Many people think that Mt. St. Helens is a
weird-looking volcano because they are used to
the image of the cylinder cone volcano even though it
is a composite.
In 1980 Mt. St. Helens
erupted. In the explosion, the entire top slid off.
This formed its current pecular crater. Thanks to the
eruption, the currently sleeping volcano is now 400 meters
(1,313 feet) shorter. Few plants and animals survived.
The temperatures in some rivers went up to 600 degrees,
killing all water life. On land, deer, elk, cougars, black
bears, and goats died.
