Known Geologic Events at Mount Rainier
The purpose of this page is to list all known, dated gelogic events at Mount Rainier, including lahars, debris flows, large rockfalls, large avalanches, rockfalls, and other events. This list is currently being compiled, so if you find errors or a missing event, please
let Scott know.
Database ID#: 102
Date: Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Location: Stevens Creek
Glacier Name: None
Drainage Basin: Stevens Creek
Event Type: Avalanche
Weather:
12/1/07 there was 33" snow at Paradise and a rain on snow event occurred on 12/3 or 12/4 with about 4" rain
Season: N/A
Notes:
From Stefan Lofgren:
The avalanche that happened this winter near the Steven's Creek bridge on the Steven's Canyon Rd. is impressive to say the least. I had a good opportunity to explore the terrain in the start zone and along the perimeter of the slide path. I've run some of the numbers and here are some initial estimates.
This slide having occurred so close to the road creates an excellent interpretive opportunity for visitors.
Steven’s Creek Avalanche
Statistical Estimates:
Approximate Date: 12/3-4/07
Length: 3200 ft.
Vertical: 1500 ft.
Approximate Total Area: 80 Acres
Weight of Snow: 64,000 kg
Cubic Volume of Snow: 160,000 m3
Acres of Forest Destroyed: 15 acres sparse forest
Destructive Force: 20-40 kPa (kilopascals)
Cause and Discussion:
The Steven’s Creek avalanche most likely occurred on the 3rd or 4th of December, 2007 after a rain event that drenched the shallow snowpack. On the 1st of December, 2007, there were 33 inches of snow recorded at Paradise. This warm weather event produced about 4 inches of rain. Rapid weight, water, and warmth added to a snowpack created very unstable conditions. Although no one observed this avalanche, it is likely that the avalanche took most of the available snow in the start zone all the way down to the ground. This is called a climax avalanche.
Roughly 15 acres of sparse forest were completely flattened. Limbs on trees left standing show that the air blast and/or the snow reached 20-30 feet up. Dozens of trees were pulled right out of the ground by their root wads.
Destructive force can be measured in kilopascals. One kilopascal is equivalent to roughly 670 lbs per square foot. The 20-40 kPa of destructive force capable of flattening trees like this would be like standing about 150 meters away from 9,000 kg of TNT! Standing 2,200 m above and 1,000 m away from a 20kg atomic bomb would have a similar destructive force.
During this warm weather event in December, the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center elevated the avalanche danger rating to extreme. A number of avalanche fatalities occurred in Washington during this period.
Estimated Velocity:
Estimated Peak Flow:
Estimated Volume:
References:
S. Lofgren
Data references:
Beason, S.R., 2012, Small glacial outburst flood occurs on Mount Rainier - October 27, 2012: Unpublished National Park Service Science Brief, 3 p.
Beason, S.R., et al., in prep, Glacial outburst floods and debris flows from the South Tahoma Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington: August and September, 2015: National Park Service Natural Resource Report NPS/MORA/NRR-2015/XXX.
Copeland, E.A., 2010, Recent periglacial debris flows from Mount Rainier, Washington: M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, 125 p.
Copeland, E.A., P.M. Kennard, A.W. Nolin, S.T. Lanscaster and G.E. Grant, 2008, Initiation of recent debris flows on Mount Rainier, Washington: A climate warming signal? American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Crandell, D.R., 1971, Postglacial lahars from Mt. Rainier volcano, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 677, 75 p.
Donovan, K.H.M, 2005, An investigation into the 2003 Van Trump Creek debris flow, Mt. Rainier, Washington, United States of America: BSc Geological Hazards Thesis, University of Portsmouth (UK), 58 p.
Driedger, C.L. and A.G. Fountain, 1989, Glacier outburst floods at Mout Rainier, Washington State, USA: Anals of Glaciology, Vol. 13, 5 p.
Hodge, S., 1972, The movement and basal conditions of the Nisqually Glacier, Mount Rainier: Ph.D Thesis, Univeristy of Washington, xxx p.
Legg, N.T., 2013, Debris flows in glaciated catchments: A case study on Mount Rainier, Washington: M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, 162 p.
Legg, N.T., A.J. Meigs, G.E. Grant and P.M. Kennard, 2014, Debris flow initiation in proglacial gullies on Mount Rainier, Washington: Geomorphology, Vol. 226, p. 249-260.
Richardson D., 1968, Glacier outburst floods in the Pacific Northwest: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 600-D, D79-D86.
Samora, B., 1991, Chronology of flood events as noted in the superintendent's annual reports 1940-1991, Unpublished Internal Document, Mount Rainier National Park, WA, 13 p.
Scott, K.M., J.W. Vallance, and P.T. Pringle, 1995, Sedimentology, behavior, and hazards of debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1547, 56 p.
Vallance, J.W., C.L. Driedger and W.E. Scott, 2002, Diversion of meltwater from Kautz Glacier initiates small debris flows near Van Trump Park, Mount Rainier, Washington: Washington Geology, Vol. 30, No. 1/2, p. 17-19.
Vallance, J.W., M.L. Cunico and S.P. Schilling, 2003, Debris-flow hazards caused by hydrologic events at Mount Rainier, Washington: United States Geological Survey Open-File Report 2003-368, 4 p.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1994, Geomorphic changed caused by outburst floods and debris flows at Mount Rainier, Washington, with emphasis on Tahoma Creek valley: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4093, 100 p.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1994, Rapid geomorphic change caused by glacial outburst floods and debris flows along Tahoma Creek, Mount Rainier, Washington, USA: Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 26, No. 4, p. 319-327.
Walder, J.S. and C.L. Driedger, 1995, Frequent outburst floods from South Tahoma Glacier, Mount Rainier, USA: relation to debris flows, meterological origin and implications for subglacial hydrology: Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 41, No. 137, 11 p.