Daily Survival Guide

Today in Survival History
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On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the Cascades region in southwest Washington. At 8:32 a.m. the mountain exploded, blowing 1,314 feet off of its top and littering ash across 22,000 square miles. The resultant smoke plume could be seen throughout much of western Washington and Oregon. Dubbed "the Smoking Mountain" by local Native Americans, Mount St. Helens has erupted periodically for 4,500 years, but prior to 1980 its last active period had been between 1831 and 1857. The volcano remains active today.