Activity on Mt. St. Helens

November 03, 2004

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Provided and copyright by: Regan Newport
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Regan Newport

The photo above showing a simmering Mt. St. Helens, in Washington state, was taken on October 11, 2004. Recent earthquakes and thermal activity have drawn attention once more to Mt. St. Helens, as geologists prepare for the potential of a significant eruption in the near future. These earthquakes have left visible crevaces on the flanks of this 8,364 ft (2,549 m) peak, and heat emanating from inside the cone has melted some of the snow on Mt. St. Helens' surface. As this snow melts and drains into the volcano, plumes of steam result, as shown above. Mt. St. Helens' last major eruption occurred on May 18, 1980.

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