Posts Tagged: "earthquake"

This year, May 18th will mark the 36th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, an active stratovolcano situated in Washington State’s Skamania County and part of the Cascade Range of mountains. The upcoming anniversary looks like it’s shaping up to be a special one for this major volcano, which is no longer dormant. A recent weekly update on seismic activity measured at the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO), produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), reports a “continued pattern of slightly elevated seismicity” at Mount St. Helens. This seismic activity has been going on for about two months. More than 130 earthquakes ranging in depth from 1.2 miles to 4 miles have been detected in the region since March 13th by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN). Most of the earthquakes measure a magnitude of 0.5 or less but their frequency has been stunning, with as many as 40 earthquakes per week, which has led scientists to believe that the volcano may be recharging even if it won’t erupt any day soon.