Mt. Saint Helens

Emma at the Cold Water Ridge Visitor Center.

Cold Water Lake did not exist before the eruption. There was a creek that flowed through the valley, but the eruption dammed it and the lake was born. It is three miles long and upto 200' deep. There was some concern that this and other smaller lakes formed by the eruption would eventually burst their dams and flood the towns downstream so the Corps of Engineers have rigged outlets to keep the lakes from overflowing. So much for allowing nature to take its course...

Close-up of the crater. Magma is continually adding to the lava dome. If the current rate of growth continues the mountain should be at its preblast height in one hundred years. To the left you can see America's newest glacier. It formed in the perpetual shadow of the lava dome.