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Below is a summary of eruption dates and Volcanic Explosivity Indices (VEI).

The following references are the sources used for data regarding this volcano. References are linked directly to our volcano data file. Discussion of another volcano or eruption (sometimes far from the one that is the subject of the manuscript) may produce a citation that is not at all apparent from the title. Additional discussion of data sources can be found under Volcano Data Criteria.

Coombs H A, Howard A D, 1960. United States of America. {Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World and Solfatara Fields}, Rome: IAVCEI, 9: 1-68

Crandell D R, 1969. The geologic story of Mount Rainier. {U S Geol Surv Bull}, 1292: 1-43

Crandell D R, 1971. Postglacial lahars from Mount Rainier volcano, Washington. {U S Geol Surv Prof Pap}, 677: 1-75

Fiske R S, Hopson C A, Waters A C, 1963. Geology of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. {U S Geol Surv Prof Pap}, 444: 1-93

Frank D, 1995. Surficial extent and conceptual model of hydrothermal system at Mount Rainier, Washington. {J Volc Geotherm Res}, 65: 51-80

Gardner J E, Carey S, Sigurdsson H, 1998. Plinian eruptions at Glacier Peak and Newberry volcanoes, United States: implications for volcanic hazards in the Cascade Range. {Geol Soc Amer Bull}, 110: 173-187

Hildreth W E, 2007. Quaternary magmatism in the Cascades--geologic perpectives. {U S Geol Surv Prof Pap}, 1744: 1-125

John D A, Sisson T W, Breit G N, Rye R O, Vallance J W, 2008. Characteristics, extent and origin of hydrothermal alteration at Mount Rainier Volcano, Cascades Arc, USA: implications for debris-flow hazards and mineral deposits. {J Volc Geotherm Res}, 175: 289-314

Moxham R M, Crandell D R, Marlatt W E, 1965. Thermal features at Mount Rainier, Washington, as revealed by infrared surveys. {U S Geol Surv Prof Pap}, 525-D: 93-100

Mullineaux D R, 1974. Pumice and other pyroclastic deposits in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. {U S Geol Surv Bull}, 1326: 1-83

Pringle P T, 2008. Roadside geology of Mount Rainier National Park and vicinity. {Wash State Dept Nat Resour}, Inf Circ 107, 200 p

Reid M E, Sisson T W, Brien D L, 2001. Volcano collapse produced by hydrothermal alteration and edifice shape, Mount Rainier, Washington. {Geology}, 29: 779-782

Sherrod D R, Smith J G, 1990. Quaternary extrusion rates of the Cascade Range, northwestern United States and southern British Columbia. {J Geophys Res}, 95: 19,465-19,474

Sisson T W, Vallance J W, 2009. Frequent eruptions of Mount Rainier over the last ~2,600 years. {Bull Volc}, 71: 595-618

Stockstill K R, Vogel T A, Sisson T W, 2003. Origin and emplacement of the andesite of Burroughs Mountain, a zoned, large-volume lava flow at Mount Rainier, Washington, USA. {J Volc Geotherm Res}, 119: 275-296

Vallance J W, Scott W E, 1997. The Osceola mudflow from Mount Rainier: sedimentology and hazard implications of a huge clay-rich debris flow. {Geol Soc Amer Bull}, 109: 143-163

Venezky D Y, Rutherford M J, 1997. Preeruption conditions and timing of dacite-andesite magma mixing in the 2.2 ka eruption at Mount Rainier. {J Geophys Res}, 102: 20,069-20,086

Wood C A, Kienle J (eds), 1990. {Volcanoes of North America}. Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ Press, 354 p

Zimbelman D R, Rye R O, Landis G P, 2000. Fumaroles in ice caves on the summit of Mount Rainier--preliminary stable isotope, gas, and geochemical studies. {J Volc Geotherm Res}, 97: 457-473

Mount Rainier, at 4392 m the highest peak in the Cascade Range, forms a dramatic backdrop to the Puget Sound region. Large Holocene mudflows from collapse of this massive, heavily glaciated andesitic volcano have reached as far as the Puget Sound lowlands. The present summit was constructed within a large crater breached to the northeast formed by collapse of the volcano during a major explosive eruption about 5600 years that produced the widespread Osceola Mudflow. Rainier has produced eruptions throughout the Holocene, including about a dozen during the past 2600 years; the largest of these occurred about 2200 years ago. The present-day summit cone is capped by two overlapping craters. Extensive hydrothermal alteration of the upper portion of the volcano has contributed to its structural weakness; an active thermal system has caused periodic melting on flank glaciers and produced an elaborate system of steam caves in the summit icecap. Reported 19th-century eruptions have not left identifiable deposits, but a phreatic eruption may have taken place as recently as 1894.