New Volcano Exhibit at Sunrise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Mount Rainier from Sunrise Visitor Center

A new interpretive exhibit about Mount Rainier's volcanic history and it's future potential hazards opened to the public in early August at the Sunrise Visitor Center in Mount Rainier National Park. The exhibit is a collaborative effort between scientists of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory and staff at Mount Rainier National Park to inform visitors of the Park about the natural history of Mount Rainier and what the future might hold for people living near the volcano.

The exhibit illustrates part of the volcano's recent eruptive history that can be "seen" in the rocks and glaciers of Mount Rainier from the Sunrise Visitor Center area through beautiful photographs, maps, and colorful computer-generated illustrations.

The northeast side of the volcano where the visitor center is located has undergone a remarkable sequence of destruction and cone-building events in the past several thousand years. A massive landslide about 5,600 years ago completely removed the summit of the volcano, forming an enormous lahar (volcanic mudflow) that swept all the way to Puget Sound and left behind a deep horse-shoe shaped crater like the one at Mount St. Helens. Subsequent eruptions of lava filled the crater with lava flows, rebuilt a summit cone that now looms above the Sunrise Visitor Center, and triggered many lahars down the White River. Similar activity today would have enormous effects on communities downstream from the volcano.

Location of Sunrise Visitor Center

The visitor center is located about 55 miles southeast of Enumclaw, Washington. From Enumclaw, drive about 38 miles east on Highway #410. Turn right at the White River Entrance and drive 17 miles to the Sunrise Visitor Facilities at the end of the road. The visitor center is located at 6,400 feet elevation and provides an excellent view of the east flank of Mount Rainier. The center hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

For further information:

Contact the Sunrise Visitor Center at (360) 663-2425.

Field Trip of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii for the Second International Conference on Geoscience Education

Kilauea Caldera, Hawaii

More than 200 educators from around the world were treated to an all-day field trip around Kilauea's caldera to learn how USGS scientists monitor Hawaii's active volcanoes to assess hazards and learn about Kilauea's complex underground magma system. At various sites both on the rim and in the caldera, the educators also learned about lava tubes, rift zones, and the adaptation of flora and fauna to rapidly changing volcano and environmental conditions. Presentations were provided by scientists and volunteers of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and staff of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, University of South Carolina, and University of Hawaii, Hilo.

The field trip was part of the Second International Conference on Geoscience Education held in Hilo, Hawaii, July 28 - August 1, 1997. The theme of the conference, "Learning about the Earth as a System," regards the Earth as a system within the Solar System and the sub-systems of Earth -- the solid Earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere -- as separate but interacting systems. Presentations at the conference emphasized the importance of reexamining the teaching and learning of traditional Earth Science in the context of the many environmental issues facing the planet and the advent of remarkable technology that can assist in data management and science instruction.

URL of this page: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/Highlights/HawaiiMap/HawaiiMap.html