• Tagged National Forests, National Grassland, National Scenic Area, National Volcanic Monument, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Northwest Region 6, US National Forests, Washington

Let’s take a majestic, if not also magical, trip to Oregon and Washington to an area called “Region 6.” That might not sound overly impressive, but “the Pacific Northwest region is host to a number of outstanding National Forests,” said the US Forest Service. Outstanding is an underestimate, since that area within the USA is sometimes called God’s Country. “The Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) of the US Forest Service contains 17 National Forests, two National Scenic Areas, a National Grassland, and two National Volcanic Monuments, all within the states of Oregon and Washington.” Each one is stunning with so many varied landscapes that you might not see all, even if each was a post on its own. From wonderful waterfalls, wilderness areas, lakes, mountains, volcanic monuments and national recreation areas, here’s a broad overview of the unrivaled beauty of Pacific Northwest Region 6. [48 Photos]

• Tagged adventure, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Cascade Range, environment, forest, hikers, lakes, Mount Stuart, mountaineering, mountains, National Forest, nature, The Enchantments, travel, Washington, woods

Alpine Lakes Wilderness consists of 390,000 acres of rugged wilderness spanning the Cascade Range of Washington state and parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Snoqualmie National Forest. There are over 700 mountain lakes and over 300 miles (480 km) of Forest Service class one and two streams. The terrain includes craggy peaks and ridges, deep glacial valleys, granite walls and forests that are picture perfect and ready to enchant visitors &#8212 especially in autumn. It is an adventurers’ delight: nature lovers, backpackers, mountaineers, hikers, photographers. We love these pics, but they are but a tiny slice of this Alpine Lakes Wilderness piece of heaven dropped down on earth for adventurers to enjoy. [38 Photos]

• Tagged disaster, environment, erupt, eruption, Mount St. Helens, mountains, nature, photos, pics, pictures, science, volcano, Washington

A major disaster happened 31 years ago. On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook Mount St. Helens. The bulge and surrounding area slid away in a gigantic rockslide and debris avalanche, releasing pressure, and triggering a maassive pumice and ash eruption of the volcano. 1,300 feet (400 meters) of the peak collapsed or blew outwards. As a result, 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) of valley was filled by a debris avalanche, 250 square miles (650 square kilometers) of recreation, timber, and private lands were damaged by a lateral blast, and an estimated 200 million cubic yards (150 million cubic meters) of material was deposited directly by lahars (volcanic mudflows) into the river channels. 61 people were killed or are still missing.
The Mount St. Helens volcano is located in the Cascade Range. It’s a part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanoes. This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows. It’s been 31 years ago since the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens, so here’s a look at that blast – the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States – and five more throughout the years. [31 Photos]