Observatory to Give Peek Into Volcano
- Share via
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Ever since Mt. St. Helens blew its top, visitors have craved a straight-on view into the crater.
Now it’s available, weather permitting, as the star attraction of a $10.5-million visitor center built into a ridge next to the volcano.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory opens this weekend, 17 years after the volcano’s deadly eruption on May 18, 1980.
The mountaintop exploded with the force of a 24-megaton nuclear bomb, killing 57 people and devastating 230 square miles.
The volcano has been virtually inactive since 1986.
In clear weather--about a third of the time--the shattered mountain can be seen looming over a rocky terrain punctuated by a few green patches of grass, shrubs and trees.
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
