Mount Rainier: The Volcano Threatening Dense Populations

The volcano that poses the greatest threat to humanity today is Mount Rainier because of its proximity to highly dense populations, its potential to erupt, and how it can spread disaster. Mount Rainier is categorized as a composite volcano, and it is also one of sixteen Decade Volcanoes in the world. Decade Volcanoes are under close watch by committees and disaster services because of their great potential to cause catastrophic disasters in the area in which they lie (National Park Service [NPS]). Mount Rainier sits next to the large cities of Tacoma, Seattle, and their suburbs, and they are all in distance of the potential danger of the volcano (Driedger and Scott, 2008). The volcano also relies on its drainage system, the Columbia River, to spread disaster, so parts of Oregon and southwestern Washington are also unsafe from the danger of a Mount Rainer eruption (NPS). Mount Rainier’s eruption potential is also what makes it such a dangerous volcano. Geothermal activity of the volcano indicated that it is still active, and it is in between its eruption cycle (NPS, Driedger and Scott, 2008). Scientists think a Mount Rainier eruption will be less explosive than in past events, but because of the

surrounding population size, an eruption would be disastrous (Driedger and Scott, 2008). The largest threat of a Mount Rainier eruption is not the lava but the lahars that would be created from the lava and other hot materials. Lahars would be created by the lava and pyroclastic materials mixing with the glaciers and melting the snow. The lahars would stream down the mountain further than lava could flow and leave behind a trail of 10-foot-thick mud and debris. The lahars would flow toward the Puget Sound area, and encase and destroy anything it their paths. The greater population of the area would be at risk from the lahars, while volcanic ash would flow downwind, to the east. The ash would disrupt aircrafts in the sky and cause massive environmental clean-up efforts when it eventually fell (Driedger and Scott, 2008). Mount Rainier is without a doubt a dangerous volcano, if not the most dangerous in the world.
Though Mount Rainier is considered a dangerous volcano because of its location, that has also helped the study of it.

Its proximity to highly dense areas has made it a decade volcano, therefore increasing the amount it is studied (NPS). The USGS is one service that actively monitors Mount Rainier. They monitor its volcanic activity through the areas seismicity, volcanic swelling, and gas emissions from the volcano. If anything problematic is detected, emergency services are noted and increased monitoring takes place. A plan is also in place if a Mount Rainier eruption did happen (Driedger and Scott, 2008). In conclusion, Mount Rainier is a very active and threatening volcano, but it is being actively monitored to reduce any potential disaster it will

cause.