Lesson 2: Mount Rainier’s Hazards

With the recent eruption of many volcanoes around the world, the scientific community is beginning to understand all the hazards associated with volcanoes, including those which occur in the absence of a volcanic eruption. Understanding the type and potential of hazards associated with Mount Rainier is critical to developing mitigation and zoning policies. Until recently, not much was known about the history of Rainier, and therefore, the types and location of hazards were not well understood. However, recent research has unfolded a great story of past eruptions, lahars, flooding, and slope failure and has allowed a greater understanding of the potential for future disasters in this area.

The topics listed below will explain some of the hazards associated with an eruption and some of the hazards that could occur independent of an eruption. Included in the descriptions are hazard maps from the USGS's CVO. These maps show the areas at risk.

Be sure to investigate all options under the "Hazards associated with an eruption" and "Hazards that could occur independent of an eruption" then answer the review questions.