Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1915-11-19
OUR ICY OCTOPUS.
tiount Rainier and Its Majestic
Frozen Rivers.
STRIPPED BY GIANT GLACIERS.
Their Huge. Wrinkled, Frosty Arms
Reach Down and Out Among tho
Most Luxuriant Masses Of Wild Flow
ers to Be Found In This Country.

.ers to Be Found In This Country.
4 frozen octopus Of enormous bulk
whose gliticring armorcd body rises
three miles nto the sky, with twenty
or more huge wrinllled arms reaching
down among thousands OF acres Of the
most gorgeous and luyuriant wild flow
ers TO squirt from each flnSertip nv
er OF ice wafer into the valley below!
Surely Quotation from the "Arabl-
an Nights or Il ghost tale 10 !risl'Ien
children OH halloween!
But 10. However figurativc. this is
a true statement Of IN actual lact.
There really exists such an ice armor-
ed octopus ii, these United States. il
IS n jllstiiiane description Of the most
interesting mountain i'll Uncle Sam
Iominiolls aud perhaps in the world.
/ Mount Rainier is in the state oil
Washington. ffty-siN miles southwest
of Tacoma. 1t is one of that celeDrat-
cd range Of volcanoes which were sup
posed 10 be extinct until Lasscn peak
I
broke forth again. Rainier, though
sunport;ng one Of the most remarkable
, single peak glacial systems Ill the
! world, en!itS steam from certain crew
ices, Evidence Of present internal heat.
/ In height Rainier is second in the
T'ni,cl States only to Mount Whitney.
The altitude Of tie main summit las
For many years been in doubt. Several
Figures have Eeen announced from time
lIo time, no Two Of them iii agreement
! will, each otter. but all Of these, 1t Il
20 be observed. were obtained by more
or less approximate methods. In 1915
the United States geological survey. In
connection with its topographic sur
vpys OF the Mount Rainier National
park, made q new series Of measure
mrnts hy trianguation methods At
close range These give the peak an
elevation Of l,I0S feet This last fig
urc is not likely to be III error by more
shan 4 foot or two and may with some
confidence BE- regarded rs final. Great
er cxactness Of determination is scarce
Il practicable i'll the case Of MOUNT
Rainier. rs is highest summit con
sists actually of Il mound OF snow, the
height Of VIII Ii naturally varies some
what with ill.,, seasons and from year
TO year.
This crowE'ng snow mound, which
was once supposed TO he tie highest
point in the lnitcd States, Still bears
fhc proud nai.c Of Columbia crest. IT
is essentially, huge snowdriit or
snow dune Escaped NJ by the furious
westerly wins.
Six great acicrs originate at The
very summit They are the Nisqually.
the lncraiar,. HE EnmonS, the WIZ
tlrop, tic Ia iona ana Tie kalliz gla-
cicrs. Itt / any Of great size ana
s!atclincsS ar born Of the SHOWS ID
; rock pockets i cirlucs--icc scuptured
bowls Of .rv,t dimensions and ever
increasing G"Dth-Grom which the!
merge into tirr gIiStcning armor OF the
hinge volcano The most distinguished
OF these arc The CuwiitZ the Paradise.
Tie Frying I:.n. the Carbon. The ErS-
sen. '"c ''"' u '''. 49,. -,
tn!'''t"P anu '"I 80. nnant ,,a
MORE ia" .'''S ,:,".-,r ;oo ,.;,.,
s'i'''''' '.'''''' '."'.''., ~ ..;,,rs ~
1'a''l vi '''c '''' .:,,;>.,.
water to'l ~; - LIZ, ,,, t1n,ilino.
inc "'''' - a,.;t,I,,a',,, ,,..
'"" II 49,, ',,r,,h1,. ~, -, +; don
CITIES 'is''~ "O ,.,., W e.. Ia.
r"'"N " '''''''
ca"2S. =,
.Ehcl s'ae"''' "'sn.' " - ', 80
| 'he o'l~i't '''.''''''. - ;" '''na,,,,.o
| .'''i''"' l 60, -. -, I.,nn. 4,
S'!"" y '' =. ,,..;.,. .,.,,, ,roi.,,t
''''''''''' .,"', ,,,,,a,,, ,,orn ,o,Lin..
- ,',!".' ,..,,,-,r.o ,,,n COZ. ,o.r.ir.,
! 49," n;,ol IN l,vars-s,iolt.
"' oa,,, and ,oo.oir GRAMMAR
:! lm,a o,a n ,h, Sv;ss Aims
r C.," rnc c,Irrnnt swcrps Along
- ,n.,nn:,. r.,1nr ,rn pr,,,;Irr and tie
,.,.C,n'. nr,tiarS into hard. dense. bite
,'.a