The catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 was a massive event that made everyone re-think how volcanoes function. Despite the amount of attention this eruption recieved, scientists today are still struggling to understand how it occurred.

The 1980 eruption killed 57 people as rocky debris, scalding hot steam and gas swept down the volcano’s slope at more than 683 miles per hour (1,100 kilometers per hour) and reached temperatures of 572 degrees Fahrenheit. The tempestuous volcano also hurled about 540 million tons of ash into the air, and has since earned celebrity status as perhaps the most studied volcano today. You can read more here…