PORT TOWNSEND — Seattle-based science writer Steve Olson will speak at 4 p.m. Saturday when Jefferson Land Trust’s Geology Group hosts a lecture, “Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens.”
Olson’s lecture will be free to the public, but a $5 donation is asked to help defray expenses at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave.
Organizers say Olson will shed new light on Mount St. Helens’ eruption, one of the largest in human history, weaving the history and geology behind the cataclysm with stories of life and death.
“Rich with vivid personal stories of lumber tycoons, loggers, volcanologists and conservationists, this epic tale probes our relationships with the natural world and illustrates the importance of geology in our everyday lives,” organizers said.
Olson will host a book signing and sale of his treatise, “Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens,” before and after the lecture.
The Jefferson Land Trust Geology Group is a volunteer association of local people interested in geology.
The group provides several programs each year to foster the community’s general understanding of geology and the specific geology of area terrain.
Coming up soon are:
• Feb. 25: Jim O’Connor of the U.S. Geological Survey in Portland, Ore., on “The Bridge of the Gods: Folklore, Forests and Floods.”
• April 1: Tony Irving of the University of Washington will talk about meteorites.
• May 13: Ned Brown of Western Washington University-Bellingham will lecture on the geology of the San Juan Islands.
For more information, go to www.quimpergeology.org.
