35th Annivesary of Mount St. Helens Eruption

The jagged snow-covered crater of Mount St. Helens is calm today on this 35th anniversary of the volcano's big eruption that killed 57 people and covered the Yakima Valley with ash.

If you were living in the Yakima Valley in those days, it's likely you turned to KIT for the latest information. KIT staff worked around the clock to bring you information about the eruption.

The mountain has been mostly quiet since the most-recent dome building eruption ended in 2008, leaving a mound in the crater. Scientists at the Cascades Volcano observatory in Vancouver say Mount St. Helens probably will have another dome-building eruption within the next several decades. U.S. Geological Survey scientist Cynthia Gardner says the volcano has a history of destroying and rebuilding itself.

Scientists believe the magma under the mountain is more likely to cause dome-building eruptions rather than another explosive blast.