Mt. Saint Helens

Mt. Saint Helens

The last time that Mt. Saint Helens erupted was in July
10, 2008.
Mt. Saint Helens is an Active StratoVolcano

Mt. Saint Helens eruptive force was so devastating that
the force was recorded at a whopping 4.2/8. This was
because a lot of the ash was released before the initial
eruption.

The magma was mainly comprised of lava and rock. But
in all seriousness the magma was made up of about 64%
silica and about 4% water. Silica (SiO2), which occurs in a
number of different forms, is most abundant in the
Earth’s crust. Magma-he name for lava before it erupts

from a volcano—is strongly influenced by its viscosity.

Viscosity is the resistance to flow in a liquid. Liquid is said
to have a high viscosity if it flows slowly and a low
viscosity if it flows freely.

As magma rises, the pressure in it progressively drops
until eventually the water dissolved in the liquid begins
to form bubbles of steam. The ways these bubbles
separate from the magma and escape to the atmosphere
determines whether or not explosions will occur. Helens
tend to have explosive eruptions because of the low-
viscosity (has enough water so that when there is low-
viscosity, the water bubbles will go into the atmosphere

and cause the explosions.

If Mt. Saint Helens erupts again then the inpact will make
the populations of all the species of that area will drop
and cool the earth even by a little bit.

- Jason Baker