Essay On Mount St. Helens

The movements of tectonic plates, these massive slabs of solid rock that move across the earth’s crust and crash together, move apart, and rub against each other forming most volcanoes. The tectonic collisions are a slow-moving event, as if set in slow motion, creating a long process that eventually resulting in the formation of volcanoes. The Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest is known for its deep evergreen forests and numerous tall jagged cones and this area is home to the Strato-Volcano Peak known today as Mount St. Helens. Originally named “Louwala-Clough,” or “Smoking Mountain,” by the Native American Indians in the region. Many legends were handed down explaining accounts about eruptions the Indians witnessed about Mount St. Helens. According to the lore of these Native American tribes, a huge landslide formed a natural bridge named Tamanawas that spanned the Columbia River. In the center of this arch lived a …show more content…
This was in honor of the Baron St. Helens who, at the time, was the British Ambassador to Spain. The seafaring explorer, Captain George Vancouver, also named Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount Hood. Captain George Vancouver was responsible for sending two longboats under the supervision of Lt. William Broughton one hundred miles up the Columbia River. This expedition produced a detailed map of the lower river (Lang). Broughton's map was the first accurately charted representation of the lower Columbia River that was published in 1798. Between 1831 to 1857 Mt. St. Helens was violently active and many settlers and local Indians in the area watched the steep-sided and symmetrical cone erupt explosively spewing layers of lava flows, ash, mud, steam, and other volcanic debris around the mountainous tranquil landscape. After each destructive eruption, the land recovered its natural beauty but was forever altered in its shape and