Digital Elevation Models of the Pre-Eruption 2000 

Crater and 2004–07 Dome-Building Eruption at 

Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA 

By J.A. Messerich, S.P. Schilling, and R.A. Thompson 

Open-File Report 2008–1169 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey 
U.S. Department of the Interior 

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Mark D. Myers, Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 

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Suggested citation: 

Messerich, J.A., Schilling, S.P., and Thompson, R.A., 2008, Digital Elevation Models of the 

Pre-Eruption 2000 Crater and 2004–07 Dome-Building Eruption at Mount St. Helens, 

Washington, USA: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1169, 2 p. 

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endorsement by the U.S. Government. 

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copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. 

Cover: Photograph of Mount St. Helens dome on February 22, 2005. Photograph by S.P. 

Schilling. 

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Digital Elevation Models of the Pre-Eruption 2000 Crater 

and 2004–07 Dome-Building Eruption at Mount St. Helens, 

Washington, USA 

Abstract 

Presented in this report are 27 digital elevation model (DEM) datasets for the crater area of 

Mount St. Helens. These datasets include pre-eruption baseline data collected in 2000, incremental 

model subsets collected during the 2004–07 dome-building eruption, and associated shaded-relief image 

datasets. Each dataset was collected photogrammetrically with digital softcopy methods employing a 

combination of manual collection and iterative compilation of x,y,z coordinate triplets utilizing 

autocorrelation techniques. DEM data points collected using autocorrelation methods were rigorously 

edited in stereo and manually corrected to ensure conformity with the ground surface. Data were first 

collected as a triangulated irregular network (TIN) then interpolated to a grid format. DEM data are 

based on aerotriangulated photogrammetric solutions for aerial photograph strips flown at a nominal 

scale of 1:12,000 using a combination of surveyed ground control and photograph-identified control 

points. The 2000 DEM is based on aerotriangulation of four strips totaling 31 photographs. Subsequent 

DEMs collected during the course of the eruption are based on aerotriangulation of single aerial 

photograph strips consisting of between three and seven 1:12,000-scale photographs (two to six stereo 

pairs). Most datasets were based on three or four stereo pairs. Photogrammetric errors associated with 

each dataset are presented along with ground control used in the photogrammetric aerotriangulation. 

The temporal increase in area of deformation in the crater as a result of dome growth, deformation, and 

translation of glacial ice resulted in continual adoption of new ground control points and abandonment 

of others during the course of the eruption. Additionally, seasonal snow cover precluded the consistent 

use of some ground control points. 

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Purpose 

The 2000 DEM dataset was collected to assess the state of geomorphic change associated with 

the post-1980–86 crater of Mount St. Helens and to provide suitable base materials for ongoing geologic 

mapping efforts supported by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program and National Cooperative Geologic 

Mapping Program. The 2004–07 DEM datasets were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey 

volcano-monitoring effort at Mount St. Helens. The primary application of the data is for quantitative 

monitoring of geomorphic and volumetric change associated with dome growth and glacial deformation 

and derivation of magma extrusion rates. 

Data 

The digital elevation model (DEM) datasets are downloadable using the links below. The DEM 

data files are available as ArcInfo .e00 files. ArcInfo-compatible GIS software is required to import the 

data. Also available for download are small digital shaded-relief images of each DEM dataset in jpeg 

format and compiled as a short movie (MSH_wdates.wmv). The user is referred to the metadata file 

(MSH_OFR-1169.met), supplemental data documentation (supplemental_DEM_info.doc), and 

individual aerotriangulation reports for additional information regarding photogrammetric 

aerotriangulation results and associated errors for each dataset. All downloadable data are stored as 

compressed .zip files for ease of data transfer and will need to be uncompressed with appropriate 

software before use. 

Download MSH_DEMs.zip containing the ArcInfo .e00 files 

Download MSH_IMAGES.zip containing the shaded-relief jpeg image files 

Download MSH_INFO.zip containing the metadata and supplemental information files 

Download MSH_MOVIE.zip containing the DEM movie file 

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