Figure 6. View southwest of Mount St. Helens’ crater minutes after onset of the March 8, 2005, explosion. The photograph was taken by a remote camera installed on the “Sugar Bowl” dome at the northeast margin of the crater mouth. The dark cloud to the left consists of a rain of ash and blocks (to about 1 foot diameter) from the eruption plume. The light colored cloud to the right is a plume lofting from a small ash flow moving northward away from the new lava dome. The snow-clad 1980-1986 lava dome is visible in the foreground. The red streaks in the upper right corner are the result of camera imperfections. (USGS photo)