Mt. St Helens, New Mexico

Alex Merber, Sam Doyle, Aaron Levin

Geological Origin

Formed when the Juan de Fuca plate, an oceanic plate, pushed under the North American plate, a continental plate.

Magma forced up through the Earth's crust, forming Mount St. Helens.

Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a volcanic region in the pacific.

Convergent Boundary

Ecological History

Coniferous forest, some regions are temperate forest

Monthly precipitation

Ecological History

Monthly temperature

Ecological History Pacific tree frog, northwestern garter

snakes, northern alligator lizard Western meadowlark, mallard, wood

duck Common nighthawk, bald eagle Black-tailed deer, coyote, and cougar.

Threats to the park

  In 2004, many mining claims were made   Other claims to land were made by land

purchasers from the federal government under the 1872 Mining Law

  In 2008 there were plans for a massive Copper mine

  Canadian mining companies are very interested in building a large scale mine on the edge of the Mt. St. Helen boundary

Mt. St. Helens

Made into a national monument in 1982

  In the process of being made a National Park

  The US Forest Service is responsible for it’s protection

Endangered and Threatened Species

Some endangered species include the Black Rock Fish and Lewis’s Woodpecker

The Spotted Owl is threatened and lives in the region

Human History

The Mt. St. Helens Region is considered sacred to Native American Tribes such as the Yakama Tribe

The area was also used for recreational activities such as: Swimming, camping, hiking, boating and skiing.

Why Should We Preserve?

Largest Volcanic mountain in the Continental United States

Many plant and animal species call this region their home

On May 18th, 1980…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK--hvgP2uY

Causes of eruption

A bulge formed on the northern face of the mountain

Preceding months, series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes occurred

Magma fractured bulge and eruption occurred

First major eruption in US since Lassen Peak, CA in 1915..

Fun Facts:

2.77 billion dollars of damage resulted from the eruption.

The destroyed landscape evolved to a very rich, diverse area

Most of the mountain is 3000 years younger than the pyramids in Egypt

Thousands of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibious species died during the 1980 eruption.

Sources

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/mount_saint_helens/

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/060301:13

http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/ten-treasures-at-stake-85899358611

http://mountsthelens.com/history-1.html

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/All/

Sources (Continued)

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/status_review/

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/103/