The Challenge: These photos of Mount Saint Helens were taken before, during, and after the eruption. Can you figure out the correct order, from first to last? Each photo has a letter next to it. There are numbers at the bottom of the page with blank boxes under them. Show the order of the photographs by typing the appropriate letters in the boxes one through six. Hint: Read the clues under each photo.

After the steam eruption, magma inside the volcano forces its way up, causing an enormous bulge. The bulge is now taller than a skyscraper and is growing!

Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, the bulge and nearby area slide away. At the same time, the volcano erupts, spewing ash and bits of rock 9 miles into the air. Sadly, 57 people and countless animals are killed.

Before it erupted in 1980, Mount Saint Helens was one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the cascades.

Two years after the huge eruption, a small volcanic dome grows inside the original crater left by the huge eruption. Every now and then, it erupts plumes of steam and ash. This plume is 3,000 feet high and can be seen from 50 miles away.

Right after the explosive eruption, the volcano is now 1,500 feet shorter. The blast created a crater one mile wide.

After 123 years of silence, the volcano “wakes up” with a steam eruption and several small earthquakes. These events happen because magma is moving from deep underground up into the volcano.