Field guides provide history and context for your next field trip to Mount St. Helens
By Cascades Volcano Observatory
November 21, 2019
Exposures in valleys surrounding Mount St. Helens reveal records of diverse geologic processes including debris avalanche, lahar, huge water wave on a nearby lake, pyroclastic density currents (surge and flow), tephra fall, lava flow, growth of domes, and past glaciation.
This new field guide provides detailed information for 28 self-guided field trip stops, many of which explore effects of the several catastrophes that constituted the May 18, 1980 eruption.
Our Mount St. Helens field guides are listed below. Additional field-trip guides for selected volcanoes and volcanic landscapes of the western United States can be downloaded from the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Related
Field trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington—Recent and ancient volcaniclastic processes and deposits Field trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington—Recent and ancient volcaniclastic processes and deposits
This field guide explores volcanic effusions, sediments, and landforms at Mount St. Helens in Washington. A detailed synopsis outlines the eruptive history of Mount St. Helens from about 300,000 years ago through 1980 and beyond.The five days in the field include about 28 stops and 12 potential stops. Exposures in valleys surrounding Mount St. Helens reveal records of diverse Pleistocene...
Authors
Richard Waitt, Jon Major, Richard Hoblitt, Alexa Van Eaton, Michael Clynne
Geologic field-trip guide of volcaniclastic sediments from snow- and ice-capped volcanoes—Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon Geologic field-trip guide of volcaniclastic sediments from snow- and ice-capped volcanoes—Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon
This field guide for the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly 2017 focuses on volcaniclastic sediments from Mount St. Helens in Washington and Mount Hood in Oregon. The trip spends four days in the field and includes nine stops at each volcano. For completeness, this guidebook also includes sixteen optional stops in...
Authors
Thomas Pierson, Lee Siebert, Christopher Harpel, Kevin Scott
Field-trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington - An overview of the eruptive history and petrology, tephra deposits, 1980 pyroclastic density current deposits, and the crater Field-trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington - An overview of the eruptive history and petrology, tephra deposits, 1980 pyroclastic density current deposits, and the crater
This field trip will provide an introduction to several fascinating features of Mount St. Helens. The trip begins with a rigorous hike of about 15 km from the Johnston Ridge Observatory (9 km north-northeast of the crater vent), across the 1980 Pumice Plain, to Windy Ridge (3.6 km northeast of the crater vent) to examine features that document the dynamics and progressive emplacement of...
Authors
John Pallister, Michael Clynne, Heather Wright, Alexa R. Van Eaton, James Vallance, David Sherrod, B. Kokelaar
Field-trip guide for exploring pyroclastic density current deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington Field-trip guide for exploring pyroclastic density current deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are one of the most dangerous phenomena associated with explosive volcanism. To help constrain damage potential, a combination of field studies, laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling are used to establish conditions that influence PDC dynamics and depositional processes, including runout distance. The objective of this field trip is to explore...
Authors
Brittany Brand, Nicholas Pollock, Damiano Sarocchi, Josef Dufek, Michael Clynne
Related
Field trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington—Recent and ancient volcaniclastic processes and deposits Field trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington—Recent and ancient volcaniclastic processes and deposits
This field guide explores volcanic effusions, sediments, and landforms at Mount St. Helens in Washington. A detailed synopsis outlines the eruptive history of Mount St. Helens from about 300,000 years ago through 1980 and beyond.The five days in the field include about 28 stops and 12 potential stops. Exposures in valleys surrounding Mount St. Helens reveal records of diverse Pleistocene...
Authors
Richard Waitt, Jon Major, Richard Hoblitt, Alexa Van Eaton, Michael Clynne
Geologic field-trip guide of volcaniclastic sediments from snow- and ice-capped volcanoes—Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon Geologic field-trip guide of volcaniclastic sediments from snow- and ice-capped volcanoes—Mount St. Helens, Washington, and Mount Hood, Oregon
This field guide for the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly 2017 focuses on volcaniclastic sediments from Mount St. Helens in Washington and Mount Hood in Oregon. The trip spends four days in the field and includes nine stops at each volcano. For completeness, this guidebook also includes sixteen optional stops in...
Authors
Thomas Pierson, Lee Siebert, Christopher Harpel, Kevin Scott
Field-trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington - An overview of the eruptive history and petrology, tephra deposits, 1980 pyroclastic density current deposits, and the crater Field-trip guide to Mount St. Helens, Washington - An overview of the eruptive history and petrology, tephra deposits, 1980 pyroclastic density current deposits, and the crater
This field trip will provide an introduction to several fascinating features of Mount St. Helens. The trip begins with a rigorous hike of about 15 km from the Johnston Ridge Observatory (9 km north-northeast of the crater vent), across the 1980 Pumice Plain, to Windy Ridge (3.6 km northeast of the crater vent) to examine features that document the dynamics and progressive emplacement of...
Authors
John Pallister, Michael Clynne, Heather Wright, Alexa R. Van Eaton, James Vallance, David Sherrod, B. Kokelaar
Field-trip guide for exploring pyroclastic density current deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington Field-trip guide for exploring pyroclastic density current deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are one of the most dangerous phenomena associated with explosive volcanism. To help constrain damage potential, a combination of field studies, laboratory experiments, and numerical modeling are used to establish conditions that influence PDC dynamics and depositional processes, including runout distance. The objective of this field trip is to explore...
Authors
Brittany Brand, Nicholas Pollock, Damiano Sarocchi, Josef Dufek, Michael Clynne