Time-lapse images of Mount St. Helens dome growth 2004-2008

The rapid onset of unrest at Mount St. Helens on September 23, 2004 initiated an uninterrupted lava-dome-building eruption that continued until 2008. The initial phase produced rapid growth of a lava dome as magma pushed upward. As shown in the video, an initial succession of lava spines, two recumbent and one steeply sloping, grew to nearly 500 m in length before disintegrating into mounds of rubble. The trajectory of lava extrusion was affected by the geometry of the