Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) was the Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He was both the longest-lived and the longest-retired President in US history. After leaving the White House, Carter worked on fighting communicable disease, helped build housing for low-income families, and promoted human rights, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

This image shows Carter speaking to reporters at the Kelso Airport after viewing the area around Mount St. Helens four days after its eruption on May 18, 1980. Carter saw mudflows filling river valleys, tens of thousands of trees blown over by the blast, and landscapes covered in ash. He was quoted as saying, "Someone compared it to a moonscape, but I think the moon looks like a golf course compared to this." During his trip to Washington state, Carter began establishing federal aid for farms and towns in Eastern Washington flooded in ash and for areas of Western Washington threatened by floods and mudslides.

Caption information source: "Volcano Bill: $355 million and rising," by Neil Modie & Mike Layton, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 23, 1980, page A1.