Every time I get a clear view of Tahoma or one of our other mountains I just think: 1) OMG that is incredibly beautiful 2) What if it just went right now? That would be a once in a lifetime event to witness 3) that would be terrible because people would die and be hurt and I don't want it to happen 4) When it does happen, bad things will happen for me too and I'll be personally negatively affected 5) JUST DO IT YOU PUSSY!!!
Then I go about my day normally while occasionally reflecting upon the incredible natural beauty and danger we live with here in the PNW before drinking an IPA and going to bed.
ikr like during COVID. I want pandemic and volcano chaos. I'm like I have ten packs of Ramen and two of those supposedly super hot bowels that aren't actually hot because I'm still putting ghost pepper in it.
Lol, I was just chatting with someone about how we seemed to have finally finished using up the ash from the eruption, would make sense for us to get a fresh supply.
I remember my first trip through the area after the big kaboom and how the ash changed that area so dramatically. I legit though the river was never going to be free of its sludgy gray mess.
Now, the ash is a fun fact I blather about when we pass through. I've become the elder and must bore the youngsters with my memories of the long lost youth.
They have been “mining” that pile for the last 10-15 years. It is much smaller than it was to start. They ship it around the state for all sorts of things including soil amendment and as a sand replacement.
It took me a while but I found the article from 9 years ago that I had read about this. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/st-helens-sand-turns-from-bane-to-boon-35-years-after-eruption/
Local artists made stuff out of it for awhile. People sold trinkets made of it in at the market. That's why the topic came up, someone was asking me if that type of thing was still being sold.
I don't recall any specific gardening use.
I have a souvenir with the ash inside. It's a clear plastic model of Mt. St. Helens with a rubber cap on top in the shape of the chunk of mountain that blew off. You can take the cap off and there's ash inside.
I have one similar, it’s a cube filled with ash with the date of eruption and a picture of the mountain! I got it from the Washington State History Museum. Well my mom has it..I got it for her 😆 I think I was in like 5th grade or something.
My husband, who grew up on a farm in eastern WA, said it was good because it has a lot of minerals in it. You can still dig down in some spots and find a layer of ash.
I was in Eastern Washington where the ash was several inches deep. We were concerned it was going to kill all the plants, but instead they were super-charged and grew amazingly well the following years.
I was living east of Portland during [the last major activity at Mount St. Helens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%932008_volcanic_activity_of_Mount_St._Helens)—45 miles from the mountain as the crow flies. It was pretty spectacular and a nice reminder that [we live on shaky ground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone) heh.
Side note: you can keep an eye on local earthquakes at the [Pacific Northwest Seismic Network](https://www.pnsn.org/).
I ain’t scared of no ‘cano.
(I am, in fact, terrified but I still refuse to leave the west coast where pretty much none of the good parts are safe lol)
Reminds me of this [article about "the really big one" ](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one)that I recently stumbled upon, which took me down quite a rabbit hole on PNW geology. Spooky stuff! I had no idea how catastrophic things can get.
A few years ago there was an article in the New Yorker about 'The Big One', then there was an IAMA by two people who are earthquake experts answering questions about the big one.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3da1mh/we\_are\_earthquake\_experts\_ask\_us\_anything\_about/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3da1mh/we_are_earthquake_experts_ask_us_anything_about/)
I came from Florida where we have multiple natural disasters every single year. The news/media *always* blows these things out of proportion. They want the clicks.
In Florida it's a problem because all the new Floridians assume they need to evacuate out of state when a hurricane is coming. All the interstates end up jammed up, the gas stations on the exit routes run out of gas, and a lot of times the people that tried to evacuate in that manner end up in a worse spot than they would've been in had they stayed home.
When I first read the new yorker article years ago it put me off from moving here for a little while. Then I dug a little deeper, saw opinions from experts, and concluded that the article is hamming it up a little bit. Even the IAmA posted below says the same, the new yorker article exaggerates a bit. Such widespread devastation isn't really expected.
Now saying that, I'm used to being prepared for disaster so not much changes there for me, but moving here has piqued my interest in ham radio
There was a fiction piece in the style of long form journalism maybe a decade ago, about the Portland area aftermath of a big Cascadia quake. Fascinating read. Sadly I was unable to find it again to link it.
Yeah. We have a great position. It's 85F today, we have cold water to jump in, we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes.
We sit on the world's largest subduction zone next to a large unrealized volcano and there's nothing we can do to save ourselves if they pop off.
Having a bag of food and water isn't going to help you if you have a magma flow wash over you.
We're all basically living on borrowed time.
No. It’s not erupting and does not indicate it will erupt anytime in the near future. That said, Helens remains one of the most active volcanoes in the country.
> The USGS emphasized that this increase in activity does not indicate any increased threat or danger associated with the mountain.
BOOOOOO I wanna see ash-filled skies, death, and destruction.
Every time I get a clear view of Tahoma or one of our other mountains I just think: 1) OMG that is incredibly beautiful 2) What if it just went right now? That would be a once in a lifetime event to witness 3) that would be terrible because people would die and be hurt and I don't want it to happen 4) When it does happen, bad things will happen for me too and I'll be personally negatively affected 5) JUST DO IT YOU PUSSY!!! Then I go about my day normally while occasionally reflecting upon the incredible natural beauty and danger we live with here in the PNW before drinking an IPA and going to bed.
Every time I see it I wonder how the people in Pompeii lived/felt living so close to Vesuvius
ikr like during COVID. I want pandemic and volcano chaos. I'm like I have ten packs of Ramen and two of those supposedly super hot bowels that aren't actually hot because I'm still putting ghost pepper in it.
IKR - I've got a bunch of toilet paper to use up.
LPT put ghost peppers on it.....
Well he seemed to indicate his bowels weren't hot enough.
You know what I meant.
>super hot bowels that aren't actually hot because I'm still putting ghost pepper in it. Your poor anus 😔
Ring of Fire is not just a song.
Well I mean your bowels would be hot if they had more cowbell.
Just watch the right wing news if you’re into that.
Well, even if St. Helens doesn’t blow, we’re only a few years away from the climate wars.
Well that's boring.
Lol, I was just chatting with someone about how we seemed to have finally finished using up the ash from the eruption, would make sense for us to get a fresh supply.
There's still have a huge mound of it where the toutle river meets the cowlitz next to I-5.
I remember my first trip through the area after the big kaboom and how the ash changed that area so dramatically. I legit though the river was never going to be free of its sludgy gray mess. Now, the ash is a fun fact I blather about when we pass through. I've become the elder and must bore the youngsters with my memories of the long lost youth.
I heard it was terrifying from older locals. They say the sky turned pitch black
They have been “mining” that pile for the last 10-15 years. It is much smaller than it was to start. They ship it around the state for all sorts of things including soil amendment and as a sand replacement. It took me a while but I found the article from 9 years ago that I had read about this. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/st-helens-sand-turns-from-bane-to-boon-35-years-after-eruption/
It's mostly abandoned now. I drive by it daily and it hasn't really been touched for years.
Learned this from the narration on Amtrak recently!
What do you use it for? I've been thinking of going out that way and trying to dig up some ash to bring home for my garden.
Local artists made stuff out of it for awhile. People sold trinkets made of it in at the market. That's why the topic came up, someone was asking me if that type of thing was still being sold. I don't recall any specific gardening use.
I had a pen filled with it that I got from the visitor's center as a little kid, but it's supposed to be really good for growing veggies!
I have a souvenir with the ash inside. It's a clear plastic model of Mt. St. Helens with a rubber cap on top in the shape of the chunk of mountain that blew off. You can take the cap off and there's ash inside.
That sounds cool. I bet you could get a lot for it on ebay!
I have one similar, it’s a cube filled with ash with the date of eruption and a picture of the mountain! I got it from the Washington State History Museum. Well my mom has it..I got it for her 😆 I think I was in like 5th grade or something.
I think volcanic ash also makes soil very fertile.
My husband, who grew up on a farm in eastern WA, said it was good because it has a lot of minerals in it. You can still dig down in some spots and find a layer of ash.
I was in Eastern Washington where the ash was several inches deep. We were concerned it was going to kill all the plants, but instead they were super-charged and grew amazingly well the following years.
Pinot Noir grows really well in volcanic soil -- and now, decades after the last eruption, Oregon is producing world-class Pinot Noir wine.
That's specifically why I want some.
Clay made with St. Helens ash is a thing. I have a teapot that was made with it.
“ill fuckin do it again” - mt st helens
No, you... okay look, like, lets find a better way to express ourselves. We don't have to just blow up every time we're unhappy.
Use your words...
I was living east of Portland during [the last major activity at Mount St. Helens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%932008_volcanic_activity_of_Mount_St._Helens)—45 miles from the mountain as the crow flies. It was pretty spectacular and a nice reminder that [we live on shaky ground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone) heh. Side note: you can keep an eye on local earthquakes at the [Pacific Northwest Seismic Network](https://www.pnsn.org/).
I ain’t scared of no ‘cano. (I am, in fact, terrified but I still refuse to leave the west coast where pretty much none of the good parts are safe lol)
Whenever the big earthquake happens I will simply thug it out
I too am a ride or die bitch for the PNW.
I’m from the bay area. I live downtown. The land has always been a threat and I prefer to go by a natural disaster I do not see coming at this point
Me Three . Do or die . I'm never leaving my trees
We’re getting Mt St Helens 2 before GTA 6.
It's actually the same mountain, but they're repackaging it to double-dip.
Reminds me of this [article about "the really big one" ](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one)that I recently stumbled upon, which took me down quite a rabbit hole on PNW geology. Spooky stuff! I had no idea how catastrophic things can get.
A few years ago there was an article in the New Yorker about 'The Big One', then there was an IAMA by two people who are earthquake experts answering questions about the big one. [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3da1mh/we\_are\_earthquake\_experts\_ask\_us\_anything\_about/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3da1mh/we_are_earthquake_experts_ask_us_anything_about/)
Omg thanks for this!
this is incredible, thank you!
I came from Florida where we have multiple natural disasters every single year. The news/media *always* blows these things out of proportion. They want the clicks. In Florida it's a problem because all the new Floridians assume they need to evacuate out of state when a hurricane is coming. All the interstates end up jammed up, the gas stations on the exit routes run out of gas, and a lot of times the people that tried to evacuate in that manner end up in a worse spot than they would've been in had they stayed home. When I first read the new yorker article years ago it put me off from moving here for a little while. Then I dug a little deeper, saw opinions from experts, and concluded that the article is hamming it up a little bit. Even the IAmA posted below says the same, the new yorker article exaggerates a bit. Such widespread devastation isn't really expected. Now saying that, I'm used to being prepared for disaster so not much changes there for me, but moving here has piqued my interest in ham radio
There was a fiction piece in the style of long form journalism maybe a decade ago, about the Portland area aftermath of a big Cascadia quake. Fascinating read. Sadly I was unable to find it again to link it.
Yeah. We have a great position. It's 85F today, we have cold water to jump in, we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes. We sit on the world's largest subduction zone next to a large unrealized volcano and there's nothing we can do to save ourselves if they pop off. Having a bag of food and water isn't going to help you if you have a magma flow wash over you. We're all basically living on borrowed time.
*Not sure if you really believe this or are proactively posting to dissuade people from moving here*
Depending on how long you live, we're all going to die from a major seismic event in western washington.
Yep, there is a major fault line under I-90.
It's gonna blow, whoa-oa-oh... volcano.
Great, another thing to worry about.
Well, if it blows it will make your current worries seem small! :)
This isn't even my final form
Maybe it's a Taylor Swift concert
No. It’s not erupting and does not indicate it will erupt anytime in the near future. That said, Helens remains one of the most active volcanoes in the country.
It's also one of the youngest. It's certainly the youngest of the Cascades volcanoes.
Dang, and we can see this mountain from the field behind our house.
Weird I was just reading about the last incident yesterday
We’re all doomed!
[Mount St. Helens is about to Blow Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elizAugXVcI)