The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-08-22
More Than Twenty Giant Ola.
ciers Reach Frosty Arms
Downward.

A frozen octopus of enormous bulk
whose glittering armOred body rises
three rnilesFinto the sky, with twenty
or more huge wrinkled arms reach
ing down among thousands of acres
OF the most gorgeous and luxurfant
finger tip, river OF Ice water into
TIE valley below!
Surely quotation from the Arab
ian Nights! Or a ghost tale to fright
en- children on Halloweeni
But no, however fgurative, this is
la true statement of an actual fact
There really exists such an ice ar
Imored octopus IN these United States.
lit is justif1able description OF the
most interesting mountain in Uncle
SANS dominions. and perhaps in the
world.
Mount Rainier is In the state Of
Washington, f1fty-six miles southwest
|of Tacoma 1t is one OF that ceie-
Ibrated range of VOLCANOES which were
supposed to be extinct until. WITHIN
the year, Lassen peak broke form
again. Rainer, though supporting one
lof the most remarkable single peak
glacial systems in the world. emits
steam from certain crevlces. evidence
of continued internal heat.
Seen from Tacoma or Seattle. the
| from sea level, So Insignificant seem
| the ridges about its base Yet these
ridges Themselves are OF no mean
lheigflt. They rise 5000 to 1900 feel
above the valleys that cut through
them and their crests average 6.0et
feet multitude. Thus at the south
west entrance to the Mount Rainel
national park. which Congress created
to protect this natRsal marvel from
private encroachment the eleyatior
above sea level is 2.Go0 feet. while
Goat mountain. close by, rises to al
altitude of 8,045 feet.
| A VeritabIe Colossus.
! But So colossal are the proportions
| of the great volcano that they dwar
even mountains of this size and g-si
| them the appearance OF mere foot
thills. In height Rainer is second II
the United States only TO Mount Whit
ney.
numbers. 10000 feet high above tt
imn1 ediate base and covers 100 SQUARE
simple cone tapentng to slender
pointed summit like Fujiyama. thu
great volcano of Japan. It IS rathe
broadly truncated mass resembling
an enormous tree stump with spread
ing base and irregularly broken tops
It's life history has been a varied
one Like all volcanoes, Rainer ha'
built up its cone with the material
elected by its own erupt sons-witi
cinders and steam shredded particle.
and humps OTTAWA and with occasion
! al flows of liquid lava that have solid
flied into layers OF hard basaltic rock
At one time II attained an altitude o
not less than lie. 900 feet Il one ma
| Judge by tae steep inclination of tn,
lava and cinder layers visible in It
TANKS. Then followed great explos
| ion that destroyed the top part of tn
mountain and reduced its height b.
some 1900 feet The volcano was lief
,beheaded. with a capacious hollow
crater surrounded by a Jagged RIM
Later on this great cavity. whicl
mea sured nearly three miles acros
| from south to north. was filed by tw,
small cinder cones. Successive feebl
eruptions added to their height unit
al last they formed together a Low
] rounded dome-tfe emiEence tina
now constitutes the mountains sum
init The higher portions of the oil
crater rim rise to selevat;ons withb
= few hundred feet OF the summit and
especially when viewed from below
stand out boldly as separate peak
that mask and seem to overshados
the central dome.
4 Ward to Establish Altitude.
The altitude OF the main summi
!severai figures have been announces
from time to time no two or them =