Volcanoes – Mount St. Helens Eruption 1980
             Mount St. Helens is situated in North America on the North American plate. It is the peak of the fold mountain range in North America. The fold mountain range was formed around 70 million years ago when a convergent plate boundary, Juan De Fuca Plate (Oceanic Crust), collided with the North American Plate (Continental Crust). The oceanic crust was forced downwards into the mantle causing it to turn into magma. Then the pressure increased in the mantle causing the magma to rise up onto the earth's surface. This lead to volcanic eruptions. Many more volcanic eruptions happened at the plate boundary forming Mount St. Helens. Altogether 13 volcano peaks were formed (including Mount St. Helens). This is called the Cascade Range.
             Mount St. Helens is the youngest and most deadly of the 13 volcanoes in the Cascade Range. The geologists call Mount St. Helens a composite volcano. It is called this because of its steep sides and its construction. It is made from alternate layers of lava flows, ash, and other volcanic debris. Composite volcanoes mainly erupt explosively causing danger to the nearby wildlife and property.
             Many people live around Mount St. Helens. This is because of the very good fertile soil that surrounds the area. The fertile soil is good for farming. There are also many tourists that visit the area. Travelers from all over the world visit the area to see the Washington based volcano and to admire the large national parks that surround the volcano. There is also a national lake near the volcano called the Spirit Lake.
             There has only been 1 eruption at Mount St. Helens known to us in this modern era but scientists and geologists can inspect the volcano to see if it has erupted before. They can do this by counting the rings of trees to see how old they are or by inspecting the different layers of alternate rock that made up the volcano Mount St. Helen
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