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USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington

Mount St. Helens, Washington
Phreatic Explosion Pits
1980-Current


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MSH80_spirit_lake_pumice_plain_phreatic_explosions_05-29-80.jpg
Spirit Lake, Pumice Plain, and phreatic explosions, soon after the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
USGS Photograph taken on May 29, 1980, by Dan Dzurision.
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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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MSH80_pumice_plain_phreatic_explosion_pit_09-30-80.jpg
Phreatic explosion pit located on the Pumice Plain.
USGS Photograph taken on September 30, 1980, by Lyn Topinka.
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MSH05_phreatic_explosion_pit_from_1980_07-13-05.jpg
Aerial view of phreatic explosion pit in Mount St. Helens' 1980 debris avalanche, as seen 25 years later.
USGS Photograph taken on July 13, 2005, by John Pallister.
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07/22/05, Lyn Topinka