Mt. Fitzherbert

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. — Weeks after Mount St. Helens first showed signs of acvtivity, scientists confirmed Tuesday that hot molten rock had reached the surface of the crater.

A fin of rock, about 20 meters high, 40 meters long and as much as 1,100 degrees Farhenheit has punctured the surface, according to USGS scientists Tina Neal.

MT. ST. HELENS - Volcanic rock has flowed to the surface of Mount St. Helens' crater, creating a new lava dome after weeks of seismic activity, a geologist said Tuesday.

Scientists had known for days that magma or molten rock was nearing the surface, as a bulge grew on the south side of the existing 1,000-foot lava dome and the increasingly hot rock gave off steam as it met water and ice in the crater. The bulge is now considered a new lava dome, the scientists said.