I remember the news reports of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. I was amazed to see ash clouding the sky and collecting on everything outside, even in Oklahoma.

Since that time, we have benefited from the geologic study of that event. We gained valuable eyewitness accounts of the formation of canyons. The theory that canyons formed slowing, with each layer of soil representing a year like counting rings on a tree, was refuted. The subsequent erosion around Mount St. Helens clearly illustrates that mudflows, which happen in hours and days, will produce layer upon layer of silt and dirt. Floodwaters can cut through a newly deposited landmass to reveal canyon walls that look just like the walls of the Grand Canyon–but that wall of dirt and rock was only laid down a few days earlier.

I was astounded at my first glimpse of Spirit Lake. Twenty-seven years later, one fourth of the lake is still covered by a floating mass of tree trunks. Some trees are even floating perpendicular, sticking up out of the water like stumps. It is reported that the bottom of the lake resembles a forest, as waterlogged trees have sunk and remained standing. This phenomenon offers a good explanation for the existence of polystrate fossils.

Mount St. Helens serves as a living laboratory of how cataclysmic forces shape the earth. It gives us valuable insight about the formation of the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and other natural wonders.