This iconic photograph captures the massive ash cloud from the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.....
The photo was taken on May 18, 1980, by Richard Lasher, a Boeing employee who was on his way to ride his dirt bike near Spirit Lake. As the ash cloud rapidly approached, Lasher was forced to abandon his red Ford Pinto and escape on his motorcycle.
The eruption was a lateral blast, considered the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.
