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All Things Aquatic
This week HistoryLink takes a deep dive into the history of the Seattle Aquarium, which opened on May 20, 1977. The aquarium was not King County's first. That honor goes to the clipper ship St. Paul, which exhibited living fish and marine life in the 1930s while moored at the Ballard Locks. In 1938, local legend Ivar Haglund opened his aquarium next to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on Seattle's waterfront. And in the 1960s, Ted Griffin operated the Seattle Marine Aquarium, which featured performances by captive killer whale Namu.
Concern over the use and exploitation of Orca and other sea life led to the creation of a true public aquarium that would provide information about the Puget Sound region's rich aquatic environment. In 1968, voters approved funding for a new aquarium through Forward Thrust bonds, but the city soon found itself battling over a location.
Mariner biologist, Pacific Science Center director, and future governor Dixy Lee Ray fought to site the aquarium in Ballard, but Mayor Wes Uhlman believed that locating it on the downtown waterfront would aid tourism. The Seattle City Council first chose Ballard, but then flip-flopped and handed the victory to Uhlman. Ray later got her revenge by stinging Uhlman in the 1976 Democratic primary for governor.
When it opened, the aquarium was an immediate success. Over the years, millions of visitors to the award-winning facility have seen additions, expansions, and an array of ground-breaking (surf-breaking?) exhibits and other explorations into the life aquatic. Last year the aquarium opened its Ocean Pavilion, which features a 325,000-gallon tank stuffed to the gills with sharks, rays, and other marine life from the South Pacific. (Image courtesy Seattle Aquarium)
Abrupt and Chaotic
Forty-five years ago this week, on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. Two months earlier, the mountain began venting steam after being rattled by a 4.2-magnitude earthquake, and by the end of April a bulge had appeared on the northern slope. Geologists monitored the volcano closely, knowing that it could blow at any time -- which it soon did, with explosive force.
The lateral blast was so powerful that all trees and vegetation in a six mile radius to the north were vaporized. The shock wave swept farther out, stripping trees of bark and branches and knocking the trunks to the ground like toothpicks. An avalanche of rocks, debris, snow, and ice surging down the mountain within minutes covered a 24-square-mile area hundreds of feet deep. Fifty-seven people lost their lives, including resort owner Harry R. Truman, who refused to evacuate.
The upward blast was just as intense. Fifteen minutes after the eruption, the ash plume reached 15 miles into the sky, where it was blown eastward. In just over an hour, Yakima was plunged into darkness. The cloud continued moving east, dumping ash everywhere. Travelers were forced off the highways, which caused tremendous problems in Ritzville, more than 200 miles away from the volcano. The ash cloud took three days to reach the East Coast and 15 days to girdle the globe.
Despite the devastation, ecological recovery has progressed over time. Weyerhaeuser Company and the U.S. Forest Service replanted trees, but nature also took its course and much of the flora returned at its own pace. The 1980 eruption provided a large-scale experiment that has taught scientists and land managers much about ecological disturbance and ecosystem management. In 1982, the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was created thanks to the efforts of Representative Don Bonker.
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