Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

18 May 1980, life as it was known in this region changed permanently. Mount St. Helens violently erupted, killing around 57 people and thousands of game animals, after an earthquake occurred. An eruption column rose 80,000 ft. into the atmosphere. The entire north face of the mountain slid away, creating the largest landslide ever recorded. It reached the Columbia River, nearly 50 miles away. Hundreds of square miles were turned into wastelands. The resulting crater is one mile wide. Looking at this once majestic mountain today reminded me to treasure every moment. The good news is that some parts of the region have new life. --information gathered from Wikipedia.