Nova

Mt. St. Helens Back From The Dead

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, covered with steaming mud and, finally, topped with a superheated layer of frothy rock from deep within the earth. It seemed as though Mount St. Helens might remain a wasteland forever. When biologist Charlie Crisafulli first flew over the disaster zone, finding no sign of life, little did he realize that his own life would be forever changed. Crisafulli has remained at the site for 27 years, documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the barren landscape and pioneering a new understanding of the interaction between geologic forces and the life surrounding the mountain. NOVA brings viewers on a journey of a landscape brought back from the dead.