Additional Coverage:
Mount Rainier, a towering presence in the Washington landscape, has experienced a flurry of seismic activity, the most significant in over 15 years. Beginning early Tuesday, a swarm of hundreds of small earthquakes began rumbling beneath the volcano, a phenomenon that continued into Wednesday.
The Cascades Volcano Observatory, responsible for monitoring volcanic activity across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, assures the public that there is no cause for alarm. Most of the quakes are too minor to be felt at the surface, and no damage is expected. While such swarms typically occur once or twice a year at Mount Rainier, this one is notable for the sheer number of earthquakes.
Scientists believe the activity is likely due to the movement of water within the crust above the volcano’s magma chamber and is unrelated to current warm temperatures. They emphasize that while Mount Rainier is an active volcano, it has not seen a significant eruption in 500 years. The observatory continues to monitor the situation closely, adding to the ongoing research of this majestic, yet mysterious, peak, which has only been comprehensively monitored since the 1980s.