While the eruption itself was a dramatic and quick-moving event, it wasn’t without warning. In fact, for the two months preceding it, the mountain experienced multiple earthquakes and steam-venting activities that threatened the integrity of the land. As the north slope began to bulge and swell, it became obvious that a calamity was imminent.
On May 18, it came to a head. The north face began to lose traction, eventually sliding completely off the side of the mountain. It was the worst landslide in recorded history, and it triggered the dramatic events that followed. With the foundation of the mountain compromised, the older rock inside of it began to rise. It shot northward, mixed with fiery hot lava, in a towering eruption column that maxed out at 80,000 feet.
Eleven neighboring states experienced ash deposits, while the area around the mountain itself was completely saturated in debris, the land totally decimated.
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