Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
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| Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument | |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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| Location | Skamania / Cowlitz / Lewis counties, Washington, USA |
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| Nearest city | Castle Rock, Washington |
| Coordinates | 46°13′59″N 122°11′04″W / 46.2331657°N 122.1845412°WCoordinates: 46°13′59″N 122°11′04″W / 46.2331657°N 122.1845412°W[1] |
| Area | 110,000 acres (445 km²) |
| Established | 1982-08-26 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a U.S. National Monument that includes the area around Mount St. Helens in Washington. It was established on August 27, 1982 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan following the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.[2] The 110,000 acre (445 km²) National Volcanic Monument was set-aside for research, recreation, and education. Inside the Monument, the environment is left to respond naturally to the disturbance.[3]
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was the United States' first such monument managed by the United States Forest Service. At dedication ceremonies on May 18, 1983, Max Peterson, head of the USFS, said,"we can take pride in having preserved the unique episode of natural history for future generations." Since then, many trails, viewpoints, information stations, campgrounds, and picnic areas have been established to accommodate the increasing number of visitors each year.[2]
Beginning in the summer of 1983, visitors have been able to drive to Windy Ridge, only 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of the crater. From this vantage point overlooking Spirit Lake, people see firsthand not only the evidence of a volcano's destruction, but also the remarkable, gradual (but faster than originally predicted) recovery of the land as revegetation proceeds and wildlife returns. A Visitor Center was completed in December 1986 at Silver Lake, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Mount St. Helens and five miles (8 km) east of Interstate Highway 5. By the end of 1989, the Center had hosted more than 1.5 million visitors. Opening in 1993 was an interpretation complex in the Coldwater Lake area, and in 1997 an interpretation complex in the Johnston area, from which visitors can view the inside of the crater and its dome from the site of David A. Johnston's camp on the morning of May 18, 1980. Mountain climbing to the summit of the volcano has been allowed since 1986.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ USGS GNIS: Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
- ^ a b c Tilling; Topinka, and Swanson (1990). Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, and Future. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/national_monument_info.html.
- ^ "Welcome". Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. United States Forest Service. http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
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