Answer: Although
Mount Rainier
(Washington)
has not produced a significant eruption in the past 500 years, it
is potentially the most dangerous volcano in the
Cascade Range
because of its great height, frequent
earthquakes,
active
hydrothermal system,
and extensive
glacier mantle.
Mount Rainier has 26
glaciers containing more than five times as much snow and ice as all the
other Cascade volcanoes combined. If only a small part of this ice were melted
by volcanic activity, it would yield enough water to trigger enormous
lahars.
Mount Rainier's potential for generating destructive mudflows is
enhanced by its great height above surrounding valleys.
-- From:
Scott, et.al., 1990, Sedimentology, Behavior, and Hazards of Debris Flows at
Mount Rainier, Washington: USGS Open-File Report 90-385, and
Brantley, 1994, Volcanoes of the United States: USGS General
Interest Publication.
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U.S. Geological Survey