Mount Saint Helens
The world won't long forget that quiet morning in May of 1980 when a sleeping giant awoke with a force great enough to blow away 1300 feet of its snowcapped peak, reduce its forested skirt to a barren wasteland, and shoot a cloud of volcanic ash 16 miles into the atmosphere. Now, with fifteen years of self-healing and reforestation efforts, Mount Saint Helens has taken on a new look of youthful splendor.  Photo -Washington State Tourism, Inset - Chris Sollart