The initial column rose 12 miles (19 km) in under 10 minutes. It would later top out between 15 and 18 miles (24–29 km)—deep into the stratosphere.
By comparison: typical commercial flights cruise at ~6–7 miles altitude.
This cloud reached three times that.
By comparison: typical commercial flights cruise at ~6–7 miles altitude.
This cloud reached three times that.
1 / 4
Comments
These are the images you see in books, posters, and everywhere. Some of the most well-known volcanic photographs ever taken.
There were phreatic pits along what's known now as Johnston Ridge where superheated water—likely glacier chunks from the landslide—were flashing to steam.
It continued to do that for a few weeks after the eruption. The ground was *that hot.*
Patricia Lauber's Volcano and Rita Golden Gelman's The Big Blast come to mind, but the Cranberry Township Public Library had them all—and then some!