Mount+St.+Helen's+erupts

=Mount St. Helen's Erupts=

==Overview== Mount St. Helens is an active volcano located in Skamania County, Washington. The volcano is located in the Cascade Range and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. In 1980, the volcano, was predicted by scientist to explode and on May 18, 1980 an earthquake struck the region producing the volcano, which had been dormant for over 130 years to erupt.

Central Issue
The eruption of Mount St. Helens was the deadliest in U.S. history. It was also a catastrophe to the surrounding economy. 57 people were killed and over 250 homes were destroyed. The landslide alone covered over 600 square kilometers. The peak of the mountain was reduced over 1000 feet and a crater filled the center of it over 1 mile wide. The ash from the explosion rose over 80,000 feet in the air and spread out over 11 states. The mountain was passed on to the United States Forest Service and is now a national monument known as Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

==Conclusion== The volcano is still active today and still erupts, although much smaller from time to time. The thing that makes volcanoes so dangerous is that there is nothing we can do to prevent it. All we can do is know when it is coming and prepare. Scientist use St. Helens as a learning tool so in the future we can hopefully know what's coming and prepare for the worst, that way we can prevent any deaths from happening.

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References (2009-10.1.2.L)
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