About 5,600 years ago the summit and northeast face of Mount Rainier fell away in a massive landslide accompanied by volcanic explosions. The Osceola Mudflow, a towering wall of mud and rock, thundered down the White River Valley where it deposited 600' of debris eventually reaching the Puget Sound.  Fort Nisqually, or Nisqually House, was the first permanent settlement established on Puget Sound in the vicinity of Mount Rainier, and it is especially interesting as the place from which the first approach to Mount Rainier was made by Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, the last of August, 1833.  The early settlement of the Puget Sound Region was greatly handicapped by lack of funds. The trail along the Cowlitz River was, until 1850, almost the only ingress by land, and it was greatly in need of improvement. The few American settlers who had established themselves on the Sound were anxious for neighbors.  We will never know the exact date of the next eruption at Mount Rainier. The last eruption occurred around c. 1894. Scientists contend that the volcano will continue to “erupt, grow, and collapse” until it eventually blows all the way.

Credits and Sources:

"Nature.” Mount Rainier National Park: Washington. National Park Service. Last Modified June 29, 2015.  http://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/nature/index.htm (Retrieved June 12, 2015).

“The Overland Approach of Mount Rainier.” “Mount Rainier: Its Human History Associations.” Field Division of Education. National Park Service. Last Modified October 20, 2001. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/berkeley/rensch2/rensch2c.htm (Retrieved June 12, 2015).

“Chronology of Mount Rainier.” “Mount Rainier: Its Human History Associations.” Field Division of Education. National Park Service. Last Modified October 20, 2001. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/berkeley/rensch2/rensch2h.htm (Retrieved June 12, 2015).

“Future Eruptions at Mount Rainier.” United States Geological Survey: Mount Rainier. Last Modified November 10, 2014. National Park Service. http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount_rainier/geo_hist_future_eruptions.html(Retrieved June 12, 2015).