The Environmental Impact Of The Lateral Blast

In 1980, Mount Saint Helens unleashed its destructive power and many, people, animals, and plants were exterminated. Consequently, the Lateral Blast, was caused by the collapse of the north side of the volcano and when it fell, it unleashed a powerful explosion, that destroyed and scorched 230 square miles of land. Furthermore, the Lateral Blast, greatly impacted Mount Saint Helens ecosystem, for once it happened it destroyed miles of forests, killed off organisms and scorched vegetation in the area. Now the Lateral Blast destroyed miles of forests, because according to the article the Lateral Blast, it says that, ¨Direct blast zone, the innermost zone, averaged about 8 miles in radius, an area in which virtually everything, natural or manmade, was obliterated or
This is mentioned in the article, Mount Saint Helen, where it states, ¨During search-and-rescue missions in the first few days after the eruption, emergency personnel saw many elk carcasses throughout the blowdown zone.¨ So this means that animals did die, like the elk for example, that many carcasas of the species were found all over the blast zone, which makes sense because the elk, is a very large mammal and tried to run but could not outrun the blast and could not hide from it so it would die fairly easily to the power of the Lateral Blast.. Consequently, this is also mentioned in the article, Overview of Ecological Responses to the Eruption of Mount Saint Helens: 1980-2005, that ¨The suite of physical processes operating during the eruption created a full spectrum of survival from nearly complete retention of biota, biotic structures, and abiotic features (such as soil, cliffs, and streams) to complete extirpation of life and loss (or gross reconfiguration) of landforms and drainage networks.¨ In a few words, this is saying