preview

Mount St Helen Research Paper

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document

The first sign of Mt. St. Helen exploding was a landslide starting at the rim of the summit crater. In 15 seconds, the north side of Mt. St. Helen was making its way down the side of the volcano. After the entire north side had collapsed superheated gasses and lava were released in a massive lateral explosion. This abrupt release of pressure created a nuees arfentes, “which is (in a volcanic eruption) a swiftly flowing, dense cloud of hot gases, ashes, and lava fragments.”1. The nuees arfentes wiped everything within 8 miles almost instantly. The shockwave rolled over the forest for 19 more miles forcing almost all of the centuries old trees to fall towards the north. After those 27 miles the trees remained upright but were burnt to death.

Get Access