RIP Tom Skerritt. The longtime Seattle resident served as the narrator of the 2000 Discovery Channel documentary "Mount St. Helens' Fury," which aired on the 20th anniversary of the 1980 eruption.
Mount St. Helens Archive
@mountsthelens1980.bsky.social
Hi, I'm Chris K. đź‘‹ Former science communicator, now documenting Mount St. Helens: before 1980, the eruption and the years of activity that followed, and the land's recovery since.
If you're around Kelso/Longview, Cowlitz County, or anywhere else and you felt this, let the USGS know! "And tell 'em Chris sent you." (Don't do that, do not do that)
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network@pnsn1.bsky.social · yesterdayEarthquake: Magnitude 3.0, 17.9 mi SSE from Longview, WA, 26.72 mi NNW from Portland, OR at 2026/10/22 07:25:19 AM PDT Learn more: pnsn.org/event/714124012 Did You Feel It? Submit a report: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...
While waiting for the “Big One,” Knute takes us on a journey to the Seattle Fault and the earthquakes of ’49, ’65 and '01. The new episode of Mossback's Northwest is out now!
@mountsthelens1980.bsky.social Thought of you yesterday Chris, view from Ape Canyon trail. Beautiful day, lovely walk.
Oct. 21, 1983: USGS scientists set up at Sugar Bowl, a dome on Mount St. Helens’ northeast face east of the breach, to measure gases rising from the dome growing in the crater below. Oct. 21, 2026, same spot: a live webcam anyone can check on their phone.
Fall colors around southwest Washington with Mount St. Helens off in the distance. 🍂
COSPEC, An Ode Aimed at the clear plume, dioxide signals a change— the mountain exhales.
Oct. 21, 1983: USGS scientists set up at Sugar Bowl, a dome on Mount St. Helens’ northeast face east of the breach, to measure gases rising from the dome growing in the crater below. Oct. 21, 2026, same spot: a live webcam anyone can check on their phone.
Discovering Dutch Bros. on my trip in July was the closest I've ever come to becoming addicted to anything.
jen ramos-eisen@jenramose.online · 3d agoI will not disavow the Dutch Brothers
Still contend that there should be a PA historical sign outside the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh noting that Bob Marley's last concert was held there on September 23, 1980. Officially released, by the way!
Historical Marker Ahead@historicalmarker.bsky.social · 4d agoWatching the Tampa Bay Rays reminds me of one of my favorite historical markers: Jimi Hendrix, in downtown Tampa. The only connection is he played in town twice. But the founder of University of Tampa’s Guitar Club loved Hendrix and made it happen. It went up in 2019 www.tampabay.com/news/hillsbo...
The internet has been a mistake on some fronts, but for the history/archivist nerd, it's a miracle. One place shows how the slow demise of the subregional/community newspaper robs us of the local angle on stories with wide-reaching impacts. Such is the case with the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Oct. 18, 1980 | Eruption #6 Day 3 Eruptions had become routine enough NBC described them as “almost like clockwork.” Routine enough, too, that locals in Cougar, 11 miles southwest, don’t bother to evacuate. Gene Mortensen, restaurant owner: “They call us. They set the sirens off. Nobody leaves.”
Normally don't dabble into these topics (I did it enough for a living many years ago), but might as well let you know where I stand.
Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · 5d agoExcuse me sir do you denounce the Doobie Brotherhood?
Oct. 18, 1980 | Eruption #6 Day 3 Eruptions had become routine enough NBC described them as “almost like clockwork.” Routine enough, too, that locals in Cougar, 11 miles southwest, don’t bother to evacuate. Gene Mortensen, restaurant owner: “They call us. They set the sirens off. Nobody leaves.”
Improved the branding a little.
Mount St. Helens Archive@mountsthelens1980.bsky.social · last yr.#MSH45 | Eruption 6 Oct. 17, PM Mount St. Helens's eruptions no longer run first on evening news broadcasts, including CBS's with Walter Cronkite. Yet, the visuals still stun—a morning eruption captured by Seattle affiliate KIRO's helicopter, mere miles from the crater above the devastated area.
#MSH45 | Eruption #6 Friday, Oct. 17, 1980 9:32 a.m. PDT After twelve hours of silence, Mount St. Helens launches a column of ash nearly 50,000 feet high. Pyroclastic flows tear down the north flank toward Spirit Lake. Ash skips Portland. In daylight, it’s clear—the August dome is gone.
#MSH45 | Eruption 6 Oct. 17, PM Mount St. Helens's eruptions no longer run first on evening news broadcasts, including CBS's with Walter Cronkite. Yet, the visuals still stun—a morning eruption captured by Seattle affiliate KIRO's helicopter, mere miles from the crater above the devastated area.
#MSH45 | Eruption #6 Thursday, Oct. 16 — 9:58 p.m. PDT Mount St. Helens had been quiet for the last two months. Growth of the August dome stalled, seismic activity hushed. Afternoon: low-level quakes start to shake St. Helens, increasing dramatically after 7 p.m. Just before 10, the silence ends.
In advance of tomorrow's #ShakeOut earthquake drill, Fox Q13 stopped by the SeismoLab to speak to PNSN Director Harold Tobin about the recent M4.2 earthquake, monitoring seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest, and how to prepare for future earthquakes: www.fox13seattle.com/news/aftersh...
Aftershocks follow 4.2-magnitude earthquake near Gig Harbor, WA
In the days following a 4.2-magnitude earthquake in Gig Harbor, at least four aftershocks were too small to feel, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
fox13seattle.com
Aaron Swartz, coding prodigy and hacktivist who helped develop RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit, died by suicide after facing $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison for felony charges, just for downloading pdfs of research papers with the intention of making them accessible to the public.
Julie S. Lalonde@julieslalonde.bsky.social · last wk.Being GenX/Millennial is such a trip. In our lifetimes, we saw people our age getting wild criminal penalties for pirating music and now have to sit and watch as companies gobble up our work with impunity.
The mighty Loowit Falls. Even from this distance, quite a sight.
July 28, 2026 | Windy Ridge Hey, let's just break this out into its own thread. Pens/Chicago starts around 8, so let's go. Finally made it to the East Side this time, and it did not disappoint — here are a few photos from Windy Ridge. Dogs Head and Sugar Dome with USGS or PNSN equipment on top.
Mount St. Helens Archive@mountsthelens1980.bsky.social · last wk.I digress. Mount St. Helens from Windy Ridge in July!
Going to be posting old videos on Shorts over on YouTube from time to time. The countdown to getting content stricken is on (maybe, who knows, am I manifesting this?).
Mount St. Helens Archive
I'm Chris, a former SciComms guy, chronicling Mount St. Helens' story. The mountain before 1980, its eruptive fury, and nature's stunning comeback. 🌋🌋🌋 #mountsthelens #volcanoes #geology #pnw #histor...
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