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#: 6
Date: Monday, June 29, 1987
Location: South Tahoma Glacier
Glacier Name: South Tahoma Glacier
Drainage Basin: Tahoma Creek
Event Type: Debris Flow
Weather:
Warm and dry. Driedger and Fountain (1989): "18 mm rain during June"
Season: Dry
Notes:
The Longmire seismograph recorded debris flow movement between 14:08 and 14:30. Two visitors to the park witnessed this debris flow from the Wonderland Trial suspension bridge at river km 10.4. They reported that the debris flow was preceded by a strong down-valley wind and loud rumbling. Thickness of bouldery deposits near the former Tahoma Creek Picnic Area (river km 7.5) exceeded 1 m. Levees 3 to 4 m in height were deposited between river km 6.5 and river km 7.3. K.M. Scott, USGS, estimated peak discharge at approximately 1000 m3/s. Driedger and Fountain (1989) add: "Rocks thrown over trail bridge 20 m above stream bed; deposited 1+ m of mud in picnic area. Destroyed picnic area. Concrete-like mass carried boulders. Flood wave of debris preceded by rush of wind; sound like aircraft". NOTE: Samora (1991) reports that "five debris flows" occurred on Tahoma Creek in 1987 but all other references only mention four.
*** NPS CASE INCIDENT REPORT #CI870250, narrative by Mark Cooper ***
This report details a glacial outburst flood that occurred on Tahoma Creek, at approx 14:20 hours, 06/29/1987.
On 6/29/87 at approx. 14:20 hours, NPS Maintenance worker (Roads Division) Larry Hatcher radioed that a nine foot headwall of water was coming down Tahoma Creek, through Tahoma Creek trailhead/picnic parking area, Westside Road, MORA.
Hatcher reported that this environmental emergency was posing a threat and danger to park employees and visitors, and government & private property,a nd that the flood was headed toward the heavily used, Longmire Road-Tahoma Creek Bridge, and, that traffic on this bridge should be stopped.
Upon Hatcher's radio tranission, all entrance to Mt. Rainier through Nisqually Entrance was stopped adn Cooper headed uphill to prevent taffic (Public, Govt. & Contractor) from using Tahoma Creek Bridge until real and potentail danger from the flood could be assessed.
During this time it was learned, via radio transmission, that contractors doing road work at Katz Creek, had just allowed approx. 40+ visitor vehicles to head downill toward Tahoma Creek.
Cooper headed uphill and stoped this string of traffic at Deadman's corve and was in the process of turning these visitors around and getting them headed up hill and out of the floodplain, when NPS Rangers John Wilcox and Stephanie Maczko arrived and took over these duties.
Cooper then returned to a position west of Tahoma Creek Bridge, and subsequently patrolled the Westside Road.
At approx. 15:05 hrs, an appox. 2 foot headwall of water arriveda t Tahoma Creek Bridge, and the water level ran approx 2-3 feet above normal for the next 12 hours, under tahoma Creek Bridge.
At the time of the flood, NPS Maintenance and YCC Crews were working in the vicinity of Tahoma Creek picnic area - trailhead and were xtremely lucky to have escaped unharmed, and, alive!
Summary of observations [not full text, just interesting findings]
2-3 ft of full deposited in the lower section of tahoma creek picnic area
Visitors reported rock being thrown over the Tahoma creek suspension bridge. Rocks were 2-3 ft in diameter
Estimated Velocity:
Estimated Peak Flow: 1000 m3/s (35,315 ft3/s)
Estimated Volume:
References:
Walder and Driedger (1994) (Page 80)
Driedger and Fountain (1989) (Page 53)
J. Fielding and M. Starkey, Park Visitors
Scott et al. (1995)
Samora (1991)
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.