Forty mostly minor earthquakes have rattled Mount St. Helens since New Year’s Day, with at least one 3.9 magnitude quake being felt as far away as Portland, Oregon.
The volcano has been considered active since its last eruption in 1980 that killed 57 people, although geologists do not think there will be an eruption any time soon.
Mount St. Helens is very close to a fault line where the North American Plate meets the Juan de Fuca Plate, and earthquake swarms are frequent there. The area is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The towns of Olympia and Seattle are close enough to see an impact from any eruption.
People in the area and as far away as Portland (50 miles) felt the 3.9 magnitude quake and some of the lighter tremors as well, The St. Helens Chronicle reported.
There have been a total of 82 earthquakes near Mt. Saint Helens over the last 30 days, the swarm beginning in the early hours of Wednesday. No damage was reported from any of the earthquakes.
With closer monitoring and more advanced monitoring systems, it is hoped that any future eruptions could be predicted further in advance and prevent some of the damage that occurred with the 1980 eruption.
While most on Twitter were merely curious about the quakes, a few seemed eager for another eruption.
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