Post by Taylor on May 29, 2006 1:01:54 GMT -5
Vanier students tour Ape Caves and the Mount St. Helen's 1980 Eruption Trail
May 26 2006
Twenty-six years after Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, Geography 12 and Geology 12 students from G.P. Vanier Secondary School visited southern Washington to study the long-term effects in a weekend field study.
All of the students were born after the eruption and so the knowledge they had of the eruption was secondhand — through textbooks, video footage or from stories that they may have heard from relatives, the school notes in a news release.
“One very important element of a field trip like this is gaining firsthand awareness of the event and the place,” said Geography 12 teacher Andrew Young. “Besides, Mount St. Helens blew stuff up and that was cool,” added the enthusiastic educator and co-coordinator of the trip.
The group first headed to the southern flanks of the volcano to explore the Ape Caves. These caves were created by the only flow of fluid pahoehoe lava from the volcano about 2,000 years ago and are the namesake of a local youth group called the St. Helens Apes.
The lava tube runs for just under four kilometres. The group explored the lower caves and a small portion of the upper caves.
As they descended 40 feet underground by stairs, the complete change of environment was striking — from sunshine above to cool silence below. The cave was so jet black that the beam of flashlights seemed entirely ineffectual in the all-encompassing dark.
Happily plunging through the darkness, the students found the lower caves to be a fascinating experience. Some more audacious members of the group scrambled through portions of the upper caves, and the adventure left all of the students eager for a return trip for a more thorough expedition.
After a quick turnaround, the group headed to the north side of the mountain to see where the main event occurred. The bus ride was a rowdy affair with lots of talk about the morning experience, but when the awe-inspiring mountain came into full view, one could hear a pin drop.
“It was a lot bigger than I thought. I didn’t really appreciate the size of the mountain,” said geology student Curtis Blackburn.
The students explored the interpretive centre at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, a mere three miles from the volcano, including an attempt to create their own earthquake and recording on a seismogram.
A hike on the Eruption Trail provided the group with breathtaking views of the lava dome, crater, pumice plain, and the landslide deposit.
The mountain did not disappoint, as it vented steam and gas from the actively growing new lava dome inside the crater of the volcano, and, combined with clear sunny skies, the students had the best firsthand views of the volcano and the effects of its eruption that any class could want.
The success of this trip was in no small part due to the efforts of Geology 12 teacher Matt Bourget, Vanier notes in a news release.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to share the St. Helens experience with the students I work with; it reminds me of the first time I travelled to the volcano,” said Bourget.
Experiencing Mount St. Helens firsthand and having fun while doing it was the whole reason for the expedition.
“I never thought spending the long weekend with my teachers on a field trip was a good idea, but I had fun,” remarked Cassie Bosma, a geography and geology student.
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/
May 26 2006
Twenty-six years after Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, Geography 12 and Geology 12 students from G.P. Vanier Secondary School visited southern Washington to study the long-term effects in a weekend field study.
All of the students were born after the eruption and so the knowledge they had of the eruption was secondhand — through textbooks, video footage or from stories that they may have heard from relatives, the school notes in a news release.
“One very important element of a field trip like this is gaining firsthand awareness of the event and the place,” said Geography 12 teacher Andrew Young. “Besides, Mount St. Helens blew stuff up and that was cool,” added the enthusiastic educator and co-coordinator of the trip.
The group first headed to the southern flanks of the volcano to explore the Ape Caves. These caves were created by the only flow of fluid pahoehoe lava from the volcano about 2,000 years ago and are the namesake of a local youth group called the St. Helens Apes.
The lava tube runs for just under four kilometres. The group explored the lower caves and a small portion of the upper caves.
As they descended 40 feet underground by stairs, the complete change of environment was striking — from sunshine above to cool silence below. The cave was so jet black that the beam of flashlights seemed entirely ineffectual in the all-encompassing dark.
Happily plunging through the darkness, the students found the lower caves to be a fascinating experience. Some more audacious members of the group scrambled through portions of the upper caves, and the adventure left all of the students eager for a return trip for a more thorough expedition.
After a quick turnaround, the group headed to the north side of the mountain to see where the main event occurred. The bus ride was a rowdy affair with lots of talk about the morning experience, but when the awe-inspiring mountain came into full view, one could hear a pin drop.
“It was a lot bigger than I thought. I didn’t really appreciate the size of the mountain,” said geology student Curtis Blackburn.
The students explored the interpretive centre at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, a mere three miles from the volcano, including an attempt to create their own earthquake and recording on a seismogram.
A hike on the Eruption Trail provided the group with breathtaking views of the lava dome, crater, pumice plain, and the landslide deposit.
The mountain did not disappoint, as it vented steam and gas from the actively growing new lava dome inside the crater of the volcano, and, combined with clear sunny skies, the students had the best firsthand views of the volcano and the effects of its eruption that any class could want.
The success of this trip was in no small part due to the efforts of Geology 12 teacher Matt Bourget, Vanier notes in a news release.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to share the St. Helens experience with the students I work with; it reminds me of the first time I travelled to the volcano,” said Bourget.
Experiencing Mount St. Helens firsthand and having fun while doing it was the whole reason for the expedition.
“I never thought spending the long weekend with my teachers on a field trip was a good idea, but I had fun,” remarked Cassie Bosma, a geography and geology student.
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/