Mount St. Helens

Mount St Helens the most active volcano in the Cascade Range caught the publics attention when massive eruptions began in 1980 With new eruptions and earthquakes taking place recently people are being reminded of the grave dangers associated with this volcano The first website provided by the USDA Forest Service presents the research recreational and educational activities at the 110000acre National Volcanic Monument created in 1982 1 Users can find live pictures and videos of Mount St Helens and read about the latest volcanic activity Second the University of North Dakota supplies great retrospective of the 1980 explosion 2 Through a series of incredible pictures students can discover how a huge eruption can drastically change the surrounding landscape Users can take a virtual trip up the volcano from the trailhead to the summit At the next website the USGS provides links to current seismicity and realtime eruption and hydrologic monitoring data 3 Educators can find numerous pictures and figures illustrating the physical features of a volcano Next the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network supplies seismographic and volcanic data for Mount St Helens 4 While Mount St Helens is considered the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest at the moment visitors can also discover the potential for earthquakes and significant volcanic activity at other locations in the Pacific Northwest At the fifth website the Wheeling Jesuit University offers a historical narrative of the serenity of the volcano and its periodic rages 5 While this site does not provide indepth materials and data like the other sites the straightforward writing style may be more beneficial to younger audiences The sixth website is a news release from NASA describing the possibility that infrared digital images could provide valuable clues as to how Mount St Helens erupted on October 1 2004 6 Through the many enlightening images of the lava dome users can learn about how digital infrared imagerys master bands and associated wavelengths are used to characterize different features of the volcano Next in a press release the National Geographic describes the Mount St Helens eruption this month 7 Students and educators can discover how earthquakes are caused as rainwater encounters hot rock in the fall and how this process may impact the activity of volcanoes The web site also introduces individuals to the Ring of Fire Lastly MSNBC offers a news article and video on the molten magma rising in Mount St Helens the current activity levels and the advisories 8 The web site features a link describing the newest sensors that may assist scientists in predicting explosions

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