Alaskan Volcano Erupts

The eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state was one of the formative events of my youth. I still remember finding ash on my father's car on the East Coast a few days later. It kindled a life-long love of geology and vulcanism. Now, we may be seeing the birth of another generation of geologists as Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted!

A total of five "explosive events" were recorded at Mount Redoubt, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters Monday.

The eruptions sent ash columns some 60,000 feet into the air above the snow-covered peak, and several communities west of Anchorage, Alaska, reported falling ash, officials said.

It also raised concern about ash fallout in towns near the volcano.

The eruption is not nearly as spectacular as Mount Saint Helens and is unlikely to effect the mainland of the USA. But it is still fascinating to know that the Earth is far less stable and certain than we usually take for granted.