How a Team of Gophers Restored Mount St. Helens After Its Catastrophic Eruption With Less Than a Day of Digging

Photo caption: Pocket Gopher. Photo credit: Jerry Kirkhart via Flickr. CC BY 2.0. Article by Alexa Robles-Gil. Smithsonian Magazine – November 14, 2024. Research article: Frontiers in Microbiomes. 

In May 1980, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake accompanied by an avalanche flipped the switch on a volcano in Washington state. With pressure suddenly removed from the magma below, Mount St. Helens spewed lava, ash and debris in the southwestern part of the state. It became the most destructive eruption in United States history. However, not all was lost. […]

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