Mount St. Helens

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Sunset on Mount St. Helens, as seen from the south, April 26, 2005.

The eruption at Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was an important geological event because we observed and documented large-scale catastrophic processes, which are extremely rare occurrences. For creation science, the event was most notable because of the rapid deposition and erosion that provided a sizable model of the type of activity likely to have taken place during the great Biblical global flood of Noah. The work done at the volcano during its eruption by geologist, Steven Austin, et. al. to document this event is a highly recommended study.

Rapid Deposition

Stratified layers up to 400 feet thick formed as a result of landslides, pyroclastic flows, mudflows, etc., during the Mt. St. Helens eruption. Fine laminae from only a millimeter thick to more than a meter high formed in just a few seconds each. A deposit more than 25 feet in thickness, and containing upwards of 100 thin layers accumulated in just one day on June 12, 1980. Naturalists have long claimed that stratified layer such as those found in the geological column have accumulated over vast periods of time, and that such layers represent season variations. However, the Mt. St. Helens deposits have demonstrated that catastrophic processes are able to create these geological formations in a short period of time.

“Spilling from the crater, Loowit Falls reshapes the north slope of the volcano. ‘You’d expect a hardrock canyon to be thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years old,’ says Peter Frenzen, monument scientist, ‘but this was cut in less than a decade." National Geographic, May 2000, p. 121.

Rapid Erosion

Perhaps the most remarkable catastrophic events to have occurred at Mt. St. Helens was the rapid erosion that was accomplished by mudflows, landslides, and waves of water. On March 19, 1982 a small eruption melted the snow that had accumulated in the crater over the winter, and a resulting hot mud flow carved a system of canyons up to 140 feet deep and 17 miles long in a single day. The deepest of the canyons has affectionately been called the little Grand Canyon of the Toutle River, and is 1/40th the size of its namesake. The small creek that now flows through the bottom would appear to have carved this canyon over a great length of time, but this unique event has demonstrated that rapid catastrophic processes were instead responsible. The Grand Canyon in Arizona has also been claimed for some time to have been carved gradually by the Colorado River, but it is now becoming clear this American icon is as well the result of catastrophic erosion.

The Toutle River

Muddy River drainage

Upper Muddy drainage

Conclusion

As a result of the volcanic eruptions, thick deposits of fine laminate accumulated that was later eroded into large canyons. Uniformitarian geologists have long claimed that these features, which are common to earth's geology, were accomplished over great lengths of time. The rapid production of these formations at Mt. St. Helens provided evidence that catastrophic flood geology, such as those ongoing during the Biblical global flood, could instead be responsible.