The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-08-19
MT. RAINIER AN ICY OCTOPUS.
More Than Twenty Giant Glaciers
Reach Frosty Arms Downward.


" or more huge wrinkled arms
reaching down among thousands OF
acres of the most gorgeous and lux
uriant wild flowers. to squirt, from
each finger tip, river of water into
the valley below.
Surely a quotation from the Arab
ian Nights. Or ghost tale to
frighten children on Halloween.
But no. however figurative. this is
a true statement of an actual fact.
There really exists such an ice-arm-
ored octopus in these United States.
1t is a justifable 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. 1t 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 in the world. emits
steam from certain crevices, evidence
of continued 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 are of no
mean height. They rise 5000 to A.
600 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.
A. Veritable Colossus.
But so colossal are the proper
tions of the great volcano that they
dwarf even mountains this size and
give them the appearance of mere
foothills. In height Rainier is second
in the United States only to Mount
Whitney.
Mount Rainier stands, in round
numbers, 10000 feet high above its
immediate base and covers 100
square miles of territory. In shape
it is not a simple cone tapering to a
slender, pointed summit like Fujiya-
ma, the great volcano Of Japan. 1t
is rather a broadly truncated mass
resembling an enormous tree stump
with spreading base and 'irregularly
broken top. ~!
It's life history has been 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 OCCASION
al flows of liquid lava that have solid
flied into layers OF hard basaltic
rock. At one time it attained an al
titude of not less than 10000 feet,
if one may judge by the steep in
clination of the lava and cinder lay
ers visible in it's flanks. Then fol-
lowed a great explosion that destroy
ed the top part of the mountain ana
reduced its height by some 1000
feet. The volcano was left behead-
ed, with a capacious hollow crater
surrounded by jagged rim.
Later On this great cavity, which
measured nearly three miles across
from south to north, was filled by
two small cinder cones. Successive
feeble eruptions added to their
height until at last they formed to-
gether a low rounded dome-the
eminence that now constitutes the
mountains S summit. The higher por-
tions of the old crater rim rise to
elevations within a 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 other; but
all of these, it is to be observed,
were obtained by more or less ap-
proximate methods. In 1913 the
United States Geological survey, in
connection with its topographic sur
veys of the Mount Rainier National
park. made a new series of measure
ments by triangulation methods at
close range. These give the peak an
elevation of, 14,40S feet. This last
6pura II shou15 he added is not