what happened to mount st helens in 1980?

Question

explain in about 6 steps, not too long, maybe 2 lines or sometin

Answer 1

Ok -- six steps... (as short as I can make it, but not two lines if you want a proper answer!)

1, It's an active volcano in the US state of Washington.
2. Months of volcanic activity preceded the 1980 eruption.
3. On 18 May 1980 the whole north side of the volcano collapsed.
4. 57 people were killed and hundreds of homes destroyed.
5. The eruption continued for several days, though it began to decline in power after about 10 hours.
6. The eruption rated a score of 5 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.

It remains extremely active: explosions, smoke and small local earthquakes are common.

Answer 2

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (VEI = 5, 1.2 km3 of material erupted) was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 20th century. The eruption was the most significant to occur in the lower 48 U.S. states in recorded history, exceeding the destructive power and volume of material released by the 1915 eruption of California's Lassen Peak. The eruption was preceded by a two-month-long series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the mountain which created a huge bulge and a fracture system on Mount St. Helens' north slope. An earthquake at 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, caused the entire weakened north face to slide away, suddenly exposing the partly molten, gas- and steam-rich rock in the volcano to lower pressure. The rock responded by exploding into a super-heated mix of pulverized lava and older rock that sped toward Spirit Lake so fast that it quickly passed the avalanching north face.

A volcanic ash column rose high into the atmosphere and deposited ash in eleven U.S. states. At the same time, snow, ice, and several entire glaciers on the mountain melted, forming a series of large lahars (volcanic mudslides) that reached as far as the Columbia River. Less severe outbursts continued into the next day only to be followed by other large but not as destructive eruptions later in 1980. By the time the ash settled, 257 people (including innkeeper Harry Truman and geologist David A. Johnston) and thousands of animals were dead, hundreds of square miles (mi2) reduced to wasteland, over a billion U.S. dollars in damage had occurred, and the once-graceful face of Mount St. Helens was scarred with a huge crater opened on the north side of the mountain. The area was later preserved, as it was, in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Answer 3

It erupted. It's a volcano. Caused flooding in Washington State (That's Seattle not Washington DC) and sent people fleeing from their homes as the lava poured down the mountain and their shiny cars got covered in ash.
More than 50 people lost their lives, despite the fact that the eruption has been foreseen and the residents forewarned. It's still an active volcano. Maybe next time it'll take out Starbucks.

Answer 4

a huge volcanic eruption occured on 18 May 1980 at Mount St.Helens causing massive destructions. Fifty-seven people were killed; and 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways and 185 miles (300 km) of highway were destroyed.

Answer 5

The mountain of St Helens exploded, due to the pressure of magma that had built up inside of it.

Answer 6

It erupted. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada and after a few days or so, even we got the ash in the air.

Answer 7

in 6 steps...erm...

does...it blew up about 6 times the magnitude of a normal volcano make up 6 steps? lol.

Answer 8

the pressure built up for years
the thing finally blew
Lava flew down
People died
People claim seeing a ghost earlier in the day warnign of this
it started back up again 2 years ago

Answer 9

It went bang
created massive mudslides
killed people
and did lots of damage
and looked impressive

Answer 10

It erupted, killing at least one person.

A geologist was flying a light aircraft (I think a 4-seat Cessna) over it, and the 'plane crashed.