Digital elevation model of the lava dome in the crater of Mount St. Helens, November 12, 1986

The catastrophic, explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, on May 18, 1980, is the most well-known eruption of the volcano. Less well known is the May 18th eruption marked the beginning of a period of eruptive activity that lasted through 1986. From October 1980 through October 1986, a series of 17 dome-building episodes added millions of cubic meters of lava to the crater floor. Most of the growth occurred when magma extruded onto the surface of the dome, forming short (650 to 1,300 feet), thick (65 to 130 feet) lava flows. This data release is a 1-meter resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and a corresponding hillshade raster derived from a previously unpublished 1:2,000 scale topographic contour map, based on aerial photographs taken on November 12, 1986, created by USGS for use during the response to the eruption.