Seattle, WA 98195

University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections5861 (Accession No. 5861-001)Mount St. Helens Collection1980-20102.2 cubic feet (6 boxes plus 12 negative microfilm reels)Collection materials are in English.Ephemera including log books, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and ash sample from and related to the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state

Materials from and related to the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Includes a handwritten log book documenting the eruption and other volcanic activity, newspaper clippings and microfilms of newspaper articles, magazine articles, maps, pamphlets, scrapbooks, soap, photograph slides with accompanying cassette tape, playing cards, a post card, salt and pepper shaker, pen, mug, two small ceramics, and a container filled with volcanic ash.

Mount St. Helens, located in southwestern Washington State, erupted on May 18, 1980. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the eruption occurred at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It was the first significant volcanic eruption to happen in the contiguous United States since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California, and is considered to be the most disastrous volcanic eruption in United States history.

Before the eruption, the elevation of the volcano had been 9,677 feet. Afterward, it was 8,363 feet, having lost 1,314 feet in elevation. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, which were caused by an injection of magma below the volcano that created a huge bulge and a fracture system. An earthquake on the day of the eruption caused the bulge on the north side of the volcano to become unstable and collapse. The summit of the volcano slid away creating the largest landslide ever recorded. This exposed the rock in the volcano to lower pressure, which exploded in a mix of lava and rock. The ash cloud from the explosion blackened the sky as it traveled eastward, leaving detectable amounts of ash over an area of 22,000 square miles. The ash cloud reached a height of about 80,000 feet less than 15 minutes after the eruption. It spread across the United States in 3 days and circled the globe in 15 days. In all, 1.4 billion cubic yards of ash were thrown into the air by the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Fifty-seven people were killed as a result of the eruption and hundreds of square miles of land were decimated, costing the United States government 1 billion dollars in damages.

No restrictions on access.

Request at UW

Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Gift of Marilyn Saunders, 2006; Sandra Kroupa, 2014; Greg Martin, 2014; Sean Garvey, 2016; Amanda DeWilde, 2018

All other Mount St. Helens accessions (ICDB11187, 2016112302, 2015052103, 2018083001, 2019021302) have been merged with this accession.

The Special Collections Mount St. Helens Exhibits website was captured by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine on Nov. 17, 2021. The snapshot can be viewed here: https://wayback.archive-it.org/4224/*/http://specialcollections.ds.lib.uw.edu/MountStHelens/

Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)Saint Helens, Mount (Wash.)--Eruption, 1980Volcanic eruptions--Washington (State)--Saint Helens, MountWashington (State)Environmental Conditions

1Eruption log book1980-1981

Handwritten log book documenting the Mount St. Helens eruptions and volcanic activity from March 28, 1980 to April 10, 1981. The reports are mostly from various amateur (i.e. "ham") radio operators ("HAM NET") and updates generally occurred every few minutes. The log book is fairly complete for each day with dividers for "beginning eruption" on March 27th, "Day she blew" on May 18th and June 12th, and "5th eruption" on October 17, 1980. There are only a few entries after October 17, 1980. Although the cover label indicates that the log goes through March 18, 1982, there are no entries after April 10, 1981 in the log book. The author of the log book is unknown.

Open to all users.

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Donated by Greg Martin (Adult Services Librarian, Wilsonville Public Library in Wilsonville, OR), 2014-11-19

2Articles and clippings1980-2010

Published materials from the Tigard, Oregon Public Library's collection on Mount St. Helens. Includes newspaper clippings, magazine articles, maps, pamphlets, and other materials related to the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens and the aftermath of the eruptions. Also included are some materials on Mount Rainier.

No restrictions on access.

Copyrights retained by creator. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details.

Donated by Sean Garvey (Tigard Public Library in Tigard, Oregon), 11/11/2016

3Scrapbooks1980

Three scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and twelve Polaroid photographs compiled and taken by Marilyn Saunders following the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens. The newspaper clippings document the eruptions and their aftermaths. They describe the falling ash that spread across the region and beyond, evacuations and rescue missions, the environmental devastation, clean-up efforts, and more. The Polaroid photographs were taken six miles southeast of Quincy, Washington. They show the black sky caused by the ash following the July 25 and August 7 eruptions.

No restrictions on access.

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Donated by Marilyn Saunders, 10/8/2006

4Volcanic ash1980

Container filled with volcanic ash from the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

No restrictions on access.

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Donated by Sandra Kroupa, 11/1/2014

5Soap made with pumice from Mount St. Helens (in original box from company)1981

No restrictions on access.