Imagine that in your work as an insurance company executive you have been reassi
ID: 231062 • Letter: I
Question
Imagine that in your work as an insurance company executive you have been reassigned to head up the Tacoma, Washington office of your company, Denyallclaims Insurance Co. Although Tacoma is located about 50 miles from the volcanic mountain Mount Rainier, other company executives in Denyallclaims have reassured you that the volcano has not erupted for a long time, and there is no risk associated with the volcano if you choose to live in Tacoma or its beautiful mountainous suburbs. 2. You decide to check things out for yourself, and log on to the internet to search for volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier, Washington.
The following are questions you want answered, and which you should answer for this assignment. When was the last time Mt. Rainier had an eruption? Are there any types of volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier that could affect you in the future if you were living in the area of Tacoma or its suburbs? If so, what types of hazards have affected the Tacoma area in the past? Considering that the summit area of Mt. Rainier is covered to a large extent by glacial ice, would residents of the Tacoma area be threatened in any way by a small eruption from the volcano that only sent a few lava flows down the flanks, none reaching more than 1 km from the summit? If so, why, and if not, why not? Give the URL(s) where you found your information. Ensure that your answers capture your research and knowledge of plate tectonics, igneous rocks/minerals and volcanic activity.
Explanation / Answer
The most recent recorded volcanic eruption was in 1894.
Earthquakes, lahar, lava flow, ash and toxic gas eruption are the volcanic hazards associated with this area.
in the past eruptions volcanic ash, lava flows, and avalanches of intensely hot rock and volcanic gases, called pyroclastic flow have affected this area. Some of these events swiftly melt snow and ice and could produce torrents of meltwater that pick up loose rock and become rapidly flowing slurries of mud and boulders known as lahars. The greatest risk at the volcano comes from its potential for generating huge lahars triggered by sector collapse or magma- water-ice interaction rather than from an eruption itself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount_rainier/hazard_summary.html