A lava spine at the summit of Mount Pelée in 1902

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 in 2005 called the Whaleback lasted until it collapsed in
July 2005. In November 2005, a new spine, called "the slab" grew continously until late 2006,
though it continually collapsed under its own weight. A diatreme may also be referred to as a lava
spine, such as the example of Mount Pelee in 1902.