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MSH80_st_helens_debris_avalanche_helicopter_09-16-80.jpg
After the May 18, 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens' elevation was only 8,364 feet (2,550 meters) and the volcano had a one-mile-wide (1.5 kilometers) horseshoe-shaped crater. View here is from the northwest. Pits in the foreground are from phreatic explosions within the debris avalanche.
USGS Photograph taken on September 16, 1980, by Tom Casadevall.
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MSH81_debris_aval_colorful_ponds_08-04-81.jpg
Colorful ponds on the debris avalanche.
USGS Photograph taken in August 8, 1981, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH81_coldwater_lake_outlet_channel_10-17-81.jpg
Outlet channels were built at Castle Lake and Coldwater Lake (shown here) to stabilize water levels and prevent overtopping of the debris dams.
USGS Photograph taken in October 17, 1981, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH83_debris_avalanche_looking_downstream_10-05-83.jpg
Downstream view of the North Fork Toutle River valley, north and west of St. Helens, shows part of the nearly 2/3 cubic miles (2.3 cubic kilometers) of debris avalanche that slid from the volcano on May 18, 1980. This is enough material to cover Washington, D.C. to a depth of 14 feet (4 meters). The avalanche traveled approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) downstream at a velocity exceeding 150 miles per hour (240 km/hr). It left behind a hummocky deposit with an average thickness of 150 feet (45 meters) and a maximum thickness of 600 feet (180 meters).
Compare with view from September 2005 below.
USGS Photograph taken on October 5, 1983, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH83_debris_avalanche_north_fork_toutle_11-30-83.jpg
Downstream view of the North Fork Toutle River valley, north and west of St. Helens, shows part of the nearly 2/3 cubic miles (2.3 cubic kilometers) of debris avalanche that slid from the volcano on May 18, 1980. This is enough material to cover Washington, D.C. to a depth of 14 feet (4 meters). The avalanche traveled approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) downstream at a velocity exceeding 150 miles per hour (240 km/hr). It left behind a hummocky deposit with an average thickness of 150 feet (45 meters) and a maximum thicknes of 600 feet (180 meters).
USGS Photograph taken on November 30, 1983, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH84_debris_avalanche_coldwater_lake_01-13-84.jpg
Debris Avalanche, looking at Coldwater Lake.
USGS Photograph taken in January 13, 1984, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH84_castle_lake_debris_avalanche_march_1984.jpg
The May 18, 1980 debris avalanche from Mount St. Helens covered over 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) of the upper Toutle River valley and blocked tributaries of the North Fork Toutle River. New lakes such as Castle Lake (pictured here) and Coldwater Lake were created.
USGS Photograph taken in March 1984 by Robert L. Schuster.
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MSH05_debris_aval_spirit_lake_adams_03-11-05.jpg
1980 debris avalanche, Spirit Lake, and Mount Adams.
USGS Photograph taken on March 11, 2005, by David Wieprecht.
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MSH05_braided_channel_NFT_above_SRS_05-25-05.jpg
Braided channel of the North Fork Toutle River above the Corps of Engineer's Sediment Retention Structure (SRS).
USGS Photograph taken on May 25, 2005 by Ken McGee.
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MSH05_SRS_from_upstream_05-25-05.jpg
Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) as seen from upstream. The SRS was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to capture sediment down the Toutle River.
USGS Photograph taken on May 25, 2005 by Ken McGee.
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MSH05_SRS_right_bank_channel_05-25-05.jpg
Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) right bank channel, as seen from upstream.
USGS Photograph taken on May 25, 2005 by Ken McGee.
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MSH05_SRS_structure_from_downstream_05-25-05.jpg
Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) as seen from downstream.
USGS Photograph taken on May 25, 2005 by Ken McGee.
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MSH05_aerial_view_debris_avalanche_07-13-05.jpg
Aerial view of Mount St. Helens' 1980 debris avalanche.
USGS Photograph taken on July 13, 2005, by John Pallister.
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MSH05_aerial_hillsides_and_debris_avalanche_07-13-05.jpg
Aerial view of Mount St. Helens' 1980 debris avalanche.
USGS Photograph taken on July 13, 2005, by John Pallister.
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MSH05_aerial_debris_avalanche_new_growth_07-13-05.jpg
Aerial view of Mount St. Helens' 1980 debris avalanche with new growth.
USGS Photograph taken on July 13, 2005, by John Pallister.
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MSH05_aerial_st_helens_from_toutle_valley_08-26-05.jpg
Aerial view, Mount St. Helens from the west, with the North Fork Toutle River valley in the foreground.
USGS Photograph taken on August 26, 2005 by Kurt Spicer.
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MSH05_debris_avalanche_looking_downstream_09-14-05.jpg
Downstream view of the North Fork Toutle River valley, north and west of St. Helens, showin the Debris Avalanche.
Compare with view from October 1983 above.
USGS Photograph taken on September 14, 2005, by John Pallister.
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MSH05_debris_avalanche_NFToutle_valley_09-28-05.jpg
May 18, 1980 Debris Avalanche, looking down the North Fork Toutle River Valley.
USGS Photograph taken on September 28, 2005 by Ken McGee.
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MSH06_aerial_north_fork_toutle_at_SRS_11-17-06.jpg
Aerial view, North Fork Toutle River at COE's Sediment Retention Structure (SRS).
USGS Photograph taken on November 17, 2006, by John Pallister.
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MSH07_aerial_view_pumice_plain_spirit_lake_06-26-07.jpg
Aerial view of the Pumice Plain, with Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier.
USGS Photograph taken on June 26, 2007, by Jim Vallance.
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[Image,333K,GIF]
May 18, 1980 debris avalanche at Mount St. Helens, view showing Johnston Ridge, The Spillover, and avalanche terraces. Spirit Lake is in middle right.
-- USGS Photo by Terry Leighley, USGS/Sandia Labs, July 8, 1981

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