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Article: Ready to RUMBLE!(Washington's Mount Rainier volcano)
- Article from:
- Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- October 20, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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More than 100,000 people live within range of the deadliest volcano in the United States.
Early last July, on a ridge halfway up Washington's Mount Rainier, I carried my skis to some patches of snow left over from the winter. A chilly mist swirled as I paused to look around me. Every now and then, the mist parted like a curtain to reveal the huge white mountain above.
I've seen the volcano a thousand times. Mount Rainier (elevation 4,392 meters or 14,410 feet) is so tall that it looms over Seattle, where I live, 112 kilometers (70 miles) to the northwest. Each time I see it, Rainier amazes me once again with its awesome beauty and enormous size.