On May 18, 1980 an extraordinary event occurred. Mt St. Helens, in the U.S. state of Washington, erupted in a giant plume of ash and rocks. Everyone has heard of this event. It is the only volcano to erupt on the continental United States in almost 70 years. But this is not what made the eruption so historic. Volcanic eruptions occur yearly in Alaska, and daily in Hawaii. What made this eruption so extraordinary is the way that it initiated, as the largest debris avalanche in recorded history. The best way to see this is through the stunning video clip of its eruption, less than two minutes in length, which was not captured by The Wild Images Team but rather by amateur photographer Keith Ronnholm. On that fateful morning, Keith was positioned at Bear Meadow, only about ten miles from what would become the laterally directed volcanic eruption. In the video, the entire 5000 foot tall north quadrant and the peak of the mountain can be seen sloughing off the rest of the massif in one fluid motion before the large lateral blast breaches through the weakened surface. It is unlike anything else we have ever seen, and wanted to direct readers to this clip to show the circumstances that have led up to the above iconic image that was captured by The Wild Images Team on a recent visit through the state of Washington. A beautiful sister image of this, titled Rainbow Over The Remnants, is available for sale in our store. As can be seen in both photos, the north face and the peak of the mountain are now gone, such that the mountain now exists as a horseshoe shaped peak with a large opening on its north flank, to the right of the rainbow. Under the rainbow, is found much of the rock and soil that at what time comprised the north quadrant and peak of Mt. St. Helens, which immediately became 1300 feet less in height after the debris avalanche and eruption. Closer inspection of the photos will show the Toutle River, running from left to right. On the day of the eruption, the entire ice cap and glaciers on Mt. St. Helens were instantly melted by the intense heat, and came pouring down the Toutle River as billions of gallons of muddy water that tore down hundreds of acres of standing trees, to add their trunks and branches into the roiling and deadly torrent. Unlike the many people who were in the vicinity of the volcano to observe it, two campers from Tacoma, 19 year old Roald Reitan and 20 year old Venus Dergan, were twenty miles down the Toutle River, not even within view of the mountain, when the volcano erupted. Their idyllic campsite in the morning sun was suddenly under a wall of water. They attempted to drive away in their vehicle, but the river rose so fast that they became just another floating object in the tumbling mass of mud and logs. Realizing their only chance of survival was to leave the vehicle, Roald jumped out of his door and landed on a large log. Venus was not so lucky, as she jumped out and landed between two large logs that immediately closed in on each other, crushing her arm and head. She fought to stay above the waves and debris, and Roald was able to grab her by the hair at first, and then by the arm to hoist her onto the log as well, after which they rode another couple of harrowing miles through the rapids before log hopping to safety. Their car ended up many more miles downriver from there, almost completely buried in mud and logs. What a story! Mt. St. Helens is still considered an active volcano, and continues to have magma domes pushed up in and around its crater. It has had several minor eruptions, and it is expected to have an even more powerful major eruption in the future. The Wild Images Team has captured many other photos in Washington and neighboring Oregon such as the deep blue hues of swirled clouds and rim peaks reflected in Crater Lake, the Hoh Rainforest green moss covers every possible branch, and the right place at the right time rainbow over the Mt. St. Helens remnants, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from Washington and Oregon include the sharp looking view through the Lava Cast Forest, the optical illusion of blue waters and white streaks in Crater Lake, the starkly colorful rainbow rises over the devastation of Mt. St. Helens, the moment The Wild Images Team Coordinator Christina is imprisoned by rainforest tree roots, the interesting story of the Port Angeles waterfront Rocktopus Sculpture, and its accompanying bronze plaque of charitable organizations. The Wild Images Team has also captured many other photos in nearby California such as the scene of a blooming thunderstorm over Joshua Tree National Park, the lava flow created streaked ridge in Lassen Volcanic National Park, and the high altitudes where a giant sequoia is larger and redder than others, the steep Hyde Street view of Alcatraz Island and San Francisco Bay, the drastic slope of the abrupt drop off of Taylor Street, the Pine Street colorful terraced houses with background buildings, the historic looking beautiful terraced houses and a Classic VW Beetle, and the Asian inspired intricately ornate Chinatown scene, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from California have documented the long and winding road climb to the giants of Sequoia National Park, the size comparison of The Wild Images Team Coordinator Christina and the giant tree, the massive view where giant sequoias maintain their diameters over hundreds of feet, an overlook into the Merced River Valley with Liberty Cap, the road heading towards the sheer monolith of El Capitan, the road heading towards desolate ridges of Joshua Tree National Park, the location where the road rises out of Bumpass Hell, a beach dune covered view of the secret underground World War II bunker, the reflective tower of the Marriott Marquis over the Yerba Buena Gardens, the distinctively ornate Asian architecture and decor of Chinatown, the musically inspired melting records with album covers mural, the long strange trip of the Grateful Dead Jerry Garcia mural, the places where steep sidewalks have stairs cut into them, the street where a tree gives a sense of the steepness, the expansive view of Nob Hill from Telegraph Hill and the oppositely directed view from Telegraph Hill to the northeast, the descent in the upper portion of the Filbert Steps, followed by the middle portion of the Filbert Steps with a pose by The Wild Images Team Coordinator on the steps, followed by the lower portion of the Filbert Steps, and at the bottom a view up the Filbert Street steps again with a pose by The Wild Images Team Coordinator below the steps.
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