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You can also investigate a room where you can examine the parts of planes and learn how they fly. This was a fascinating place to explore the mysteries of flight and have a look at 56 remarkable planes that won't lose your luggage!
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MT. ST. HELENS VOLCANO
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When Mt. St. Helens stirred from its 123 year inactive period, its eruption on May 18, 1980 was violent. An earthquake that measured 5.1 on the Richter scale started a landslide that resulted in the peak of the mountain blasting down the northwest slope at 200 mph carrying very hot ash. Trees were vaporized and eighty ton logging equipment was ripped apart and thrown hundreds of feet. An average of 24 feet of coarse ash fell around the mountain. Easterly winds blew smaller amounts of ash over 50% of the state of Washington.
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Thirty five people were killed in the first blast by super heated ash and mud slides. Some 25 people are still missing. What was once a quiet forested lakeside camping area was left a barren wasteland
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Presently, logging companies have replanted trees, but the immediate area around the volcano has been set aside for scientists and visitors to study the results of the destructive nature of this volcano. They also watch as nature tries to reestablish a foothold.
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There are several excellent Visitor Centers that offer impressive views. For those of you who really want an up close and personal look, you can take a helicopter ride inside the crater. From this vantage point, you can see a new volcanic dome that has arisen since the last eruption in 1980 in the center of the crater. On the day I tried this, my chopper pilot (wisely) would not go inside. There had been a small earthquake and landslide that morning. Hmmm. Which brings to mind a conversation I heard between a mom and her six year old son as they exited the Visitor Center movie that showed the eruption, "Is it gonna happen all over again?" he asked as if waiting for the "real" show to start. " Not today, Josh," she answered.
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MT. RAINIER
No log about Seattle would be complete without mentioning Mt. Rainier which stands 14,410 feet and looms in the distance of every landscape. Like Mt. St. Helens, it has been dormant (no eruptions) for a long period of time. However, as the Pacific crust slowly slides under the continental crust, future eruptions will occur. Geologists use seismographs to detect the movement of magma (underground lava). They watch for the smallest of earthquakes in hopes of providing an early warning of an eruption. Mt. Rainier, with its 27 actively moving glaciers, makes a spectacular sight.
Although it can be seen from Seattle, its true size cannot be appreciated until you stand at its base. Only then can you grasp the massive power of these fields of ice that slide from the summit (top). Once when I was there in October, I asked why the first floor windows of the Visitors Center were boarded up. The answer? Because the winter snows will bury the first story of the building!
The wide diversity (different) of sights in Seattle has made this city particularly exciting to explore. This "Emerald City" is truly a jewel of the Pacific Northwest. It is our good fortune that America has so many great cities to her credit. San Francisco, with its cable cars, has long been another popular tourist destination. As Pride II travels south, don't miss her next port of call - San Francisco!
Enjoying the home "turf",
Leslie Bridgett
YOUR THOUGHTS
- Describe the outcome in the following food chain if the birds died out due to a disease "introduced" by an immigrant's pet.
FOOD CHAIN: plants, grasshopper, birds, snakes.
- Draw a picture of a temperate rainforest based on the description in this log.
- Compare a temperate (cool) rainforest to a forest in your area. Tell what is similar and what is different.
- If you were the Captain of Pride II, what are of some of the reasons you would keep a watchful eye on the tidal range (high and low) in a port or in a narrow waterway?
- Lumber is a major export in Seattle. List the ways people are dependent on lumber. List the damage that the lost of trees imposes on the environment.
- Pretend the City of Baltimore has been asked to host the summer Olympic Games. Design a "centerpiece" structure, such as the Space Needle, which would be featured in the Inner Harbor. Tell why you choose this design.
- Pike Place is similar to Lexington Market in Baltimore. Tell whether you would prefer to shop at a grocery store or a market. Why?
- Due to roads and dams, Chesapeake Bay has thousands of obstacles for fish that are trying to migrate upstream to spawn (breed & lay eggs). Pretend you are a wildlife management specialist. Write a letter to a state legislator stating the problem and recommending a solution.
- If you have ever flown in an airplane, describe the experience. If you haven't flown, make a list of questions and interview someone who has flown.
- Sometimes volcanologists (people who study volcanoes) lose their lives when they venture too close to an erupting volcano. List the dangers associated with a volcanic eruption.
Return to the first part of the September 4, 1998 log.
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