VOLCANOES!

VOLCANOES!

1 Nature’s Time Bomb It is early morning on Sunday, May 18, 1980. Many people in Washington State are still asleep. But not the volcano Mount St. Helens. It is slowly waking up from a deep sleep of 123 years. Mount St. Helens is as pretty as a postcard. The nearby forests and rivers are rich with birds, fish, deer, and other wildlife. The area is perfect for hiking and camping.

People have lived and worked for many years in towns near the volcano. Few of them fear the power of this sleeping giant.

A small plane flies over Mount St. Helens to get a closer look at the volcano. Pilot Bruce Judson sees something happening below. Pieces of rock and ice are sliding into the crater, the hole at the top. He tips the plane to get a better view inside the crater.

Suddenly, an avalanche of rocks rushes down the north side of the mountain. The landslide tears open a hole in the volcano. An explosion of steam, ash, and rock blasts out sideways.

Then, a few seconds later-KABLAM! The top of the volcano blasts off! A dark ash cloud shoots 15 miles into the sky. The ash cloud has tiny bits of rock and gas inside it.