, Washington. April 12, 1980. Photo: Lyn Topinka, USGS.

Harry Truman - US Forest Service photo

Harry Truman - the curmudgeon who refused to leave his homestead when St. Helens was on the brink of eruption. Harry’s Ridge, a trail in the Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument, is named for him. US Forest Service photo.

Harry Truman's Spirit Lake Lodge, before the 1980 eruption - US Forest Service photo

Harry Truman's Spirit Lake Lodge, before the 1980 eruption - US Forest Service photo.

David Johnston at Coldwater II, 1900 hours, May 17, 1980

David Johnston at Coldwater II, 1900 hours, May 17, 1980. Dave did not survive the next day's eruption. Coldwater II would eventually be re-named "Johnston Ridge" in honor of Dave. Photo: Harry Glicken, USGS.

Book in the WSA Library: Mount St. Helens (Images of America)

Mount St. Helens (Images of America) by David A. Anderson
Call Number: 979.77 And

ISBN: 9781467130554

Publication Date: 2013-10-21

The story of Mount St. Helens is that of an active volcano and human interaction with it. The mountain is culturally important to the regional native people. Its Cowlitz name, Lawetlat'la, means 'Person From Whom Smoke Comes.' Early European settlers saw opportunities to make a living from the natural resources, and people fell in love with the forested valleys and slopes of the glacier-clad peak with the blue lake at its foot. Forgotten were the eruptions of the 19th century and the fact that the landscape was a product of frequent violent explosions. A report from the 1970s reminded locals that Mount St. Helens is an active volcano and could erupt again before the end of the 20th century. Only a few people at that time were aware of what the mountain was capable of, and many were surprised at the events that took place in 1980.

David A. Anderson has been photographing Mount St. Helens for many years and is a volunteer at the Mount St. Helens Institute. With photographs from public and private collections, many previously unpublished, his book illustrates what the Mount St. Helens area was like before, during, and after the eruption of May 18, 1980. These images show the landscape of the mountain as it once was and how the mountain continues to evolve today.

Pre-1980 Eruptive History of Mount St. Helens, Washington

Pre-1980 Eruptive History of Mount St. Helens, Washington
Mount St. Helens, famous for its explosive 1980 eruption, has long been the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have documented the volcano’s 300,000-year geologic history, including powerful explosions of ash, outpourings of lava, and huge landslides and volcanic mudflows. Understanding this history helps USGS scientists evaluate current activity at Mount St. Helens so that timely warnings of hazards can be issued to the public. This flyer is a summary of their research.

This article gives a chronology of eruptive activity at Mount St. Helens, going back to the Ape Canyon Stage (300 to 35 ka) up to the Spirit Lake Stage (3.9 ka to present). This fact sheet was written by scientists with the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and sheds new light on the 300,000-year history of Mount St. Helens Volcano.

A pre-1980 eruption description of Mount St. Helens
A description of Mount St. Helens from the works of Jean Verhoogen (Mount St.
Helens - A Recent Cascade Volcano: University of California Publications, Bulletin 24, no. 9, 1937) and Dwight R. Crandell and Donal R. Mullineaux (Potential Hazards from Future Eruptions of Mount St. Helens Volcano, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1383-C, 1978).

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