Events caused by plate movements can have deadly effects on all living organisms. During the time of the Mount St. Helens eruption, scientists who worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) were actually in the area conducting scientific analysis. When the volcano erupted, those men and women lost their lives.
For this assignment, you should imagine that you were in the area when Mount St. Helens erupted. Take as much time as you need to imagine what it might have been like to be at the base of a volcano as it exploded in a catastrophic eruption. Then, using Google Docs or other word processing program, write a 1-page journal entry detailing the events of the eruption. You may dramatize this, if you wish, by adding a fictional account of how someone might feel in such a situation.
- Briefly, in one or two sentences, explain plate tectonics.
- Describe what you might see, hear, or feel as the volcano became active-How did the ground feel? What did it sound like? What kinds of sights, sounds, smells and tastes might you experience? What thoughts went through your head?
- What kind of energy would be released? Think about magma flowing up through the ground, or underground vents giving way as pressure broke through layers of rock.
- Describe what takes place in the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere as the volcano erupts.