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Let Your Lava Flow: Mt. St. Helens (October 8, 2004, One)

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Program Summary

What does a mountain do when it’s mad? Blows its top, of course! Mt. St. Helens must be upset about something, because it’s been letting off steam for the past couple of weeks, and scientists keeping an eye on it felt that there was a good chance it would erupt. Located in the Cascades range of Washington State, Mt. St. Helens last stirred in May, 1980, when a 5.1 magnitude earthquake released gases within the volcano that cause a huge explosion. The rain of ash, rock, and mud lasted nine hours, and the land around the mountain changed from verdant forest to barren moonscape.

Geological evidence shows that Mt. St. Helens has been active at least as far back as 40,000 years ago, with the latest period beginning in 1800 A.D. and steam and rock fountains reported as recently as 1921. Way back when, no one knew for sure how the mountain would behave. Today’s volcanologists use a host of sophisticated devices to measure the mountain’s movement and the amount of gas it’s producing to get a fairly good idea of whether its going to erupt, allowing plenty of time to evacuate the area. Fortunately, says Ira’s guest, it looks like Mt. St. Helens has backed off for now, so you won’t have to cancel your vacation plans just yet.

Guests

John Pallister, USGS Volcano Hazards Program Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington

Related Links and Resources

Mount St . Helens
U.S. Forest Service: Mount St . Helens National Volcanic Monument
U.S. Geological Survey: Mount St. Helens, Washington

For Discussion:

• Where does the word “volcano” come from?
• What are the different kinds of volcanoes?
• What causes volcanoes to erupt? How do they do damage?
• What are some well-known volcanoes around the world? What are their differences and similarities?
• How do volcanologists monitor volcanoes? How can they tell if one is likely to erupt?

Activities

Lotta, lotta lava! The ultimate volcano Web site is Volcano World (University of North Dakota) which can answer any possible volcano-related question you may have. Open the VolcanoWorld Kids' Door to find games, school projects, quizzes, art, and, best of all, virtual field trips to famous volcanoes. The Teaching and Learning page gives teachers a good grounding in volcanoes, and Volcano Lesson Plans provides ideas for classroom use. Don’t miss Building Volcano Models for blueprints for constructing a variety of volcanoes. VolcanoWorld Online uses the Web to build a complete learning module; the online lessons involve students in creative projects that give them a taste of life in the shadow of a smoking mountain.

Saints alive! Dig deeper into Mt. St. Helens and the Cascade mountains at the Cascades Volcano Observatory Educational Outreach page. Students can catch the current news from Mt. St. Helens, link to “tours” and slide shows, get info on volcanology careers, even find out if their state has any volcanic features. The comprehensive Miscellaneous Volcanic Facts, Questions, and Answers page is terrific. For live and recorded action, check out the Mt. St. Helens Movies and the Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam, posts photos from the observatory every 5 minutes; you can also link to video clips of the October 2004 eruptions.

Under the magma-fying glass. Three PBS programs are guaranteed to light your fire. Savage Earth: Out of the Inferno explores volcanoes with movies, animations, and well-written text. NOVA: Volcano's Deadly Warning focuses on the science of seismology to predict eruptions; a teacher’s guide is available. A teacher’s guide also accompanies NOVA: Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius, which discusses what happened to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and the dangers Vesuvius poses today.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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