Where Was Dante’s Peak Filmed

One of the first scenes in Dante’s Peak shows the main character Harry as he and his fiance are escaping an erupting volcano. The two are volcanologists who analyze and examine them for a living. They manage to get to the truck, but Marianne is still killed when a piece of debris cuts through the top of the truck. During this scene, Harry is trying to urge his wife to leave so they can reach safety before it is too late, but Marianne is reluctant. When Harry tells her that they need to leave immediately, Marianne’s response is, “Look at these readings, honey!” He tells her to forget about the readings and instructs the rest of their team to pack up and go. As they are driving away in the truck Harry is telling his wife, “We're gonna get out. We're gonna get out. Don't worry,” but she is struck by the piece of rock and dies instantly. The city used for filming this was Agua Dulce, California, and the more difficult shots were created in a studio. Most of the special effects and background for the opening scene were digitally added after filming.

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Four years after the events that start the movie, Harry is sent to the fictional town of Dante’s Peak to examine the volcano near the town. Harry is not thrilled at the idea. When on the phone with his boss Paul Dreyfus he says, “This is a joke right? Dante's Peak?” When he first arrives in town he meets with the mayor, Rachel Wando. He also meets her kids, Lauren and Graham. Rachel tells Harry that it took them several years to get the town on its feet. He gets to know the family a little bit during this early scene in the Dante’s Peak movie. When Rachel asks why he doesn’t have a family, Harry explains that it has to do with his job. “Well, for one thing: I move around a lot. Mexico, Alaska, South America, The Philippines, New Guinea, basically where there's a volcano with an attitude,” Harry tells her. Around the same time, this is going on Karen from Money Magazine is naming the town the second most desirable place to live. Just like most of the scenes of the town, Wallace, Idaho was used as the location for this scene. Most of the movie was filmed on-site in this Idaho town.

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After Harry meets mayor Rachel and her family they invite him to go to the base of the volcano with them where Rachel’s former mother-in-law, Ruth, lives. The old woman is basically a hermit. The group explore the base and lake by the volcano and quickly notice dead trees and squirrels. They also come across two dead people in the hot springs, one of the first scenes depicting something dangerous going on in the movie. While establishing shots show Mount St. Helens in Washington, the hot springs used in this scene are also in Washington. Baker Palm Springs’ hot springs were used for the setting where the dead bodies are found. Ruth quickly dismisses the dead squirrels, saying they are dropping dead all over the area. Later when Harry is bringing up this and other activity he recounts a story of how frogs are boiled alive. “My 9th grade science teacher always said that if you put a frog in boiling hot water, it would jump out. But put it in cold water, and heat it up gradually, it would slowly boil to death,” Harry says. When asked if that is his recipe for frog soup, Harry responds with, “It's my recipe for a disaster.”

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Despite trying to convince the mayor and other town officials to warn the townspeople, Harry’s efforts prove to be useless. Harry decides to go with his team member Terry to examine a crater in the volcano, hoping to find more evidence that something is wrong. However, a rockslide traps both of them and causes Terry to get a broken arm. This scene was filmed in Mount St Helens, Washington at the crater found in the national park. Just like many of the other locations used in Dante’s Peak, this crater can be seen today. The two men have to be rescued by a helicopter. When in the hospital being treated for his injuries, Terry tells his other team member, Nancy, “The doctor said I can get out of the hospital as soon as they make sure that my head's ok.” Nancy says, “Ok, see you in 10 years, then!” After this action-packed scene, Harry starts trying to convince his boss Paul to put the entire town on alert, but he refuses. The following couple of days do not reveal any volcano activity.

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When Harry and his team are getting ready to leave, believing the volcano will not erupt, he goes to say goodbye to Rachel. However, while this is happening a lot of seismic activity is detected. This leads them to call a town hall meeting at the local high school. During this meeting, an earthquake hits and the volcano has its first eruption. One team member points out all of the activity suddenly showing up on the computer. Nancy’s response is, “Why look at the computer when you can look at the real thing?” The town panics when the earthquake hits and they rush out of the school, despite Harry calling for them to stay calm. Harry and Rachel go to get Lauren and Graham, only to find out they have gone to get Ruth who refused to leave her home. The scenes of the town meeting were filmed on location in Wallace, Idaho, like many of the scenes in Dante’s Peak.

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Harry and Rachel manage to reach Ruth and the kids, but just as they do, both of their vehicles are consumed by lava. This leads the group to escape on a motorboat in the lake. However, the water is full of sulfuric acid from the volcano and begins to burn the boat. When they get close to shore Ruth jumps into the water and starts pushing the boat. In doing this, Ruth dies but ensures that the others reach the shore unharmed. On the shore the group finds a ranger truck to take down the mountain. Ruth comes with them but is dying from the acid burns in the water. Lauren offers her grandma a crystal. Ruth tells Lauren, “Oh, ladybug, that's so nice, but you keep it for your luck, okay?” Ruth apologizes to Rachel, and states her son was a fool for leaving them. The group is getting close to the ranger station, but Ruth doesn’t make it. She dies after saying, “I get to stay on my mountain.” Mirror Lake in Sagle, Idaho was used for the scenes of Ruth’s house and the lake around it.

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