Ape Cave Stream, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington

Water that drips into the Ape Cave collects into a stream as it flows through North America’s third-largest lava tube, located in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. The Ape Cave formed during an eruption of Mount St. Helens approximately 2,000 years ago. An 8-mile-long (13-kilometer-long) lava flow poured down the southern flank of the volcano. Lava cools from the outside-in, so the flow became like a straw, allowing lava to continue to flow through a hardened crust. The cave is 13,042 feet long (3,975 meters) and the rock is porous, allowing rainwater to seep in.

Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download

Filename: WA_Ape-Cave_Stream_5105.jpg
Copyright: Copyright 2021 Kevin Ebi/LivingWilderness.com. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 4331x6493 / 9.2MB; https://www.livingwilderness.com/licensing-prints.htm; https://www.livingwilderness.com; Ape Cave Ape Caves Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument Mount St. Helens Mount Saint Helens Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot cave lava tube tube volcanic stream creek water underground nature Washington WA Skamania County Skamania dark
Contained in galleries

Water that drips into the Ape Cave collects into a stream as it flows through North America’s third-largest lava tube, located in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. The Ape Cave formed during an eruption of Mount St. Helens approximately 2,000 years ago. An 8-mile-long (13-kilometer-long) lava flow poured down the southern flank of the volcano. Lava cools from the outside-in, so the flow became like a straw, allowing lava to continue to flow through a hardened crust. The cave is 13,042 feet long (3,975 meters) and the rock is porous, allowing rainwater to seep in.