Vancouver, Whistler & Vancouver Island - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 856

Mt St Helens blows her top, killing 57 people and destroying over 200 homes. Her elevation is
cut from 9677ft to 8365ft, and where a peak once stood, a mile-wide crater is born.
1990
The northern spotted owl is declared a threatened species, barring timber industries from
clear-cutting certain old-growth forests. The controversy sparks debate across the Pacific
Northwest.
1995
Amazon, one of the first major companies to sell products online, is launched in Seattle. Origin-
ally started as a bookseller, it will not become profitable until 2001.
2010
Vancouver hosts the Olympic winter games and wins 14 gold medals, including in men's and wo-
men's ice hockey. It is Canada's third time hosting, and Vancouver's first.
2012
Washington votes to legalize gay marriage. It also legalizes the production, sale and possession
of marijuana - becoming the first state (along with Colorado) to do so.