Mount St. Helens' Crater Floor Rising

Yahoo ^ | October 7, 2004 1 hour, 21 minutes ago | GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

[Steely Tom]

scientists said there was no reason to raise the alert level back up

Now you listen to me Mr. Mayor. If that alert level goes up my tourist trade disappears. And if that happens, you can forget about my usual... ahem... con-tri-bu-tion come campaign time! Am I gettin' through, your honor?

< 'Jaws' mode = off >

(steely)

[ßuddaßudd]

VA Beach? I just had lunch last week at the Duck-In. My, how the sand dunes have changed. lol

[rwfromkansas]

Not possible. It is a stratovolcano. They do explosions no matter what, not lava flows.

[rwfromkansas]

yet they say they don't know how far the magma has risen....but then say don't worry, no eruption is imminent.

lol

[cousair]

It is a TREAT!! When St. Helens is covered with snow it kind of looks like a huge snow cone. It will look different now with the blow out area bigger than before the 1980 blast. Look for pictures of this mountain before all of this happened....it was absolutely a knockout mountain with huge old growth timber and many mountain lakes. The lake nearest the blow area was raised 2000 feet. It's name was Spirit Lake...really a beautiful place before the blow.

[Pyro7480]

Stratovolcanoes do have lava flows. Otherwise, it would be a cinder cone.

From CVO Glossary:
Some of the Earth's grandest mountains are composite volcanoes -- sometimes called stratovolcanoes. They are typically steep-sided, symmetrical cones of large dimension built of alternating layers of lava flows, volcanic ash, cinders, blocks, and bombs and may rise as much as 8,000 feet above their bases.

[steveo]

...signs that magma is moving upward without much resistance,

Guess the 'Preparation V' is doing the job!

[rwfromkansas]

Well, yes, they do have some. But, they are known for their explosivity. The lava flows do not travel near as far either.

[ex-Texan]

Earlier this same day (October 7th) I heard a radio news report that said "the lava dome has risen 150 feet." It seems that the lava dome is growing more rapidly than anyone imagined. That means it rose over 100 feet on October 7th alone? The pressure below must be truly amazing. Then why are the media always talking about "steam and ash" and not talking about the risks of a lava explosion? Oh well . . .