Summer heat got you down?
Let’s go get some ice from the top of that mountain over there (which also happens to be a dangerous, though sleeping, volcano in Washington State, one that you’ve probably never heard of).
What a wonderful experience! Glacier Peak doesn’t look dangerous at all.
Well, it is — for two reasons:
- Big explosive eruptions a la Mount St. Helens. Per the Global Volcanism Program, it last erupted a few hundred years ago.
- Those glaciers, sitting on volcanic slopes that may or may not be completely stable, are heavy. They also contain a lot of water and could melt quickly in an eruption, generating a lahar.
That happened in 1980 when Mount St. Helens went off:
Everyone learned from that disaster and there are hazard maps today, as you can see in this recent news video on Glacier Peak’s monitoring issues:
Now here’s some good news: This past Wednesday, the USGS announced that they had gotten approval for the upgrade and four new stations.
Yay!
Featured image: Jeffrey T. Kreulen/Shutterstock
Flight To Wonder 