Back in 1980 (about this time of year, Sunday, May 18th, 8:32 a.m.), Mount St. Helens, 96 miles south of Seattle, erupted. It killed 57 people and destroyed 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (300 km) of highway. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet (2,950 m) to 8,365 feet (2,550 m) and replacing it with a mile-wide (1.5 km-wide) horseshoe-shaped crater. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (2.9 km³) in volume.

The eruption was triggered by a 5.1 earthquake, caused by slippage of the Jaan de Fuca tectonic plate sliding under the North American plate—the same geological phenomenon that spawned all the volcanoes in the Cascade mountain range on the west coast of the United States and Canada.

Geologists, I am told, are concerned about the greater danger of a possible eruption of Mount Rainier, a 14,411 foot peak 54 miles south of Seattle and looming over the cities of Tacoma and Olympia (the state capital). There are several small municipalities much closer to the mountain, and on the mountain itself, there are lodges, resorts, ski areas. . . .

This is a geologically active area, due to the collision of the tectonic plates beneath our feet (subduction zone), and although it is sufficiently peaceful for most people to be unconcerned, there are small tremors in the area almost every few days. Most people don't even notice them. But the Nisqually quake, occurring at 10:54 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 2001, was one of the largest recorded earthquakes in Washington state history. The quake measured 6.8 on the MMS and lasted approximately 45 seconds. It got everybody's attention!!

And geologists keep warning lugubriously that "The Big One"—a 9+ quake, triggering tsunamis off the west coast—could come at any time. I wonder what effect that might have on the Cascade Range volcanoes. . . .

It appears that terra firma is not so firma after all.

Don Firth

P. S. Hang on, Skarpi!   (I never really did like "rock 'n' roll" much, especially that kind!)