Caption: A 70mm view of Mt. Pinatubo, which erupted in June 1991. Sulfuric acid injected into the stratosphere by the eruption is still evident in limb photographs, and, according to NASA scientists, may have contributed to the unusually cool summer in the northern United States. Ash from the eruption surrounds the mountain; ashfalls caused the evacuation of many people, closed Clark Air Force Base on the eastern side of the mountain, and ruined farmland. All the rivers draining the area have been widened and are now clogged with ash. Note the large white patch along the rivers flowing eastward and southward toward Manila Bay, and westward toward the ocean. Ash and debris flow down rivers as tropical rainstorms pound the area. Significant increases in the area of mudflow deposits since STS-45 (April, 1992) can be seen in this photograph.
