River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-09-16


miles into the sky, with TWEEN
ty 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
frighten children on Halloween!
But no, however figurative, 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 iustifable description Of the
most interesting mountain in Uncle
Sans dominions, and perhaps in the
world
Mount Rainier is in the state Of
Washington, Sc miles southwest of
Tacoma. It is one of that 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 iii the world, emits steam
from certain crevices, evidence of con-
tinued internal heat.
Seen from Tacoma or Seattle, the
vast mountain appears to rise direct
ly from sea level, so insignificant
seem the ridges about its base. Yet
these ridges themselves arc 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 VeritabIe 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 num-
bers, 10000 feet high above it's imme-
date base and covers 100 square
miles Of territory. In shape it is not
q 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 a varied
one Like all volcanoes, Rainier has
built up its cone with the materials
elected by its own eruptions-with
cinders and steam-shredded particles
and Jumps of lava and with occasional
flows of liquid lava that have solidi-
fled into layers of hard baSaltic rock.
At one time it attained an altitude of
not less than 10000 feet, if one may
Judge by the steep inclination of the
lava and cinder layers visible in its
TANKS. Then followed a great explo-
sion that destroyed the top part of
the mountain and reduced its height
by some 1000 feet. The volcano was
left beheaded. with capacious hol-
low crater surrounded by a jagged
rim
Later on this great cavity, which
measured nearly three miles across
from south 20 north, was filled by two
small cinder cones. Successive feeble
eruptions added to their height until
at last they formed together a low
rounded dome-the eminence that
now constitutes the mountains sum.
nit. The higher portions of the old
crater rim rise to elevations within @
few hundred feet of the summit and
especially when viewed from below
stand out boldly as separate peaks
that mask and seem to overshadow
the central dome.
Hard to Establish Altitude.
The altitude of the main summit
has for many years been in doubt
Several figures have been announced
from time to time, no two of them in
agreement with each ether; but all OF
these, it is to be observed, were OBJ
tanned by more or less approximate
methods. In 1913 the United State.
geological survey. in connection with