Mount St. Helens National Monument Spirit Lake Memorial Highway
Hoffstadt Bluffs Rest Area and View Point
Imagine the massive landslide that transported the top of the mountain over the hills and filled the valley below. Even though this Cowlitz County viewpoint is over 15 miles from the mountain, you can see where the landslide ground to a halt!
Edge of the Blast
Hoffstadt Canyon Bridge, an impressive highway span across Hoffstadt Creek, soars 370 feet over the canyon floor. When you cross the bridge, you also cross over into the eruption's blast zone. Look for signs of standing dead trees that sizzled during the May 18 eruption and notice how they stand amongst the green trees that were planted after the eruption.
Elk Rock Viewpoint
Elk Rock represents the entry into the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument where nature is recovering at its own pace. At this viewpoint you can look down into the valley where the bones of the blowdown forest still exist and view the"hummocks" on the debris avalanche. Just imagine the power it would take to knock down 150 square miles of forest! A spectacular view of Mount Adams is also seen from here looking east.
North Fork Ridge
Weyerhaeuser Corporation, Washington Department of Transportation, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have teamed up to explain the impacts that the eruption had on the surrounding forest, and the area wildlife population. Weyerhaeuser Corporation's recovery operation to salvage the blowdown timber and replant millions of trees can be seen on the hillside around North Fork Ridge. A Forest Learning Center explaining this effort will open in the spring of 1995.
from Away.com
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