LibGuides: Summer Reading 2025: Remembering Mount St. Helens: May 18, 1980

Eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 - USGS

After 2 months of earthquakes and small explosions, Mount St. Helens cataclysmically erupted on May 18, 1980. A high-speed blast leveled millions of trees and ripped soil from bedrock. The eruption fed a towering plume of ash for more than 9 hours. USGS.

Ash plume (close-up) from May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Photographer: Don Swanson. USGS

Ash plume close-up. For more than nine hours a vigorous plume of ash erupted, eventually reaching 20-25 km (12-15 mi) above sea level. By early May 19, the devastating eruption was over. Photographer: Don Swanson. USGS.

The eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen from Vantage, WA; Photographer: Carmen R. Andrews

The photographer, Carmen R. Andrews, was 14 years old when she took this photo as the eruption was taking place. She and her classmates from Garfield High School were on a biology field trip to see the diatomaceous earth outside of Vantage, Washington.

Ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens blankets Yakima, more than 130 miles to the northeast of the mountain - Gifford PInchot National Forest historical photo.

Mount St. Helens erupts, view from Portland, Oregon on May 18, 1980 - US Forest Service historic photo

Mount St. Helens erupts; view from Portland, Oregon, May 18, 1980 Gifford Pinchot National Forest historic photo, US Forest Service.

May 19, 1980: front page of The Oregonian - Gifford Pinchot National Forest historical photo.

Blowdown of trees from lateral blast, taken August 22, 1980 - USGS

Blowdown of trees from the shock-wave of the directed (lateral) blast from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Elk Rock is the peak with a singed area on the left. Photo: Lyn Topinka, USGS.

Slopes of Smith Creek Valley, East of Mount St. Helens, show direction of blast. Photographer: Lyn Topinka. USGS

The slopes of Smith Creek Valley, east of Mount St. Helens, show the direction of the blast, apparent in the alignment of the downed trees. Over 4 billion board feet of usable timber, enough to build 150,000 homes, was damaged or destroyed. 9/1980, USGS.

Search and rescue teams recover victims after the eruption on May 18, 1980 - Gifford Pinchot National Forest photo.

USGS geologists view a car partially filled with ash deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. USGS.

USGS geologist Don Swanson (in red) and his colleague, Jim Moore, view a car filled with ash deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. USGS.

President Jimmy Carter and Governor Dixie Lee Ray get a briefing - US Forest Service photo

President Jimmy Carter and Governor Dixie Lee Ray get a briefing in May, 1980 after the eruption - US Forest Service photo.

Bear tracks found on Mount St. Helens in an ash and pumice deposit, October, 1980. Photographer: Lyn Topinka. USGS

Bear tracks found in an ash and pumice deposit, October, 1980. Many smaller animals, such as gophers, mice, frogs, fish, and insects were hibernating below ground or under water on May 18, 1980, and they survived the blast. Photo: Lyn Topinka, USGS.

Helicopter stirs up ash when trying to land in area devastated by the eruption - USGS

For weeks volcanic ash covered the landscape around the volcano and for several hundred miles downwind to the east. Noticeable ash fell in eleven states. The total volume of ash (before its compaction by rainfall) was approximately 0.26 cubic mile.USGS.

Ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens covering the ground and road at a farm in Connell, WA. June 2, 1980. USGS

Ash from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens covering the ground and road at a farm in Connell, Washington, approximately 300 km (180 mi) from the volcano. June 2, 1980. Photographer: Lyn Topinka. USGS.

Mudline left behind on trees show the depths of the lahar flows in the river channels - USGS, Lyn Topinka photo

Nearly 135 miles (220 kilometers) of river channels surrounding the volcano were affected by the lahars of May 18, 1980. A mudline left behind on trees shows depths reached by the mud.USGS photo: Lyn Topinka.

Muddy River bridge destruction after the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. September 23, 1980. Photographer: Lyn Topinka. USGS

Muddy River bridge destruction after the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. September 23, 1980. Photo: Lyn Topinka, USGS.

Mount St. Helens bridge on Hwy 504 was carried over a quarter-mile downstream by lahar flows - USGS

The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, generated lahars that swept down river valleys. The St. Helens bridge on Highway 504 was carried over a quarter-mile (a half-kilometer) downstream and partially buried. R.L. Schuster, USGS.

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.

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

Mailboxes emerging from the mud flows after the Mount St. Helens eruption - Britannica ImageQuest

Mailboxes emerging from mud flows after the Mount St. Helens eruption on May 18, 1980 - Britannica ImageQuest.

House partially buried in a lahar deposit after the eruption - USGS

The landslide swept into the upper North Fork Toutle River valley & came to rest within about 22 km of the volcano. Water percolated to the top of the deposit, forming many lahars that merged & rushed down the valley, destroying roads, bridges & homes.

Pumice blocks at the toe of a pyroclastic flow from the 1980 eruption; October, 1980

Pumice blocks at the toe of a pyroclastic flow from the 1980 eruption sequence at Mount St. Helens. October 16, 1980. Photo Terry Leighley, 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. New lakes such as Castle Lake (pictured here) & Coldwater Lake. USGS.

ArcGIS Storymap of the 1980 Eruption

Mt. St. Helen's Eruption May 18, 1980- Day of Destruction
This ArcGIS StoryMap uses maps, charts, photos, and text to tell the story of the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, and its aftermath. Includes a citation list. Created by Erin Gallagher. Hosted in Esri's online ArcGIS environment.

The Mountain Erupts (1980): A Mount St. Helens Special - KING 5 News

(24:38) A special report on the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, produced by KING 5 News. KING 5 is a television station in Seattle, Washington.

Mount St. Helens Live Broadcast on morning of eruption - 05-18-1980 | KATU In The Archives

(16:36) Archival news broadcast footage from KATU, a television station in Portland, Oregon. Live coverage of the eruption of Mount St. Helens from approximately 11:35 am to 11:52 am on May 18, 1980, three hours after the eruption. Anchors: Robin Anderson and Richard Ross. Reporter: David Jackson.

HistoryLInk Timeline essay for the Mount St. Helens eruption on May 18, 1980

Mount St. Helens erupts on May 18, 1980
An essay on the Mount St. Helens eruption, with sections on the initial volcanic activity beginning in March, 1980, the eruption itself, and the immediate and longterm impact to the region. Includes a list of names and ages of all 57 people who died as a result of the eruption. Author: Greg Lange.

The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens, March 20 - May 19, 1980

The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens, March 20 - May 19, 1980
This Information Circular consists of a compilation of events over the months before the major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, an eyewitness report from above the volcano when it erupted, a description of the volcanic events on May 18, 1980, and a prediction of what might be expected from Mount St. Helens in the near future. Includes a glossary of volcanic terms. Published June 1980.

Books in the WSA Library

Mount St. Helens Holocaust: A Diary of Destruction by The Columbian
Call Number: 551.21 Mou

Publication Date: 1980

A pictorial diary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, compiled by the editors, journalists and photographers of The Columbian, a newspaper in Vancouver, Washington. Describes the events leading up to and following the major eruption of Mount St. Helens that occurred on May 18, 1980.
Fire & Ice: The Cascade Volcanoes, Revised Edition by Stephen L. Harris
Call Number: 551.22 Har

Publication Date: 1976, rev ed. 1980

Presents the eruptive history and potential hazards of each of the major volcanoes in the Cascade Range, from Lassen Peak in northern California to Mount Garibaldi in British Columbia. Based on pioneer accounts of frequent activity during historic times. In this revised edition, Chapter 14, "Mount St. Helens: The Northwest's Most Violent Volcano", includes a detailed analysis of the geologic events related to the May, 1980 eruption.
Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens by Steve Olson
Call Number: 363.34 Ols

ISBN: 9780393242799

Publication Date: 2016-03-07

Looks at the history and science of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington, discussing what happened to those that survived and those that died.

Smithsonian Institution

(3:47) On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens became the largest and most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. By the end of its cycle of fire and fury, 57 people had died. From the series: Make It Out Alive

(2:29) Mount St. Helens sits quietly now, but her legacy is one of devastating destruction. From Aerial America: Washington

Report on St. Helens (United States) — May 1980
A detailed scientific report on the eruption of Mount St. Helens, issued by the Global Volcanism Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.

"A major eruption destroyed the summit of Mt. St. Helens, projected ash into the stratosphere, devastated the N and NW flanks, and killed dozens of people on 18 May. The initial explosion was heard more than 350 km away. Substantial ashfalls occurred hundreds of kilometers downwind, closing roads, schools, and businesses, and threatening crops in the NW USA."

Mount St. Helens in eruption, May 18, 1980 - USGS (United States Geological Survey)

(20:55) Mount St. Helens erupted catastrophically on May 18, 1980 beginning at 8:32 a.m. USGS geologist Don Swanson photographed and filmed the eruption from about 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., documenting the rising ash column and ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents. Swanson filmed the eruption from a fixed-wing surveillance aircraft using a Bell & Howell hand-wound 16mm movie camera. The films were digitized and compiled into this video.

Mount St. Helens Disintegrates in Enormous Landslide - Discovery Channel’s “Raging Planet”

(1:48) The eruption on Mount St. Helen in May, 1980, caused one of the largest landslides in recorded history. The footage of the landslide in this video is studied and explained. The photo at 0:27 was of David A. Johnston, a volcanologist who was only 10 miles away when the eruption happened, 13 hours after this photo. He was the first to report the eruption, before it killed him. The video of the mountainside sliding at 1:17 is partially animated. The photographer at 0:55 (Keith Ronnholm) took a series of still photos, each several seconds apart, and years later, a graphics crew used CG software to "fill in the frames" between Ronnholm's photos to stitch together this smooth time lapse. It's a remarkable job that gives a real-time impression of the devastating scale of the eruption.