Loowit falls

I've hiked within the blast zone at Mt. St. Helens before, but this was my first time in the area that was hit by pyroclastic flow (blazing hot ash and gas). It's quite amazing how little has taken hold there after even 35 years. Almost no trees have even begun to come back. There not even many bushes. Dwarf lupine and paintbrush seem to be the most successful to this point. Slowly these will gather and create more fertile soil and the forest will eventually return, but it will be a very long time.

comments (6)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

You'd think with all these ashes and water things would grow rapidly? Posted 9 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  I was wondering about that too - after all, aren't volcanic areas known for their incredibly fertile soils because of repeated ash falls. As it turns out, too much of a good thing…. When ash falls and is incorporated into the soil it's quite good. In fact, I've even seen small boxes of volcanic ash on the shelf at my garden store for incorporating into your vegetable garden, but when the soil is completely covered in a very thick layer of ash and pumice, leaving the top layer only ash, it lacks important nutrients including nitrogen. Lupine is a legume and like all legumes it is nitrogen fixer, so it can thrive where other plants cannot. Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks for that explanation. So if somebody would deeply stir the soil (don't know the proper word), perhaps that would resolve it? Then again, perhaps the layer is so thick this is far from practical. Posted 9 years ago
  2. 1. morpheme
      
      Lion
      
      Indeed - it's deep. Up to 130 feet in places (and I believe that's on top of the 180 some feet of rock slide debris..)! Plus scientists consider it to be a living laboratory of ecological recovery. Most of the area is completely untouched, many areas allow no visitors at all outside of researchers and in quite a lot of it there is no off-trail travel or camping or domesticated animals (horses, dogs, llamas etc) allowed. Posted 9 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        130 feet, alright I'll unpack my shovel. Posted 9 years ago
  3. WildFlower
    
    Lion
    
    The new volcano of Santorini is all covered with lupine.
    
    Posted 9 years ago