Mount St Helens eruption 1980

Named after British diplomat Baron St Helens (given name Alleyne Fitzherbert), Mt St Helens was once a Stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) and had last erupted in 1840 that was until a 5.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Mt St Helens awake. The Juan de Fuca ridge pushed the Pacific Plate and the Juan De Fuca plates apart which then caused the Juan de Fuca plate to sub duct under the American plate. Following a landslide that brought 1,314ft of the north side of the mountain down, million tonnes of magma was released as well as a large ash cloud was circled in the air for 15 days around eastern Washington State. Following the eruption, 57 people died, the area around it became an earthly resemblance to the surface of the moon, piles, if not 900,000 tonnes of ash had to be removed from roads and airport with the hefty price tag of a billion dollars in damage.

How Mount St Helens works