Hi Dave, thanks for your comments, they are much appreciated.
The area was very interesting to me. It is amazing how our earth recovers after such an enormous disaster. There is much beauty there and I hope to return someday.
Here's some detailed information about the "lahar" at Mt. St. Helens:
From: Tilling, Topinka, and Swanson, 1990, Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, and Future: USGS Special Interest Publication - (On May 18, 1980) ... The collapse of the north flank ... (of Mount St. Helens)... produced the largest landslide-debris avalanche recorded in historic time. ... Part of the avalanche surged into and across Spirit Lake, but most of it flowed westward into the upper reaches of the North Fork of the Toutle River. ... The resulting hummocky avalanche deposit consisted of intermixed volcanic debris, glacial ice, and, possibly, water displaced from Spirit Lake. Covering an area of about 24 square miles, the debris avalanche advanced more than 13 miles down the North Fork of the Toutle River and filled the valley to an average depth of about 150 feet; the total volume of the deposit was about 0.7 cubic mile. ...
Destructive mudflows and debris flows began within minutes of the onset of the May 18 eruption, as the hot pyroclastic materials in the debris avalanche, lateral blast, and ash falls melted snow and glacial ice on the upper slopes of Mount St. Helens. Such flows are also called lahars, a term borrowed from Indonesia, where volcanic eruptions have produced many such deposits.
Mudflows were observed as early as 8:50 a.m. PDT in the upper reaches of the South Fork of the Toutle River. The largest and most destructive mudflows, however, were those that developed several hours later in the North Fork of the Toutle River, when the water-saturated parts of the massive debris avalanche deposits began to slump and flow. The mudflow in the Toutle River drainage area ultimately dumped more than 65 million cubic yards of sediment along the lower Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers. The water-carrying capacity of the Cowlitz River was reduced by 85 percent, and the depth of the Columbia River navigational channel was decreased from 39 feet to less than 13 feet, disrupting river traffic and choking off ocean shipping.
I can't recall seeing anything recent from Mt. St. Helens, glad to see this. Not sure what Lahar is but it sure looks like a lava river to me. Good shot, looks like quite a few trees were left standing at this location. Unless those grow relatively fast.
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