The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was the most significant volcanic eruption to occur in the lower 48 states of the United States in recorded history. The eruption was preceded by a two-month long series of earthquakes and steam venting episodes that created a huge bulge and a fracture system on Mount St. Helens' north slope. An earthquake on 1980-05-18 caused the entire weakened north face to slide away, suddenly exposing the partly molten, gas and steam-rich rock in the volcano to lower pressure. The rock responded by exploding into a super-heated mix of pulverized lava and older rock that sped toward Spirit Lake so fast that it quickly passed the avalanching north face. By the time the ash settled and the lahars stopped advancing, 57 people were dead, many thousands of animals were killed, hundreds of square miles (km²) were reduced to a wasteland, and over a billion U.S. dollars in damage was done.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

Today's selected anniversaries: * 533 - Belisarius' legions defeated Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimum, beginning the "Reconquest of the West" under Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ad_Decimum)

* 1759 - General James Wolfe was fatally wounded, but he died happy, knowing that his British forces had defeated the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City, New France, a decisive battle in the French and Indian War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham)

* 1814 - The battle for Fort McHenry outside Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to pen The Star-Spangled Banner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McHenry)

* 1987 - Goiânia accident: A radioactive object was stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goi%E2nia_accident)

* 1993 - After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Peace Accords were formally signed by PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords)

Wikiquote of the day:

"The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition." ~ Carl Sagan (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan)