What was the most surprising discovery immediately following the eruption?
The single greatest surprise to scientists entering the blast zone shortly after the eruption was the realization that many organisms survived in, what initially appeared to be, a lifeless landscape. Scientists entering the blast zone for the first time found a mostly gray and brown landscape covered with dead trees and a uniform covering of ash and pumice. Pre-eruption view from the former summit of Mount St. Helens looking north with Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier in the background. Note the dark green color of the old-growth forests that occupied the valley to the north of the volcano and the ridges surrounding Spirit Lake. [Peter Frenzen, 1978] The same view after the eruption shows the extensive removal of forest vegetation north of the volcano. The missing trees were buried by the massive landslide (debris avalanche) or ripped from the ground and/or toppled by the lateral blast. [J. Franklin, USDA Forest Service, 1980] It wasnt long before scientists working in the area found surv
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