LibGuides: Summer Reading 2025: Remembering Mount St. Helens: Epilogue: After the Eruption

Mount St. Helens plume from Harry's Ridge, May 19, 1982 - US Forest Service photo.

The reflection of Mount St. Helens in Spirit Lake, in a photo taken on May 19, 1982, two years after the eruption - US Forest Service photo.

Spirit Lake and the devastated forest area surrounding Mt. St. Helens. October, 1980. USGS

Spirit Lake was once surrounded by lush forest. It was within the area devastated by the directed blast, covered by ash and tephra, then inundated by pyroclastic flows. Remnants of the forest float on the surface of the lake. Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Mount St. Helens recovery of the surrounding forest, September 29, 2006 - US Forest Service photo.

Visitors to Mount St. Helens on May 29, 2009 - US Forest Service photo.

Logs float in Spirit Lake near the Spirit Lake gaging station and outflow tunnel. View is to the south with Mount St. Helens in the background. November 27, 2012. Photographer: Adam Mosbrucker. USGS.

Mount St. Helens (left) and Mount Rainier viewed toward the north. 2004. Photographer: John Pallister. USGS.

Castle Lake formed as a result of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Photographer: Robert Schuster. USGS

The May 18, 1980 debris avalanche from Mount St. Helens covered over 24 square miles of the upper Toutle River valley and blocked tributaries of the North Fork Toutle River, creating new lakes such as Castle Lake (pictured here) & Coldwater Lake. USGS.

Aerial photo, Mount St. Helens, June 2025 - USGS

Aerial photo of Mount St. Helens (center), with Mount Hood (in the distance, far left), Spirit Lake (on left with floating log mat), and St. Helens Lake with a little ice cover (lower left). USGS image taken by K. Spicer on June 6, 2024.

Sunset, as seen from Johnston Ridge Observatory (JRO) - November 4, 2004, USGS photo.

Past. Present. Future. | Mount St. Helens 45th Anniversary - KATU News Portland

Mount St. Helens: A Catalyst for Change - USGS

(6:46) The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens triggered a growth in volcano science and volcano monitoring. Five USGS (United States Geological Survey) volcano observatories have been established since the eruption. With new technologies and improved awareness of volcanic hazards, USGS scientists are helping save lives and property across the planet.

Books in the WSA Library

Mount St. Helens: The Eruption and Recovery of a Volcano, 35th Anniversary Edition by Rob Carson
Call Number: 508.79 Car

ISBN: 9781570619793

Publication Date: 2015-03-31

The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, was the most catastrophic and deadly volcanic event ever experienced in the United States. That event had the force of thousands of atom bombs and destroyed 234 square miles of forestland. This highly visual book tells the scientific and human story of that cataclysm and the remarkable recovery that has occurred. Some surprising facts are that the late winter of 1980 contributed to the survival of some hibernating animals; the larger mammals, including elk, brown bears, and cougars have all returned; and unaffected forests quickly spread to cover areas that were wiped out by lava flows.,As plants, animals, and people have reclaimed Mount St. Helens over the last 20 years, the mountain remains a looming reminder of an event that forever changed the face of the Northwest. Essays and photos document the events that surrounded the eruption.
After the Blast: The Ecological Recovery of Mount St. Helens by Eric Wagner
Call Number: 577.09 Wag

ISBN: 9780295746937

Publication Date: 2020-04-20

On May 18, 1980, people all over the world watched with awe and horror as Mount St. Helens erupted. Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds of square miles of what had been lush forests and wild rivers were to all appearances destroyed.","Ecologists thought they would have to wait years, or even decades, for life to return to the mountain, but when forest scientist Jerry Franklin helicoptered into the blast area a couple of weeks after the eruption, he found small plants bursting through the ash and animals skittering over the ground. Stunned, he realized he and his colleagues had been thinking of the volcano in completely the wrong way. Rather than being a dead zone, the mountain was very much alive.","Mount St. Helens has been surprising ecologists ever since, and in After the Blast Eric Wagner takes readers on a fascinating journey through the blast area and beyond. From fireweed to elk, the plants and animals Franklin saw would not just change how ecologists approached the eruption and its landscape, but also prompt them to think in new ways about how life responds in the face of seemingly total devastation.

Mount St. Helens from space! Before and after eruption - 1973 to 2019 - NASA

(6:20) May 19, 2020: 40 years after the massive volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, NASA reviews photography captured by Landsat satellites of the area from 1973 to 2019. Narrated by Sean Healey, Research Ecologist, U.S. Forest Service.

How dangerous are the Northwest’s Volcanoes? - Oregon Public Broadcasting

(2:50) In 1980, all eyes were on Mount St. Helens. Could the Northwest see another eruption soon?

How Dangerous Are The Northwest’s Volcanoes?
An article on the potential risks of future eruptions from one of the either volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest: Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and Mount St. Helens in Washington, and Mount Hood, South Sister, Newberry Volcano, and Crater Lake in Oregon. The author interviewed Seth Moran, scientist in charge at the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington. Author: MacGregor Campbell, for Oregon Public Broadcasting, May 18, 2018.

Mount St. Helens isn't Washington state's only volcanic threat - KING 5 News

(5:26) While Mount St. Helens remains the state's biggest volcanic threat, four other volcanoes in the Cascades also pose a risk. How scientists are keeping an eye on them. Produced by KING 5, a television station in Seattle, Washington.

Mount St. Helens, 1980 to Now—What’s Going On?

Mount St. Helens, 1980 to Now—What’s Going On?
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington’s Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network maintain constant watch for signs of renewed activity at Mount St. Helens and other Cascade volcanoes. This fact sheet from the US Geological Survey explains all about the catastrophic 1980 eruption, the 2004–2008 dome-building event, current volcano monitoring, and volcanic hazards.