Images

Drought and beetle-killed piñon pines in Walnut Canyon National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona, amid a few surviving trees. Forest drought stress is strongly correlated with tree mortality from poor growth, bark beetle outbreaks, and high-severity fire.

Homes along the edge of the coast in Isla Vista, California, Santa Barbara County, face a short lifespan because of eroding bluffs that support them.

Park Butte Fire Lookout sits above a lava flow that erupted around 716,000 years ago near Mount Baker, Washington.

Ash collection from east Crater Glacier on Mount St. Helens with a dredge attached to a helicopter cable. Ash is analyzed to help scientists understand eruption characteristics.

Fumaroles steaming within Sherman Crater, Mount Baker, Washington.

The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens began with an enormous landslide that slammed into Spirit Lake, blocking its natural outlet and raising the lake level by 197 feet.

Crater Glacier (cracked surface in center left foreground) and whaleback-shaped lava spine within dome complex of Mount St. Helens' crater. Glacier is squeezed and over thickened. February 22, 2006

This hillslope above the turnpike is subject to fires every few years. The location is 18º3'N, 66º13'W and the elevation is 255 m.

This hillslope above the turnpike burns every few years. The location is 18º3'N, 66º13'W and the elevation is 255 m.

This hillslope above the turnpike burns every few years. The location is 18º3'N, 66º13'W and the elevation is 255 m.

Mount Bachelor viewed from South Sister, Oregon.

Aerial view, Mount St. Helens' crater and dome, as seen from the northeast. Note dusting of ash on Mount St. Helens' flank, left near rim.

Aerial view, Mount St. Helens' crater and dome, as seen from the northeast.

Whaleback structure (center) of dome withn Mount St. Helens' crater. Dome is crumbling to right and glacier is uplifted to the left, view from the north. January 30, 2005.

An International Tsunami Survey Team studying the effects of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on Indonesia“‘’’s island of Sumatra documented wave heights of 20 to 30 m (65 to 100 ft) at the island's northwest end and found evidence suggesting that wave heights may have ranged from 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) along at least a 100-km (60 mi) stretch of the northwest coast.

As part of an international tsunami survey team, Andy Moore of Kent State University takes measurement of a snapped-off tree trunk in Leupueng, Aceh in 2005, shortly after the deadly tsunami struck the island of Sumatra.

Aerial view, Mount St. Helens' crater and dome, as seen from the northwest.

Mount St. Helens' crater and dome, as seen from the northeast.

In Leupueng, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra, Dr. Guy Gelfenbaum measures the height of snapped-off tree trunks and sea level changes shortly after the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

Lava domes within Mount St. Helens' crater, as seen from the northwest. The 1980-86 dome is in the crater on the left and the new 2004-05 dome is on the right.

Glacier deformation, east side of Mount St. Helens' dome, as seen from the northeast. Large crevasses within glacier covered with grey ash.