This is a view from the south of Mt. St. Helens after its devastating 1980 eruption. It is obvious that some of the summit of the volcano is gone (Mt. St. Helens used to be considered to be an almost perfect cone).
This is a view from the north. You can clearly see that a huge amphitheater-shaped scar was formed as the north flank of the volcano collapsed northward. A succession of lava domes has grown in the collapse scar since 1980. They have in turn either collapsed or been exploded away during the growth of the next dome. The present dome was extruded in the mid 1980's. At Bezymianny the 1956 sector collapse produced a scar similar in size to this one at Mt. St. Helens. The Bezymianny the scar has now almost been completely filled by subsequent lava domes.
The lake in the foreground of this photo is Spirit Lake. Here the near part of the lake is covered by a big mat of tree logs.
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