#14: The Growing Glacier Inside the Mount St. Helens Crater
Ice began rebuilding where an eruption had removed a mountain. After the enormous 1980 collapse and lateral blast opened Mount St. Helens to the north, snow accumulated in the deep, shaded crater behind the new lava dome. It compacted into Crater Glacier, which grew unusually quickly because surrounding walls shielded it from sunlight and repeatedly covered the surface with insulating rock debris. Renewed dome growth from 2004 to 2008 split the ice into two arms, pushed portions hundreds of feet upward, and forced the glacier to curve around new volcanic rock.
