Volcanoes

Crater Lake

Crater Lake, in Oregon, is famous for its clear, blue waters. It is also famous for the way it was formed: About 7,000 years ago, Mount Mazama, a volcano, erupted. Its walls collapsed, forming a basin. The basin filled with rainwater and became Crater Lake.

This long-ago volcanic eruption probably caused human deaths. Archaeologists have discovered seventy-five pairs of burned sandals. They are from the time of the eruption and must have belonged to early Indians.

The "Ring of Fire"

Mount Mazama is part of the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," as are 60 percent of the world's volcanoes. This ring stretches around the Pacific - from New Zealand through Japan, the United States, Central America, and South America.

In Washington and Oregon, volcanoes occur as a row of isolated peaks near the Cascade Mountains. These volcanoes are important for recreation and scenery. Many climbers in the area try to climb all the volcanoes. Volcanic Mount Rainier is so familiar to the people of Seattle that they call it "the Mountain." (Sometimes they also jokingly call it "Mount Rainiest.")

Mount St. Helens

For many years, no one worried about the volcanoes; they were considered dormant. Then, on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

The sky was dark with volcanic ash. Heat and wind destroyed forests. Mud flowed down, covering everything in its path. Many families saw their homes destroyed. Nearly seventy people were killed. One man was found dead in his truck, his hands clutching the steering wheel. He had died from the heat of the blast.

Mount St. Helens had been a beautiful cone-shaped mountain. The eruption flattened its top and made it almost 1,500 feet shorter. Ten years later, Mount St. Helens reminds people of the moon: It is covered with ash and huge rocks. But animals have returned, and new trees are beginning to grow.

Randee Falk: Spotlight on the USA; Oxford University Press, 1993, page 135 f.