Mt. St. Helens Eruption - May 18th 1980
This really was a fascinating eruption. First of all the sudden explosion which destroyed the top of the mountain. But it was the events of the next few weeks that is so interesting.
This was a volcanic eruption that was anticipated, monitored and recorded in detail. A lot of scientific analysis took place before, during and after the eruption. This is a critical point to make because scientists have now observed, measured and recorded the eruption itself and the consequences of the eruption.
There were some amazing results of the eruption. The most significant was the the rapid deposition and erosion that that occurred over a couple of weeks after the eruption. Stratified layers up to 400 feet thick formed as a result of landslides, pyroclastic flow, mudflows, etc., during the Mt. St. Helens eruption.
Fine laminae from only a millimeter thick to more than a meter high formed in just a few days.
A deposit more than 25 feet in thickness, and containing upwards of 100 thin layers accumulated in just one day on June 12, 1980.
Of course this was impossible(!) and must have been some sort of mistake. Everyone knows that stratified layers such as these accumulated over vast periods of time, and these laminates represent long season variations or annual changes.
But it wasn't a mistake. What it demonstrates is that those scientists who claim to know exactly what happened millions, or even billions, of years ago, only have theories to explain the events in question.
It is now recognised that the Grand Canyon itself could have been formed over a period of days by catastrophic events such as occurred at Mt. St. Helens and the subsequent erosion.
 Mt. St. Helens before the eruption Note the forests. |
 Mt. St. Helens after the eruption and explosion. |
 Mt. St. Helens during the eruption |
 spirit lake filling up with trees. Many more trees sank to the bottom. A small scale example of when the Flood swept huge amounts of vegetation and animal matter into the oceans. Which is where our oil, coal and gas came from. |
 Mt. St. Helens after the eruption and explosion. Note the trees have gone! |
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Mt. St. Helens images from Wikimedia Commons