Exploring the Earth and Sky of the West

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument – Washington Landscape Photography

  • Thousands of logs float on the surface of a high mountain lake
    The log raft from lake level, at the end of the Harmony Trail, the only legal access to the shore of Spirit Lake.
  • A volcanic cone rises behind a lake covered with floating logs
    Mt. St. Helens from Bear Pass. In the forground is Spirit Lake, covered with floating logs, the remains of trees uprooted by the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens and washed into the lake.
  • A mountain goat grazes a field of bright purple and red flowers
    A mountain goat enjoys a wide range of appetizers.
  • Two mountain goats graze a field of bright purple and red flowers
    A mountain goat enjoys a wide range of appetizers.
  • A mountain goat grazes a field of bright purple and red flowers
    A mountain goat enjoys a wide range of appetizers.
  • A white mountain goat looks out over the lower slopes of a volcanic peak
    A mountain goat surveys the lower, barren slopes of Mt. St. Helens
  • A tall volcanic peak dotted with snow rises behind a field of bright red wildflowers
    The summit of Mt. St. Helens rises above a grassy slope filled with paintbrush.
  • A field of red and purple flowers with a tent and mountain views in the background
    Red paintbrush and purple penstemon frame our campsite on the northeast flank of Mt. St. Helens.
  • A comet and its tail appears in the pre-dawn sky with a mountain range and valley fog in the foreground
    Comet NEOWISE rises over Mt. Rainier.
  • A comet and its tail appears in the pre-dawn sky with a mountain range and valley fog in the foreground
    Comet NEOWISE rises over Mt. Rainier.
  • View of a volcanic peak with a blue lake in the foreground
    Clouds part to reveal Spirit Lake and the distant cone of Mt. Rainier, more than 4,000 feet higher that Mt. St. Helens.
  • View of rocky and snowy ridgeline with volcanic peak in the background
    Looking east along the crater rim to Mt. Adams in the distance.
  • Panorama of a large volcanic crater with a mound of solidified lava in the center
    Panorama from the summit rim, looking north across the summit crater to Spirit Lake and Mt. Rainier.
  • Panorama showing a variety of distant mountains and a low cloud layer
    Panorama looking south from the crater rim.
  • Dark, jagged volcanic rocks on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens with clouds far below
    Nearing the top of the boulder field on the Monitor Ridge route. Only a mile to go!
  • A hiker walks along a rocky ridge with clouds and a distant volcanic peak in the backgrounde background
    Heading up Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Hood in the Background.
  • A hiker scrambles up a rocky slope with a forest and low-lying clouds in the background
    Breaking out of the trees on the Monitor Ridge route.