Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument, Skamania County, Washington, USA: As seen from Windy Ridge, Spirit Lake is covered with floating logs from a forest blasted and avalanched by the May 18, 1980 eruption, the most deadly and destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. The debris avalanche, the largest in recorded history, shrank the mountain from 9677 feet (2950 m) elevation to 8364 feet (2550 m), leaving a mile-wide horseshoe-shaped crater. Fifty-seven people were killed. 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. The active stratovolcano of Mount Saint Helens is one of 160 active volcanoes that comprise the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mount St. Helens, part of the Cascade Range, takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, who was a friend of George Vancouver, an explorer who surveyed the area in the late 18th century.
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