TV Program Description
Premiere Broadcast on PBS: May 4, 2010
One of the most violent natural disasters of our time, the
colossal eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 blasted away an
entire mountainside. Over 200 square miles of pristine forest
were buried under millions of tons of lava, ash, mud, and
avalanche debris. How could life ever return to this barren
moonscape? A lone ecologist, Charlie Crisafulli, spent months
in the blast zone and was astonished and puzzled by how
quickly plants and animals colonized the wasteland. In this
program, stunning cinematography and time-lapse photography
trace the dramatic story of how Crisafulli witnessed life's
return and figured out the puzzle.
Meanwhile, a team of geologists has been facing a new threat:
The volcano itself is coming back to life. In 2004, a new
cycle of eruptions began blasting steam and ash thousands of
feet into the air. A NOVA film crew ventures inside the crater
with geologists as they set up instruments to study magma
activity deep inside the volcano, revealing a hidden labyrinth
of faults beneath the restless mountain. It's a race against
time as the scientists struggle to answer the crucial
question: How soon could another catastrophic eruption
occur?
Program Transcript
Program Credits
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Life has returned to a landscape devastated by the 1980
eruption of Mt. St. Helens. In "Mt. St. Helens: Back From the
Dead," scientists try to determine when another massive
eruption might occur.
© Daniel Hissen/Interspot Film
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© | Created
March 2010
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