The 1980 eruption was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. 57 people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche was triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale. This caused the eruption, which reduced the height of the mountain's summit from to and replacing it with a wide horseshoe-shaped crater. The earthquake was caused by a sudden surge of magma from the Earth's mantle. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (3.1 cubic kilometers) in volume.
Before the eruption in 1980, Mount St. Helens was the fifth-highest peak in Washington State. The peak rose more than 5,000 feet (1,525 m) above its base, where it rises from the ridges that are around it. It stood out from the surrounding hills because of the symmetrical cone shape and the snow that covered the top. Because of its cone-shape, it was called the "Mount Fuji of America", after the famous Mount Fuji which is a symbol of Japan.
In the months before the large eruption that took place on May 18, 1980, there were many signs of volcanic activity. On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens was the center of a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. Steam venting from the volcano started on March 27. By the end of April, the north side of the volcano started to grow larger.
On May 18, a second earthquake of magnitude 5.1 made a huge part of the north face of the volcano collapse. It was the largest known debris avalanche in recorded history. At 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the magma inside of St. Helens exploded. On the Volcanic Explosivity Index scale, the eruption was rated a five, which is the same rating of the famous Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
For more than nine hours, ash erupted from the volcano, rising into the air for 12 to 16 miles (20 to 27 km) above sea level in the air. This cloud rising from a volcano is called a "plume". The pyroclastic flow of heated rocks and gas that poured out of the Volcano spread over an area of over 230 square miles (600 km²), destroying plants and buildings. The ash spread east at about 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), with some ash reaching Idaho by about 12:00 pm, almost 3.5 hours after the eruption. By about 5:30 pm the plume of ash became smaller. Through the night and for several days after, there were smaller eruptions.
As well as the effect of the fast-moving hot gasses and stones from the explosion, the collapse of the northern side of Mount St. Helens caused "lahars", or volcanic mudflows. These were mixtures of volcanic ash with melted ice and snow. The lahars went many miles down the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers, destroying bridges and killing many trees. A total of 3.9 million cubic yards (3.0 million m³) of material was carried 17 miles (27 km) south into the Columbia River by the lahars.
The St. Helens May 18 eruption released 24 megatons of thermal energy. It released more than 0.67 cubic miles (2.8 cubic km) of ash and other material. The collapse of the north side of the volcano shortened St. Helens' height by about 1,300 feet (400 m) and left a volcanic crater one to two miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) wide and half of a mile (800 m) deep. The eruption
killed 57 people, nearly 7,000 game animals (deer, elk, and bear), and about 12 million fish from a fish farm. It destroyed or damaged over 200 homes, 185 miles (300 km) of highway and of railways.
Between 1980 and 1986, more volcanic activity continued at Mount Saint Helens, with a new lava dome made in the crater. Several small explosions and eruptions took place, making more lava domes. From December 7, 1989 to January 6, 1990, and from November 5, 1990 to February 14, 1991, the volcano erupted with sometimes huge clouds of ash.
The ash reached a number of states, as far east as Montana and as south as Colorado.
Magma bubbles came to the top of the volcano on about October 11, 2004, and a new lava dome was made on the first dome's south side. This new dome grew throughout 2005 and into 2006. Several new features were seen, such as the "whaleback," which is solid magma being pushed to the top of the volcano by magma under it. These features do not last long and break down soon after they are formed. On July 2, 2005, the tip of the whaleback broke off, and a rockfall sent ash several hundred meters into the air.
Mount St. Helens showed important new activity on March 8, 2005, when a 36,000-foot (11,000 m) plume of steam and ash came from the volcano. The plume was seen from as far away as Seattle, a city that is 96 miles away. This fairly small eruption took place because of a new lava dome being formed and a 2.5 magnitude earthquake.
Another feature that grew from the dome is a "fin" or "slab." About half the size of a football field, the large volcanic rock was being moved up as fast as 6 feet (2 m) per day. In mid-June 2006, the slab had rockfalls very often, but was still being pushed up from inside the volcano.
On October 22, 2006, at 3:13 p.m. PST, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake broke the lava dome. The resulting collapse and avalanche sent an ash plume 2,000 feet (610 m) over the crater, although it quickly disappeared.
On December 19, 2006, a large white plume of steam was seen, and some journalists from the media thought there had been a small eruption. However, the Cascades Volcano Observatory of the United States Geological Survey says that there was no large ash plume, so it could not have been an eruption. The volcano has been erupting on occasion since October 2004.
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Oder-Neisse line
The Oder-Neisse line (named after the Oder and Neisse rivers) is the border between Germany and Poland since the end of the Second World War. As a result of the defeat Germany lost a part of its territory to Poland. Previously, the German Empire had to cede the former Prussian provinces of Posen and Westpreußen, as well as parts of upper Silesia, to the newly founded Polish state after the First World War in 1919. In earlier centuries these territories were part of the . They were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia, as a result of the of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the , the Holy Roman Empire and the Russian Empire.
Most of the ethnically-German part of the population of these provinces, alongside most of the German minority population in what was Poland before the Second World War (), either fled before the to central and western Germany or were forcibly resettled later. It should be noted here that German citizens of Polish descent and ethically-Polish residents of these regions and other parts of Germany faced systematic discrimination, internment in concentration camps, property-confiscations, forced-resettlement and expulsion under the Nazi administration.
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales (; born August 7, 1966) is an American-born British Internet entrepreneur. He is one of the people who started Wikipedia and Wikia. Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. There, he went to Randolph School. He then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance. In 1996, he and two partners started Bomis. Bomis was an Internet portal with entertainment and adult content. The company gave money for Nupedia (2000–2003) and, after that, Wikipedia.
Wales has been married three times. He also has two children. When he was 20, Wales married Pam. Pam was a worker at a store in Alabama. He met his second wife, Christine Rohan, through a friend in Chicago. They had a daughter before their marriage ended. Wales moved to San Diego in 1998. In 2002, he moved again to Florida. In 2007, he still lived there. As of 2012 he lives in London, England. In 2012, Wales married Kate Garvey, a government worker for Tony Blair. Wales has three daughters: one with Rohan and two with Garvey.