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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022
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Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, sending
millions of tons of ash skyward. Much of it landed
on farmland, destroying or damaging many crops.
IN THE MOUNTAIN’S SHADOW
Refl ecting on Mount St. Helens through a local journey
it can be seen from nearly anywhere on the river, sport-
ing varied cloaks. It reigns over the landscape, silent and
peaceful for now.
ccording to the Klickitat people, the creator had spo-
The catastrophic eruption of May 18, 1980, changed
ken. He was furious with his sons, who led his peo-
everything. The classic Cascadian dome, considered by
ple to opposite sides of the great river.
many to be the most beautiful of the Cascade stratovol-
Wy’east and Pahto led war-
canoes, was blown off in one of the
riors against one another over the
deadliest and most destructive volca-
THE CATASTROPHIC
love of Loo-wit, a woman who could
nic events in American history. This
not decide between the two. Seeing
was not the fi rst time the mountain-
ERUPTION OF MAY
his people perish at the hands of their
had blown its top. Geologic records
own kin, the creator fl ew into a rage,
reveal many more, and many I ndig-
18, 1980, CHANGED
casting all three into stone in the form
enous tribes have told stories about
EVERYTHING. THE
of the great fi re mountains that domi-
its fi ery events. Not many alive at
nate the horizon, so the legend tells.
the time will forget where they were
CLASSIC CASCADIAN
The Cowlitz, Yakama, Multnomah
when the mountain lost its temper.
and Chinook tribes gave their own
Most lower Columbia locations
DOME, CONSIDERED
names and stories to the towering
had a dusting of fi ne, gritty ash, but
BY MANY TO BE THE
peaks. When Capt. George Vancouver
the blast was to the north and the pre-
entered the Columbia, he gave two
vailing winds buried the lands north-
MOST BEAUTIFUL
of them names that he thought would
east of the blast zone in as much as
serve him best in the British Royal
5 inches of ash. The blast zone was
OF THE CASCADE
Navy.
devastated. Trees were incinerated
STRATOVOLCANOES,
Wy’east became Mount Hood,
in seconds and millions of logs from
after Adm. Samuel Hood, and Loo-
surrounded forests washed down the
WAS BLOWN OFF
wit became Mount . St. Helens after
Toutle and Cowlitz rivers before fi ll-
IN ONE OF THE
the ambassador to the Spanish court
ing the Columbia, along with a mix-
Baron St. Helens. Pahto, now known
ture of ash and pyroclastic mud.
DEADLIEST AND
as Mount Adams, would wait another
Life downstream was forever
70 years to take the name of t he United
changed. River commerce came to
MOST DESTRUCTIVE
States’ second president.
a stop for a time. The incalculable
VOLCANIC EVENTS IN
Mountains have captured the imag-
damage resulted in years of dredging,
ination and awe of humankind since
construction and countless human
AMERICAN HISTORY.
the dawn of time. Nearly every cul-
and fi nancial costs before the Colum-
ture has ascribed some spiritual sig-
bia returned to its pristine state. Hav-
nifi cance to the peaks in their realm. Often, a mountain
ing spent many school days in Longview, Mount St.
serves as the setting of a creation story, or some physi-
Helens was always right over our shoulders, in winter
cal manifestation of a spirit, god or goddess. For l ower
dazzling white and in summer stripped and bare.
Columbians, Mount St. Helens is a constant presence,
whether you can see the mountain or not. On a clear day,
See Mountain, Page B5
By RON BALDWIN
For The Astorian
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