“Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!” On May 18 1980, US Geological Survey scientist Dr. David Johnston radioed this when Mount St. Helens began to erupt. The eruption caused a lateral explosion, magma slides, and mudslides. The eruption killed Johnston and 56 others. The complex, named for David Johnston, lies four miles from the base of the mountain, yards from the forward most observation station destroyed in the eruption.

From the observatory, visitors have a 360 degree view of the horseshoe shaped mountain, lava dome, the debris filled valley, Toutle Valley to the West, Pumice Plain to the east, and Coldwater Creek to the North.

The $10.5 million visitor center sees approximately 700,000 people a year and features an outdoor amphitheater, a video reenactment of the eruption, stories of the survivors, and model of the eruption. The Johnston Ridge Observatory Complex gives a view of the most active volcano in the Cascades.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Kelcie Lloyd