VANCOUVER, Wash. -- After two years of squeezing fresh rock into the crater of Mount St. Helens, the latest eruption of the volcano is slowing down.

AP

A steady plume of steam and ash rises from the crater as magma pushes through to the surface of a growing lobe on the lava dome.

But U.S. Geological Survey scientist Cynthia Gardner said experts won't forecast when it will be over.

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Scientists reviewed the activity Friday at a briefing at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver.

The mountain began quaking in September of 2004 and steam and ash signaled the beginning of the latest eruption on October first 2004. Hot lava was seen in the crater ten days later.

With a lot of little quakes and a few steam bursts along the way, a lava dome has been growing in the crater. Gardner said there have been seven spines that arose and crumbled.

Measurements in August show the lava dome was 3,300 feet long, 1,673 feet wide and just four feet below the rim of the crater, which is 7,776 feet.

There have been no explosive events in the past year.

One change that will take place tomorrow is a change in what officials call the current alert level. Gardner said the status isn't changing but it will be called a "watch."

She said, "It's unlikely that in the near future we'll see any change in the eruptive style."

In July the Forest Service reopened a hiking trail to the summit and started allowing hikers back to the rim of Mount St. Helens.

The volcano's big blast in 1980 killed 57 people.