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#: 35
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2014
Location: Mount Wow
Glacier Name: None
Drainage Basin: Tahoma Creek
Event Type: Rockfall
Weather:
Season: Unknown
Notes:
Mount Wow Rockfall. On Thursday, May 15, 2014 at about 10:30 AM, approximately 8,500 cubic feet of Oligocene-age (~30 ma) Ohanapecosh Formation andesite slid off the east face of Mount Wow at about the 4,000-foot level. The rock fall traveled approximately one-quarter-mile down a steep talus and scree slope, and deposited large boulders on the West Side Road parking area at the 2,800-foot level. An NPS owl crew further up the West Side Road heard the rock fall, allowing the timing of the event to be determined. A visitor's vehicle was totaled by a large rock and the parking area sustained impact crater damage from the boulders. No eyewitnesses directly observed the event itself and there were no injuries sustained. The largest of the craters in the road/parking area is approximately 8 feet wide by 3 feet deep. Numerous boulders were deposited on the scree field between the source and deposition areas, including a boulder that is roughly 30 feet wide by 20 feet long by 5 feet high. About 45 boulders with a diameter greater than 1 foot reached the parking area, with an estimated combined volume of 4,345 cubic feet. It is estimated that at least this much additional material stopped short of the parking area and is deposited on the scree field above the road. Therefore, we estimate the size of the rock fall to be approximately 8,500 cubic feet (315 cubic yards)
***UPDATE ON EVENT TIME***
RER Seismograph shows the primary rockfall was at 2014-05-15 17:09:42 UTC (2014-05-15 10:09:42 PDT). Shows up clearly on LO2 and STAR as well. See:
http://service.iris.edu/irisws/timeseries/1/query?net=UW&sta=RER&cha=EHZ&start=2014-05-15T17:09:41&end=2014-05-15T17:13:00&format=plot&loc=--
Possible (very) small additional rock fall at approximately 17:11:30 and 17:12:20 UTC.
Estimated Velocity:
Estimated Peak Flow:
Estimated Volume: 241 m
3 (8,500 ft
3)
References:
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Beason, S.R., 2012, Small glacial outburst flood occurs on Mount Rainier - October 27, 2012: Unpublished National Park Service Science Brief, 3 p.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.