Over 400 Earthquakes Detected Beneath Mount St. Helens in 3 Months, No Imminent Eruption Threat

Seismic activity under Washington's Mount St. Helens marks most significant uptick since 2008, with number of earthquakes peaking at 40 to 50 a week; still, experts see no signs of pending eruption.

• Over 400 earthquakes have been detected beneath Washington's Mount St. Helens in the past three months, marking the most significant uptick since 2008.
• These earthquakes were mostly less than magnitude 1.0, too small to be felt at the surface and indicative of the volcano 'recharging' as magma flows through underground chambers and cracks.
• The frequency of these earthquakes peaked at 40 to 50 per week in late August and early September, and has since decreased to around 30 per week.
• Despite the increased seismic activity, the U.S. Geological Survey sees no signs of an imminent eruption, and previous earthquake swarms in the late 1980s and early 1990s did not lead to eruptions.
• The last eruption of Mount St. Helens in 2004 to 2008 allowed scientists to better understand the workings of the volcano and develop enhanced monitoring tools.

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