- SEATTLE (Reuters) -- Lava
has begun to ooze out of Washington state's Mount St. Helens, building
up the lava crust in the volcano's crater, government scientists said on
Wednesday.
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- The U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, kept their warning
level at the agency's second-highest setting of "heightened activity,"
but said there was still a chance that Mount St. Helens could erupt as
magma continues to build up underneath the lava dome created after the
volcano's violent eruption in 1980.
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- Scientists don't expect a repeat of the catastrophic
eruption that blew off the top of the mountain in southwestern Washington
state, killing 57 people and destroying more than 200 homes.
-
- Instead, the lava will continue to add mass to the lava
dome, accompanied by small steam and ash eruptions, similar to a dome-building
period that lasted until 1986, said Tina Neal, a USGS geologist.
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- "The volcano remains restless," Neal said.
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- Some areas of the hot rock were observed to be up to
1,270 degrees Fahrenheit (690 Celsius) and could be seen glowing at night,
Neal said. During the day, the rock is mainly gray in color.
-
- So far, the dome has risen at least 250 feet, or the
size of a 30-story building, since Mount St. Helens woke from its slumber
nearly three weeks ago with small eruptions spewing steam and ash.
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- The U.S. Forest Service kept the Johnston Ridge Observatory,
the nearest lookout point five miles from the crater, closed. Tourists
and media have flocked to the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center north of the
mountain.
-
- The 1980 eruption reduced the summit of the volcano to
8,364 feet from 9,677 feet, devastating hundreds of square miles of surrounding
evergreen spruce forest.
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- Ash from that eruption billowed across much of the United
States and the explosion was heard as far away as Canada.
-
- The biggest concern in the event of an eruption is the
impact of ash on air traffic as Mount St. Helens is 50 miles north of a
busy airport near Portland, Oregon.
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- Aircraft, particularly jet aircraft, are vulnerable to
volcanic ash, since it can stall engines.
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