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yesterday

Mount Rainier Swarm Eases but Shows No Signs of Eruption

Scientists link the tremors to hydrothermal fluid movement beneath the summit, with the volcano maintained at a normal green alert level.

ASA lenticular cloud forms over Mount Rainier, considered an active volcano rising to 14,410 feet above sea level, as viewed from Reflection Lakes on August 29, 2024, near Ashford, Washington.
Mount Rainier, an active volcano rising to 14,410 feet, is experiencing a rare earthquake swarm.
FILE - Mount Rainier is pictured Sept. 21, 2023, at Mount Rainier National Park, from Sunrise, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

Overview

  • The earthquake swarm began at 1:29 a.m. PT on July 8 and continues through July 10 at reduced intensity after an initial surge of hundreds of quakes.
  • The tremors, located 2–6 km beneath the summit, peaked at magnitude 1.7 and remain too minor to produce surface effects.
  • Dense networks of seismometers, infrasound sensors, GPS and webcams detect no ground deformation or unusual gas emissions at the volcano.
  • Cascade Volcano Observatory scientists identify circulating hydrothermal fluids as the most likely cause, ruling out magma intrusion.
  • Although the largest swarm since 2009, similar episodes occur once or twice a year at Mount Rainier and do not signal an imminent eruption.