Volcano Blog by Tom Pering
  • Blog
  • UV Cameras
  • Publications
  • Slug Calculator
  • About Me

Mt. Rainier, USA.

21/6/2011

 
Mount Rainier is a glacial covered stratovolcano situated on the western seaboard of the USA. It is the highest of the peaks at 4392 m in the Cascade Range and my personal favourite of the Decade volcanoes.
Picture
Taken by Lyn Topinka, Rainier with Tacoma in the foreground.
With its towering position over the cities of Seattle and Tacoma it is seen a great hazard of the future, particularly with threat of lahars because of the large amounts of ice, and snow on its flanks and summit. This is the major reason for its inclusion as a Decade Volcano. However there are other hazards, in the past debris avalanches caused by the collapse of part of the edifice have travelled very long distances and can reach as far as the Puget Sound. An event such as this occurred around 5600 years ago in a similar but larger event to that which occurred at St. Helens in 1980. Of course a large eruption of Rainier would also be accompanied by the usual ensuing volcanic hazards (Pyroclastic Density Currents, Ashfall, Lava flows).

The main edifice is around 500,000 years old and is composed of mostly lavas which have built up over time.  It is unclear when Rainier last event minor event was with different souces stating different things! According to the GVP an event occurred back in 1894 which involved minor activity at the summit. It has been a while since any major activity has been seen, with up to VEI 4 events occuring in the past as is shown on the GVP. With a volcano such as Rainier any future eruption it is highly probable that it would be preceeded by warning signs such as deformation, hydrothermal activity and degassing increases. Despite the location of Rainier, there is a lot more work to be done on the volcano to understand its history and hence its potential future!

Picture
Rainier as taken from the space needle on a very hazy day!

I am afraid that posts will be a little more sparse and irregular over the coming months due to an extremely busy summer (getting married and a dissertation to complete!), however I should get back to regular posting by the end of July!

Sources
USGS
Global Volcanism Program
Sisson, T.W., 1995. History and Hazards of Mount Rainier, Washington. USGS. Open-File Report 95-642.
Share this page

Comments are closed.
    Volcano Blog Logo

    RSS Feed

    Share this page

    Archives

    August 2022
    May 2022
    January 2021
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

An informative blog for anyone interested about all things volcano related!
  • Blog
  • UV Cameras
  • Publications
  • Slug Calculator
  • About Me