36. Graham (2005) Mount Rainier National Park geologic resource evaluation report
    Mount Rainier is the second highest peak in the conterminous United States at 14,410 feet (4393 meters). Over 35 square miles (91 sq km) of snow and ice encase Mount Rainier making it the largest single- peak glacial system in the United States. Glaciers radiate from the summit masking its explosive potential. Like the other volcanic peaks in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano that formed through successive eruptions of lava and pyroclastic flows. These types of volcanoes have the most violent types of eruptions as witnessed by the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Large eruptions of Mt. Rainier took place as recently as 1,000 years ago. Today, steam from the volcano generates ice caves and fumeroles near the summit of the volcano. In 2002 a scoping meeting for MORA was held to discuss geologic maps available for conversion to a digital format. The identification of park specific geologic issues was only addressed in a cursory manner. Nonetheless, some of major geologic management issues in the park include: • Potential volcanic eruptions, producing tephra (ash), volcanic projectiles, pyroclastic flows and surges,lateral blasts, lava flows, and volcanic gases • Edifice failure and debris avalanches • Glacial outburst floods • Lahars and debris flows • Hydrothermal alteration zones • Seismicity • Snow avalanches, rock falls, ice falls, and landslides • Cryptobiotic soils and soil erosion • Glacial Monitoring Due to the proximity of over 1.5 million people living within the shadow of Mount Rainier, it is considered the most dangerous volcano in the Cascade Range. A major eruption melting the ice and snow could send debris flows, pyroclastic flows, and lahars towards Puget Sound and the Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan area. Volcanic hazard mapping has identified areas in the park that could be affected in the future by debris flows, lahars, pyroclastic flows and surges, lava flows, volcanic projectiles, tephra falls, and lateral blasts. Longmire Village and the Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh, White River, Ipsut Creek, and Sunshine Point campgrounds are all vulnerable to these hazards. Monitoring of volcanic activity is on- going. There is a need for an emergency response plan to address these hazards. The reaction between groundwater and rising gas and steam from the underlying magmatic system creates zones of hydrothermally altered rock. Fumeroles at the summit of the volcano are one result of this reaction. Another result is the largest volcanic ice- cave system in the world at the summit of Mount Rainier. Earthquakes are also geologic hazards associated with Mount Rainier. Earthquakes precede a volcanic eruption although not every earthquake means an eruption is imminent. Other than Mt. St. Helens, Mount Rainier is the most seismically active volcano in the Cascades. The destruction of cryptobiotic soils and general soil erosion by human impacts are important issues. A systematic soil survey is needed to identify and characterize soil types. The glaciers of Mount Rainier are hydrologically significant and have both immediate and long- term impacts on the local and regional environment. Recent changes in glacial extent and volume make glacial monitoring an important issue for MORA. Mount Rainier is known for interesting geologic features. Glacial features on Mount Rainier include horns, cirques and cirque lakes, glacial valleys, arêtes, and characteristic glacial topography defined by glacial moraines and glacial drift. Volcanic processes have left many volcanic features, as well. Lava cones and flows, satellite volcano structures, rock walls, and summit features are present on Mount Rainier.
497. Iverson and George (2024) Numerical modeling of debris flows: A conceptual assessment: Advances in debris-flow science and practice
     Real-world hazard evaluation poses many challenges for the development and application of numerical models of debris flows. In this chapter we provide a conceptual overview of physically based, depth-averaged models designed to simulate debris-flow motion across three-dimensional terrain. When judiciously formulated and applied, these models can provide useful information about anticipated depths, speeds, and extents of debris-flow inundation as well as debris interactions with structures such as levees and dams. Depth-averaged debris-flow models can differ significantly from one another, however. Some of the greatest differences result from simulation of one-phase versus two-phase flow, use of parsimonious versus information-intensive initial and boundary conditions, use of tuning coefficients versus physically measureable parameters, application of dissimilar numerical solution techniques, and variations in computational speed and model accessibility. This overview first addresses these and related attributes of depth-averaged debris-flow models. It then describes model testing and application to hazard evaluation, with a focus on our own model, D-Claw. The overview concludes with a discussion of outstanding challenges for development of improved debris-flow models and suggestions for prospective model users.
496. Vallance (2024) Lahars: Origins, behavior and hazards: Advances in debris-flow science and practice
     Volcanic debris flows that originate at potentially active volcanoes are called lahars. Lahars are like debris flows in non-volcanic terrain but can most notably differ in origin and size. Primary lahars occur during eruptions and may have novel origins such as turbulent mixing of hot rock moving across ice- and snow-clad volcanoes and eruptions through crater lakes. Lahars range in volume to more than a cubic kilometer (10⁹ m³), with the biggest ones caused by huge deep-seated flank collapses of water-saturated edifice rock. Because they can be so voluminous, can have high water contents, and commonly can be clay rich, these lahars can travel tens to even hundreds of kilometers. Long transport causes evolution of flow types from flood flow to hyperconcentrated flow to debris flow. Lahars capable of traveling far downstream are commonly sufficiently liquefied that they drape valley slopes and leave behind thin deposits as they pass downstream. Only in valley bottoms are lahars likely to emplace thick deposits, and even there the deposits are apt to be much thinner than peak flow depths. Flows with long transport change character with time and distance downstream. Deposits, especially those in valley bottoms, can accrete during intervals that represent a significant proportion of the time it takes the flow to pass (typically minutes). The combination of flows changing character and their progressive accretion imposes distinctive characteristics on their deposits such as normal and inverse grading. Historically, lahars have caused thousands of fatalities and destroyed entire towns. Perhaps the most disastrous known lahar occurred in 1985 at Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia and killed more than 23,000 people. Since that disaster, an increasing awareness of lahar hazards has led to efforts to mitigate them. In recent decades, improved land-use decisions, monitoring and communication have improved hazard responses and saved many lives. Lahar hazard maps and development of lahar inundation models have helped planners and people at risk to better understand the nature of the risk owing to lahars.
495. Fuhrig et al. (2024) Evaluation of groundwater resources in the Upper White River Basin within Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, 2020
     The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Park Service, investigated groundwater gains and losses on the upper White River within Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. This investigation was conducted using stream discharge measurements at 14 locations within 7 reaches over a 6.5-mile river length from near the White River’s origin at the terminus of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier to the White River Entrance near the northeast boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Locations selected for the stream discharge measurements were on the main channel of the White River and on tributary streams near their confluence with the White River. A soil-water-balance (SWB) model analysis was also performed on the White River basin to estimate groundwater recharge throughout the basin during the time of the study. Analyses were made for the White River basin at the sub-basin (zone) scale to determine groundwater input to the stream for individual stream reaches. The gridded SWB model was simulated at a 10-meter (m) horizontal resolution, where recharge simulations were constructed using five spatially distributed datasets. Daily climate data as input for the simulation included gridded daily precipitation and air temperature. Upon analysis of the seepage run results, three of the seven reaches showed groundwater gains in this study. The SWB model results were used in conjunction with the baseflow gain totals in the reaches to estimate the length of time for recharge to become base flow. Further analysis estimated the rates of groundwater flow in the zones with adjacent gaining reaches. A streamflow gain curve was created from a simple flow model for each of the zones to relate the recharge from the zones to the adjacent reaches on the White River and tributaries. The fit of the streamflow gain curve to the calculated streamflow gain during the seepage run was used to analyze where the recharge from each zone resulted as streamflow gain. Consecutive reach losses from zones D and L were immediately followed downstream by a relatively large gain in zone GH, indicating that the gain in the reach adjacent to zone GH could be from the recharge in zones D and L.
494. Hagen (2024) Weather Summary: Mount Rainier National Park - Water Year 2023
     The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program monitors climate in order to compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, to provide data to model future impacts to park facilities and resources, and to provide park staff with information needed to make management decisions. This brief summarizes climate data collected and notable weather events that occurred during water year 2023 in Mount Rainier National Park. Water year is defined as the period from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to encompass a full cycle of precipitation accumulation.
493. Hagen (2023) Weather Summary: Mount Rainier National Park - Water Year 2022
     The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) Inventory and Monitoring Program monitors climate in order to compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, to provide data to model future impacts to park facilities and resources, and to provide park staff with information needed to make management decisions. This brief summarizes climate data collected and notable weather events that occurred during water year 2022 in Mount Rainier National Park. Water year is defined as the period from October 1 to September 30 of the following year, to encompass a full cycle of precipitation accumulation.

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The U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory and the University of Washington Pacific Northwest Seismic Network continue to monitor Washington and Oregon volcanoes closely and will issue additional notifications as warranted.

Website Resources

For images, graphics, and general information on Cascade Range volcanoes: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo
For seismic information on Oregon and Washington volcanoes: http://www.pnsn.org/volcanoes
For information on USGS volcano alert levels and notifications: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP/volcano-notifications-deliver-situational-information

Jon Major, Scientist-in-Charge, Cascades Volcano Observatory, jjmajor@usgs.gov

General inquiries: vhpweb@usgs.gov