Mount St. Helens Is Rumbling

Above, Mount Shasta as seen through an early morning haze. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People around the area of Mount St. Helens in Washington are getting jittery as earthquake activity has increased.

Forbes.com reported:

Since New Years Day Mount St. Helens has experienced 40 earthquakes within its vicinity as tremors continue every few hours. The most powerful earthquake was a magnitude 3.9 that occurred around midnight west coast time about 5 miles from Mount St. Helens and 23 miles from the town of Morton. 

The 3.9 magnitude earthquake was felt in Portland but there were no reported injuries or damage. Since that earthquake there have been 16 more earthquakes, averaging about every half hour with magnitudes from 0.6 to 2.6. 

It is common to experience swarms of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens. While it is certainly not a sign of an impending eruption, the earthquakes are a result of an active volcanic system.

Above, Lassen Peak was the last volcano to erupt in the lower 48 states
 before the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Mount St. Helens is part of the Cascade Range of volcanic peaks that also includes Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta.

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