SCI/TECH: Mount St. Helens Rumbles to Life, Lava Visible

I think the reason there'll be no major eruption is due to these little squirts of ash. Back when St. Helens blew, there was tens of thousands of tons of granite on top of the crater. That's a lot of weight and so as the pressure built up, finally there was a massive detonation that blasted all that rock off the top.

Without all that capstone weight on top, it takes only a little pressure to pop St. Helens' thin skin. No need for fear, IMO.

Originally posted by Banshee

Originally posted by dcgolf
This is what I was talking about. It is not flowing from the crater. It is simply rising to the surface.

Thanks for your input, dc .... I can't get that particular feed to load right now, but the one I saw earlier (when I posted) showed moving rivulets of lava exiting the crater.
Does the current feed show stagnant lava? If so, that's a good sign I'd say.

Does anyone have the capability to grab a screen cap or two of that feed so it can be added to the story?

Click on the link Trickmaster provided. Midway through the video they zoom in and you can see it. The crater is so big it would be easy to confuse lave flowing down the side of the dome as opposed to the outside of the crater. If lava were indeed flowing down the side of the mountain, local and national news would show it.

Plates Map

to a layman it looks like the recent quakes have been "walking" along the edge of the pacific plate away from the tsunami source a few months ago, which would make sense if the plate is still settling down a bit into its new position -- thus the recent stuff in the northwest and possibly the geological activity in Oregon.

I watched the last rumble, and think this will be the one that will fully erupt. I hope all residents near the mountain are evacuated. This is exciting, to me anyways.

I just saw a video on TV News, it showed an open cravas with glowing lava. It was a long opening but no lava was flowing. They did not show where the opening was as to where on the mountain. Since no lava was flowing I will guess it is inside the crater, probable the dome.

That particular volcano seems to be stabilized... so we wont be seeing any huge explosions from it in our lifetime (knock on wood)

another poster mentioned little sister... and grand dad...
those two volcanos (same area) have some danger involved, and could let of a fart of huge devastation... (particularly since they have populations around them.)
I have also been watching the USGS on both, and they show some unusual increases in activity...

And for all the chicken littles of the thread: dont' freak...

Guatemalia has dozens of lava flowing volcanos right next to cities. One literally within a stones throw of the main highway...
I was freakin when i saw the lava and the smoking fumeroils... felt like i was driving through the movie set for volcano... the closest lava tube was less than a football field from the highway...
our guides just laughed at me... saying they had lived with those that close for hundreds of years...

they won't worry until the lava STOPS flowing (pressure buildup)
so lava is sometimes a good thing... ensures a good pressure valve...

now thats is not a good sign,
a 36.000 ft smoke cloud.
i remember watching that national geographic docomentary,
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens!
apparently the first IMAX documentary ever made.
now that looked really horrible.
all that lava, that just "combed" the trees on the hills.

another poster mentioned little sister... and grand dad...those two volcanos (same area) have some danger involved, and could let of a fart of huge devastation

It's from an Indian (forgot which tribe) prophesy...
Little sister - MSH
Grand Dad - Mt. Rainier

3 Sisters Volcanos (which is probably what you're thinking of) is in Oregon....

now that looked really horrible.
all that lava, that just "combed" the trees on the hills.

It wasn't lava.
The damage done by Helens was done by pyroclstic, mud, and debris flows.

I've heard about the Indian prophecy quite a bit, but Shouldn't Mt Ranier be doing something if this is true?

I finally saw this on TV. Mainstream is too slow. There was only a short segment on, no sign of lava. Too much Micheal Jackson coverage. Anyhow it's a lot of smoke, but I get the feeling that this minor eruption is clearing up pressure, preventing a larger one.

However all of this recent activity around the area, and the world in general is giving me a bad feeling. I wonder if Yellowstone is close to having some out of the ordinary activity soon.

I doubt Mount St. Helens will violently erupt like she did before, especially with it letting pressure out in these little bursts, at most there might be some lava flowing down the mountain and into the valley. Mount Rainer is the one that could do it, it seems like it has the right setup to build pressure until it blows right now, but this is just my blind speculation.

Originally posted by ThatsJustWeird

It's from an Indian (forgot which tribe) prophesy...
Little sister - MSH
Grand Dad - Mt. Rainier

3 Sisters Volcanos (which is probably what you're thinking of) is in Oregon....

the sisters in Oregan are the ones of which i speak...
and Mt Rainier (they are all in the same "volcano belt")

here is the latest EARTHQUAKE DATA for Gramps

Mt Rainier Earthquakes

when the Yellowstone caldera project was going on, the earthquake frequency at Mt Rainier was much higher, but the whole area is connected, so we should see a slight increase in surrounding area activity soon from the MSH hiccup...

And I'll be there in April!!!


One can only hope.



Authority is an illusion in the mind of govenors - Lao Tse

what an awesome pic! My family's from seattle-so I had the ash from the first eruption when I was a little girl.

Well I've been doing a little bit of research on the subject, and I thought I'd share a couple of findings with 'the group.'

Apparently the risk of a major eruption is slim at the moment, based on analysis of the magma that is flowing. It's extremely gas-poor, which means the chance for a catastrophic eruption is relatively slim (though more likely if the rain/snow/mudslides keep up due to mixing of hot magma and cold debris).

The amount of lava rising to the surface is neither huge nor insignifigant. It appears to be flowing at just over 100 cubic feet per second, which sounds like a whole hell of a lot, but in actuality is somewhat subdued for a volcano in eruption.

As I said before, the chance for a lateral eruption caused by mudslides or snow melt is high, the chance for a normal eruption is relatively slim, because of the quality of the magma and the open top which relieves pressure. Of course, lateral eruptions are worse in most ways, so I'm not sure we should be celebrating just yet...