Toutle River Valley

This view taken along Washington Highway 504 shows the sediment-clogged valley of the North Fork of the Toutle River. Morning light reflects off natural ponds and and stream channels of the broad valley filled with debris primarily derived from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (visible in the distance). This view is facing east from a roadside pull-off near the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center. On May 18th, 1980, the largest terrestrial landslide in modern recorded history triggered a volcanic blast that devastated a large region around the volcano. Since that time, Mount. St. Helens has had additional volcanic and seismic activity as the volcano slowly rebuilds itself. (Driedger and others, 2010; Ramsey and others, 2008).