Mount St. Helens erupts

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

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Natural Disasters

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Date of occurrence 1980-05-19

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United States (Location)

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On 27 March 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted. Named by English explorer George Vancouver, the volcano had been dormant since 1857. A series of crises followed the initial steam eruption in March. On 18 May, an earthquake shook the area around Mt. St. Helens. The quake registered at 5.1 on the Richter scale. Mudflows, landslides, and floods all soon followed. The volcano also erupted again that same day, sending gas and ash approximately 16 miles into the air. Parts of Washington state were completely blacked out from the volcano’s debris. During the May 18 event, a total of 57 people died.

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94 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Mount St. Helens erupts". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3706, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Mount St. Helens erupts

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