Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 1894
Summit Elevation: 4392 m 14,409 feet
Latitude: 46.853°N 46°51’10″N
Longitude: 121.760°W 121°45’37″W
Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano located in the Cascade Range in the Seatlle-Tacoma, Washington area. Mount Rainier is the highest (14,410 feet) and third most voluminous volcano in the Cascades. A population explosion within its zone of influence and a history of massive lahars (volcanic mudflows) make Mount Rainier the most dangerous US volcano.
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier, at 4392 m the highest peak in the Cascade Range, forms a dramatic backdrop to the Puget Sound region. Large Holocene mudflows from collapse of this massive, heavily glaciated andesitic volcano have reached as far as the Puget Sound lowlands. The present summit was constructed within a large crater breached to the northeast formed by collapse of the volcano during a major explosive eruption about 5600 years that produced the widespread Osceola Mudflow. Rainier has produced eruptions throughout the Holocene, including about a dozen during the past 2600 years; the largest of these occurred about 2200 years ago. The present-day summit cone is capped by two overlapping craters. Extensive hydrothermal alteration of the upper portion of the volcano has contributed to its structural weakness; an active thermal system has caused periodic melting on flank glaciers and produced an elaborate system of steam caves in the summit icecap. Reported 19th-century eruptions have not left identifiable deposits, but a phreatic eruption may have taken place as recently as 1894.
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier in Washington State is part of the chain of Cascade volcanoes fed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate. Given its present name by Capt. George Vancouver (after Rear Admiral Peter Rainier), it was known to the indigenous people as “Tahoma”, which, according to some, meant “God.” Having witnessed the volcano’s powers of destruction and creation, the native people might well have found any other name inadequate.
Originally posted 2010-08-18 04:17:16.
