At 8:32 a.m. PDT on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens, a volcanic
peak in southwestern Washington, suffered a massive eruption,
killing 57 people and devastating some 210 square miles of
wilderness.
Called Louwala-Clough, or “the Smoking Mountain,” by Native Americans, Mount St. Helens stood 9,680 feet before its
eruption.
Though a new dome has been growing steadily near the top of
the peak and small earthquakes are frequent, scientists do not
expect a repeat of the 1980 catastrophe anytime soon.








