Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Volcano!
In the state of Washington, there was once a beautiful place called Spirit Lake. Many people came to vacation at this beautiful blue lake. People could go camping and boating at the lake. There were Girl Scout and Boy Scout camps at the lake. Many people had built vacation cabins there. It was a beautiful lake with a big mountain not far away. This mountain is called Mount St. Helens.
Mount St. Helens sits to the south of Spirit Lake. It is a beautiful mountain that people at the lake liked to see from their cabins. It was pretty, but Mount St. Helens was actually hiding a big secret. Just underneath the surface of the mountain was magma (melted rock) and boiling water that were just dying to get out.
The mountain started to erupt steam in early 1980. A series of earthquakes around the mountain led scientists to believe that something bad was about to happen. The magma and boiling water got closer to the surface. All this activity under the mountain weakened its north side. Scientists knew the mountain would likely erupt, but they didn't know precisely when.
