On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens exploded with a force comparable to 500 Hiroshima-sized atom bombs. David Johnston, a United States Geological Survey (USGS) geologist based at a monitoring station six miles (9.7 km) away announced the eruption with his final words, "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it." Dramatic photograph's provided the public with an awesome display of nature's power.

Mount St. Helens, in southwestern Washington near Portland, Oregon, is part of the Cascade Range, a chain of subduction volcanoes running from northern California through Washington. The Mount St. Helens eruption was instrumental in the expansion of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. Research at the new Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington, has strengthened basic understanding of volcanic processes and the ability to predict eruptions. Highly relevant ecological studies have corrected previous errors and misconceptions, leading to a new theory about nature's ability to recover after such events...