The Western outlook., 1915-10-16

w or more huge wrinkled
arms reaching down among thousands
OF acres Of the most gorgeous and
luxuriant wild flowers, to squirt, from
each finger tip, river Of ice water
into the valley below!
Surely a quotation from the Ara
bian Nights" Or a ghost tale to
brighten children on Halloween!
But no, however fgurative, this is
q true statement Of an actual fact.
There really exists such an ice-arm-
ored octopus in these United States.
It is a justifiable description of the
most interesting mountain in Uncle
Sans dominions, and perhaps in the
world.
Mount Rainier is in the state of
Washington, SIS miles southwest of
Tacoma 1t is one of hat celebrated
range Of volcanoes which were sup
posed to be extinct until, within the
year, Lassen peak broke forth again.
Rainier, though supporting one of the
most remarkable single-peak glacial
systems in the world, cmits steam
from certain crevices, evidence OF con-
tinued internal heat
Seen from Tacoma or Seattle, the
vast mountain appears to rise direct
Iy from sea level, SO insignificant
seem the ridges about its base. Yet
these ridges themselves are of no
mean height. They rise 5000 to 1000
feet above the valleys that cut
through them, and their crests aver
age 5000 feet in altitude. Thus at
the southwest entrance to the Mount
Rainier National park, which congress
created to protect this natural mar
vel from private encroachment, the
elevation above sea level is 1000 feet,
while Goat mountain, close by, rises
to an altitude Of 6,045 feet.
Is a Veritabe Colossus.
But so colossal are the proportions
Of the great volcano that they dwarf
even mountains of this size and give
them the appearance of mere foot
hills. In height Rainier is second in
the United States only to Mount Whit
ney.
Mount Rainier stands, in round mum
bers, 10000 feet high above it's imme
date base and covers 100 square
miles Of territory. In shape 1t is not
a simple cone tapering to a slender
pointed summit like Fujiyama, the
great volcano of Japan. 1t is rather
a broadly truncated mass resembling
an enormous tree stump with spread
Ing base and irregularly broken top.
Its life history has been varied
one. Like all volcanoes, Rainier ha
built up its cone with the material
elected by its own eruptions-witl
cinders and steam-shredded particle
and Jumps of lava and with occasional
flows of liquid lava that have solidi
fed into layers of hard basaltic rock
At one time it attained an altitude O
not less than $4,000 feet, if one ma
Judge by the steep inclination of tn
lava and cinder layers visible in it
TANKS Then followed a great expl6
sion that destroyed the top part @
the mountain and reduced its heigh
by some 1000 feet. The volcano wa
left beheaded. with a capacious no
low crater surrounded by jagge
rim.
Later on this great cavity, whic
measured nearly three miles acros
from south TO north, was filled by tw
small cinder cones. Successive feebl
eruptions added to their height unit
at last they formed together a To-
rounded dome-the eminence thu
now constitutes the mountains sun
NIT. The higher portions Of the oil
crater rim rise to elevations within
few hundred feet Of the summit AM
especially when viewed from beloy
stand out boldly as separate peal
that mask and seem to overshado
the central dome.
Hard to Establish Altitude.
The altitude of the main SUNNI
has for many years been in dout
Several figures have been announce
from time to time, no two Of them
agreement with each other; but all
these, 1t is to be observed, were o
tanned by more or less approxima
methods. In 1913 the United Stat
geological survey, in connection wi