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Mount Rainier

Rainier

Stratovolcano · United States · 4392m

Mount Rainier is located east of the Puget Sound region, seen here from High Knob to the SW in 1981. Large Holocene mudflows from this heavily glaciated volcano have reached as far as the Puget Sound lowlands. Several postglacial tephras have erupted from Rainier, with tree-ring dating placing the last recognizable tephra deposit during the 19th century. Extensive hydrothermal alteration of the upper portion of the volcano has contributed to its structural weakness.
Mount Rainier is located east of the Puget Sound region, seen here from High Knob to the SW in 1981. Large Holocene mudflows from this heavily glaciated volcano have reached as far as the Puget Sound lowlands. Several postglacial tephras have erupted from Rainier, with tree-ring dating placing the last recognizable tephra deposit during the 19th century. Extensive hydrothermal alteration of the upper portion of the volcano has contributed to its structural weakness. · Photo: Photo by Lee Siebert, 1981 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
United States
Region
North America Volcanic Regions / High Cascades Volcanic Arc
Elevation
4392m
Coordinates
46.853, -121.760
Last eruption
1450
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

Mount Rainier is a heavily glaciated andesitic volcano in the Puget Sound region. Large Holocene mudflows from collapse have reached as far as the Puget Sound lowlands. The present summit was constructed within a large crater breached to the NE, formed by collapse during a major explosive eruption about 5,600 years ago that deposited the widespread Osceola Mudflow. Rainier has produced eruptions throughout the Holocene, including about a dozen during the past 2,600 years; the largest of these occurred about 2,200 years ago. The present 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 uncertain 19th-century eruptions, including a possible but not confirmed phreatic eruption in 1894, have not left identifiable deposits.

From Wikipedia

Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma, is a large, active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about 59 miles (95 km) south-southeast of Seattle. At 14,410 feet (4,390 m) it is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Washington, the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States, and the tallest in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
8050 BCE~7719 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 35730 BCE~5398 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 25398 BCE~5067 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 35067 BCE~4735 BCE · 2 eruptions · max VEI 34072 BCE~3741 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?3741 BCE~3409 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 33078 BCE~2747 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 22747 BCE~2415 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3758 BCE~426 BCE · 4 eruptions · max VEI ?426 BCE~95 BCE · 3 eruptions · max VEI 4237~568 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?900~1231 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1231~1563 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1563~1894 · 7 eruptions · max VEI 28050 BCE5730 BCE3078 BCE758 BCE1563

Detailed timeline

  1. 1894VEI 1Observed
    1894-11-21 – 1894-12-24
  2. 1882VEI 2Geological estimate
    1882 – Ongoing
  3. 1879VEI 2Geological estimate
    1879 – Ongoing
  4. 1870VEI 2Geological estimate
    1870 – Ongoing
  5. 1858VEI 2Geological estimate
    1858 – Ongoing
  6. 1854VEI 2Geological estimate
    1854 – Ongoing
  7. 1843VEI 2Geological estimate
    1843 – Ongoing
  8. 1450 (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1450 – Ongoing
  9. 910 (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    910 – Ongoing
  10. 440 (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    440 – Ongoing
  11. 150 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 150 – Ongoing
  12. 250 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 250 – Ongoing
  13. 400 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 400 – Ongoing
  14. 500 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 500 – Ongoing
  15. 610 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 610 – Ongoing
  16. 650 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 650 – Ongoing
  17. 700 BCE (±50 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 700 – Ongoing
  18. 2550 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 2550 – Ongoing
  19. 2750 BCEVEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 2750 – Ongoing
  20. 3650 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 3650 – Ongoing
  21. 3850 BCE (±200 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 3850 – Ongoing
  22. 4850 BCEVEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 4850 – Ongoing
  23. 5050 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 5050 – Ongoing
  24. 5350 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 5350 – Ongoing
  25. 5550 BCEVEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 5550 – Ongoing
  26. 7800 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 7800 – Ongoing
  27. 8050 BCEVEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 8050 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.