Did You Know? May is Volcano Awareness Month in WA State–Boom!

We are one of five states in the US with at least five or more volcanoes, but we and Hawaii, CA and Alaska have ones that are considered active.

  This month, the Washington Department of Natural Resources says it's Volcano Awareness Month

No doubt due to the May 18th, 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, we're reminded to be aware. Now, honestly, most of this applies to the Cascades region and west of us.

The DNR says to know where the closest volcanoes are and to have a preparedness plan which includes emergency supplies and an escape plan.

Sadly, folklore legend Harry Truman (not the former President) who lived in a cabin near the base of Mt. St. Helens refused to budge, and was one of the first victims of the blast, he didn't believe in 'plans.'

  Interestingly enough, Alaska blows everyone away by having 141 official volcanoes, although not all of them are active. CA has 18, Oregon 17, and Washington state has 7. We all have more than Hawaii.  who knew?

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  Which states have the most active volcanoes?

Alaska is first, followed by CA (!) ,then Oregon and WA.  Some of the 'actives' in CA include steaming pools of geothermal activity that are apparently big enough to qualify as a volcano.

And finally, the definition of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes? Active has an ongoing long history of eruptions (Mt. St Helens), even if they're many years apart.  Dormant volcanoes, such as Mt. Rainier, have not erupted in a long time. Rainier's last was in 1842. And extinct are peaks that due to geological and other factors are not believed they will ever blow up again.