Mt. Pinatubo 10th Anniversary Perspective (Stills)
This recent false color Landsat-7 image, from January 2001, shows Mt. Pinatubo as it stands today. The caldera is seen in the middle of the image, underneath clouds. Ten years after the blast, vegetation is re-growing on the slopes of the mountain (in green.) Streams of mud, called lahars, (resulting from ash from the eruption mixing with water- seen as the lighter sediment) continue to flow down the sides of the mountains, as well as channels of water (darker streams). However, as vegetation grows back, the ash becomes more stabilized and less likely to form the destructive lahars.
Atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide image from Shuttle Mission STS043