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#: 107
Date: Sunday, November 7, 2004
Location: Columbia Crest
Glacier Name: None
Drainage Basin:
Event Type: Earthquake
Weather:
Season: N/A
Notes:
From B. Samora:
M 3.2 earthquake beneath Rainier
• A M 3.2 earthquake occurred at 11:23am PST near the summit of Mount Rainier. It was located at 1.6 km depth, which translates to roughly 0.5 km above sea level, ~0.6 km south of Rainier’s summit.
• It was preceded by 6 located events, the largest and earliest a M 1.5 occurring at 10:03 am PST. It was followed by 9 events over the next 49 minutes, with the last occurring at 12:14 pm PST. All events with “good” locations were also shallow, and also located in the southern cluster (although dispersed a bit).
• Similar sequences have been seen in the past. A M 3.1 occurred on 11/11/1976, a M 3.0 occurred 07/28/1990, and a M 3.2 occurred 02/19/2002. All were shallow.
• Broadly speaking, most Rainier earthquakes locate in one of two seismicity clusters, one under the summit, the other south of the summit. Earthquakes in the 11/07 sequence all occurred south of the summit.
• The M 3.2 was a normal-faulting event, consistent with the dominant type of earthquake faulting seen at Rainier.
• This did not occur along the Western Rainier Seismic Zone (WRSZ), a north-south-trending zone of seismicity that lies ~12 km west of Rainier. The WRSZ has been the source of several larger earthquakes, including M 4.1 events on 07/29/1988 and 05/20/1995 and a M 3.9 on 06/25/2004.
• The WRSZ likely reflects a seismogenic series of en echelon faults oriented at oblique angles to the north-south seismicity trend, and is not thought to be directly related to volcanic processes occurring beneath Mount Rainier
• There is no reason to believe that there is a direct connection between Rainier and St. Helens plumbing systems (magma rises upwards).
• There are 6 seismometers within 20 km of the summit, including 2 that are ~3 km. One of these is a broadband seismometer (at Longmire, colocated with a short-period and strong-motion instrument).
• Even small volcanic events at Mount Rainier can be quite hazardous, given its size and proximity to populated areas.
http://www.morageology.com/earthquake_range.php?t0=1099785600&t1=1099871999&dt_length=50
Estimated Velocity:
Estimated Peak Flow:
Estimated Volume:
References:
B. Samora
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.