On March 4, 2004, a large eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, on the island of Montserrat, shot a large cloud of volcanic ash 20,000 feet into the air. Flows of hot ash, gases, and rocks poured down the eastern flank of the volcano. In this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite captured the next day, the ash plume is shown drifting southwestward from the summit of the volcano.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC