When Mount St Helens erupted in Washington state in 1980, its entire north face collapsed, precipitating the largest land slide in recorded history.
The resulting devastation left nearly 60 people dead and transformed hundreds of thousands of miles of pristine wilderness into a barren wasteland. The mountain itself was severely altered, having lost almost its entire summit to the sideways eruption. This left Mount St. Helens with a very distinct crater, featuring a massive breach on the north face that gently slopes down to Spirit Lake at its base. As the only major volcanic eruption in the past century in the contiguous US, and the resulting modification of the mountaintop, Mount St. Helens is now one of the most easily recognizable and well-known volcanoes in the world.
And now, you can commemorate that eruption and honor the ferocity of mother nature with your very own eruption-mimicking Mount St. Helens candle ($45) by Cascadia Candle Company. This 3D topographical concrete base was created using LIDAR scans of the current Mount St. Helens and a 3D printer to create a mold in which to cure the concrete. As for the candle portion, Cascadia Candle Company founder Brad Swift says, “The candle insert is an accurate recreation of the portion of the mountain that was ejected on May 18, 1980,” and was created using historical topographical data gathered prior to the eruption.
The eruption candle works like any other, but with a fun almost-interactive twist: you light the candle and, as it burns and the wax melts away, gravity takes hold and you get an idea of how the land and ejecta of Mount St. Helens slipped down its sides, leaving the summit a cratered mess.
While this candle may not celebrate the happiest of events, it certainly is a conversation-starter and would make an amazing gift for geologists, vulcanologists, or, you know, candle lovers.
And Cascadia Candle Company hasn’t restricted itself to just the topography of Mount St. Helens–they also make 3D topographical Mount Hood candles ($40), Mount Rainier candles ($40), a post-eruption Mount St. Helens candle ($40), a 3-piece tea-light set ($16), and additional inserts for the Mount St. Helens eruption candle ($20).
Cascadia Candle company supports local, sustainable bee keeping. All their beeswax is 100% pure and is produced right here in the USA. Find out more here.
