Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It was named for British diplomat Lord St Helens who was a friend of George Vancouver, an explorer who made a survey of the area in the late 18th century. It is the only currently active volcano in the Continental United States. It is most famous for the catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980. That eruption was the most deadly and economically destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed and 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways and 185 miles (300 km) of highway were destroyed, causing a massive debris avalanche. Like most other volcanoes in the Cascade Range, St. Helens is a great cone of rubble consisting of lava rock interlayered with ash, pumice and other deposits.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

474: As the seven-year old Leo II was deemed too young to rule, his father Zeno was crowned as the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno_%28emperor%29)

1895: Volleyball was invented at a YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball)

1943: World War II: The Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands ended, giving the Allied forces a key victory in the Pacific War over the Japanese military. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guadalcanal)

1950: Red scare: Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the U.S. State Department of being filled with communists. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy)

1960: Joanne Woodward was honored with the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses?" -- Mrs Patrick Campbell (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mrs_Patrick_Campbell)