Lava spine

A lava spine is a vertically growing monolith of viscous lava that is slowly forced from a volcanic vent, such as those growing on a lava dome (Bates & Jackson, 1987). It may also be considered a kind of dome called a spiny dome (Fink & Anderson, 2000). In February 1983, the dome activity of Mount St. Helens culminated in a spine that reached a height of about 100 ft before collapsing after two weeks, but another lava spine called the Whaleback never collapsed. A diatreme may also be referred to as a lava spine, such as the example of Mount Pelee in 1902.