Quote Originally Posted by philbo
What an ominous feeling that must have been.
A crusty old mountain resort owner named Harry Truman refused to evac off of the mountain. He, his cats, and some 60 other individuals perished in the blast... many without a trace. Idylic and trout rich Spirit Lake was transformed into a mud hole. Millions of fir trees were stripped naked and snapped over like toothpicks pointing in the direction of the pyroclastic flows. Millions of tons of earth filled the rivers with mud moving buildings bridges and buildings many miles. Almost a cubic kilometer of ash and dust was blown into the sky. The energy released was about the same as Hiroshima bomb, approx 20 kilotons. A mere pipsqueak by historical volanic standards. The Krakatau (Indonesia) eruption of 1883 released about 150 megatons and displaced roughly 21 cubic kilometers! Krakatau was a mere sprite compared to the great Yellowstone blast 640,000 years ago which displaced about 200 cubic kilometers!. Vulcan has no need of kilts to get our attention.
For those interested here's Mount St. Helens today...

http://www.fs.fed.us./gpnf/mshnvm/volcanocam/


blu