Mount Rainier, the third most dangerous[though quiet] volcano in the United States

That makes for interesting reading the day before the 25th anniversary of St. Helens' eruption. Just yesterday, I thought of my sister and niece flying in from OH, and explaining that Tahoma is a volcano that's just sleepin'.


"The U.S. Geological Survey ranks Mount Rainier as the third most dangerous volcano in the nation after Kilauea, on the Big Island of Hawai'i, and Mount St. Helens. Both are currently active [though the USGS' own info says the same about Rainier* --Ed.].

"Other studies call Rainier the most dangerous volcano in the world — not just for its explosive potential, but because of the 3 million people who live in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area. At least 100,000 people live on top of Rainier mudflows that have solidified [see USGS excerpt below].

"Mudflow poses a serious threat for Orting (pop. 4400). Two rivers drain off the mountain, hug the town and converge just beyond it, putting Orting squarely in the mountain's strike zone. The town, in fact, was built atop a 500-year-old mudflow that buried the valley 30 feet deep.

"Construction crews working on new housing developments for Orting's growing population have dug up massive tree stumps — remnants of a forest buried there the last time Mount Rainier rumbled [in the mid-19th century]."


From the Cascades Volcano Observatory:
"Mount Rainier is an active volcano [or is it?* --Ed.] that first erupted about half a million years ago. Because of Rainier's great height [14,410 ft./4,393 m] and northerly location, glaciers have cut deeply into its lavas, making it appear deceptively older than it actually is. Mount Rainier is known to have erupted as recently as in the 1840s, and large eruptions took place as recently as about 1,000 and 2,300 years ago.

"Mount Rainier and other similar volcanoes in the Cascade Range, such as Mount Adams and Mount Baker, erupt much less frequently than the more familiar Hawai'ian volcanoes. But the eruptions [from Cascade volcanoes can be] vastly more destructive. Hot lava and rock debris from Rainier's eruptions have melted enough snow and glacier ice to trigger debris flows (mudflows) that have swept down all [five] of the river valleys that head on the volcano. Debris flows have also been generated by collapse of unstable parts of the volcano without accompanying eruptions. Some debris flows have traveled as far as the present margin of Puget Sound, and much of the lowland to the east of Tacoma and to the south of Seattle is formed of prehistoric debris from Mount Rainier.



Before landforms were claimed and renamed by colonists:
"Northwest native peoples knew the mountain [named Rainier] long before European explorers reached the waters of the Pacific Ocean. For generations, they knew the mountain as Takhoma, Tahoma, Ta-co-bet and several other names. Many of the names mean "big mountain" or "snowy peak" or "place where the waters begin." Little Tahoma is the name of prominent rock outcrop on the east side of Mount Rainier.

"Native peoples living both east and west of Tahoma traveled to the high mountain valleys each summer and fall to gather berries and hunt deer, goats, elk, and bear. They often camped near berry fields at altitudes between 3,000 feet and 5,000 feet. The forests and meadows around the mountain were important summer hunting and gathering sites for the Nisqually, Puyallup, Upper Cowlitz, Muckleshoot, and Yakama people."


And because the A in Aries stands for Adventure:
Skiing the Cascade Volcanoes: Mount Rainier
A moment with Mike Gauthier, Mount Rainier park's lead climbing ranger


* Volcano Hazards from Mount Rainier, 1998 says the volcano is dormant, while Mount Rainier: Learning to Live with Volcanic Risk and Living With A Volcano In Your Backyard: Volcanic Hazards at Mount Rainier both indicate active volcanism.