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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Northwestern Trip - Summer 2011 >> Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington

Images of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in south western Washington taken in July 2011.

On May 18 1980 the smoldering mountain known as Mount St. Helens came to life and the full force of nature resulted in the largest landslide in recorded history. The top 1300 feet of the mountain collapsed into the valley and the force of the blast took what was once old growth forest (see my images from Mt Rainier) and turned it into a barren pumice plain with trees laid flat pointing away from the blast zone. Unlike all the other parks I visited, which took millions of years to create and evolve, this remarkable place changed in an instant and it all happened only 31 short years ago. Today much of the scene is still the same although plants and animals have returned. I visited the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument twice, the first time the mountain was shrouded in clouds, and was lucky enough to be there when the flowers were in full bloom.
Mount St. Helens from highway 504 leading to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from highway 504 leading to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens from highway 504 leading to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from highway 504 leading to the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 The crater of Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
The crater of Mount St. Helens from the Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington (2011)
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington (2011)		 Tree stumps where an old growth forest once stood in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Tree stumps where an old growth forest once stood in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Life slowly returns to the moon-like landscape in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Life slowly returns to the moon-like landscape in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Tree trunks lay flat, still pointing away from the blast, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Tree trunks lay flat, still pointing away from the blast, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Tree trunks lay flat, still pointing away from the blast, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Tree trunks lay flat, still pointing away from the blast, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 A pumice covered hill blooms in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
A pumice covered hill blooms in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Spirit Lake, where thousands of trees can still be seen floating on the surface, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Spirit Lake, where thousands of trees can still be seen floating on the surface, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Trees swept into Spirit Lake by the 1980 blast in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Trees swept into Spirit Lake by the 1980 blast in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Looking straight into the crater from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Looking straight into the crater from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Plants slowly return in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Plants slowly return in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 A tree stump on a now grassy hill in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
A tree stump on a now grassy hill in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mt. Adams from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mt. Adams from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Looking straight into the crater from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Looking straight into the crater from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Close-up of the canyon and Loowit Falls below the crater in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Close-up of the canyon and Loowit Falls below the crater in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Steam still rises from under the dome in the center of the crater in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Steam still rises from under the dome in the center of the crater in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Hikers (left and left center) along Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Hikers (left and left center) along Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens from Boundary Trail #1 in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Clearwater Lake, created by the 1980 eruption, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Clearwater Lake, created by the 1980 eruption, in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 A Clearwater Lake cove in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
A Clearwater Lake cove in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Flowers in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument		 Flower in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Flower in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

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