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Cascadia Historic Earthquake Catalog, 1793-1929
Covering Washington, Oregon and Southern British Columbia

Provided by: The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
About the Cascadia Historic Earthquake Catalog       One-line catalog format

1793-1849 .... 1850s .... 1860s .... 1870s .... 1880s .... 1890s .... 1900s .... 1910s .... 1920s .... 1930s (not complete) .... Other Cascadia Catalogs

  
Individual Event Report
Event #271 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs                                           
Volcanic Activity From Holden: "On the afternoon of Thursday, December 13, smoke was seen rising from the crater by Observer Saulsbury, of the Weather Bureau, and others, from Seattle. Mr. Saulsbury saw the phenomenon through a glass repeatedly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and was positive that the substance was smoke and not vapor."
TIME LOCATION MAGNITUDE MAX. INTENSITY FELT AREA
YR MO DAY HR MIN AM/PM Time
Type
LAT(N) LON(W) DEP
(km)
MAG Mag
Type
Felt
Plc.
Felt
St.
Inten-
sity
Int.
Type
Felt
Area
Felt
Area
Int.
Felt
Area
Units
1894  12  13              Mount Rainier  WA           
HOLD2 - 1906 - - - HOLD2 - 1906 -

Underlying Source Material
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
267  Bradford, Donald C., 1935, Seismic History of the Puget Sound Basin, BSSA, V. 25, No. 2, pp. 138-153  1935   
Transcription: 1894 Mount Rainier; much has been said in the newspapers concerning an appearance of change in the summit of this mountain. The principal facts seem to indicate some sort of change, possibly due to avalanches, and the report that smoke issued from the crater seems worthy of credence. On the morning of November 21 five citizens of Seattle report that they saw puffs of smoke coming from the west side of the top of the mountain at intervals of twenty seconds from 6:20 to 8 a.m. The smoke came up in huge, balloon-shaped masses, and after hanging suspended for a short time was wafted toward the eastern side of the mountain. Before 8 o'clock the top of the mountain had lost its whiteness, and appeared dark, jagged, and rough. The same phenomena were observed from Tacoma and Portland. On the afternoon of Thursday, December 13, smoke was seen rising from the crater by Observer Saulsbury, of the Weather Bureau, and others, from Seattle. Mr. Saulsbury saw the phenomenon through a glass repeatedly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and was positive that the substance was smoke and not vapor The Seattle Post-Intelligencer sent out an exploring party in the latter part of December to reach the summit if possible and determine the character of the phenomena. This party, owing to the dangerous condition of the snow fields, could get no farther than the foot of Carbon Glacier, from where the following message was sent back by homing pigeon on December 26: "The expedition has been an entire success. It has demonstrated that, while the mountain has been smoking and steaming, the change is due principally to tremendous avalanches and not to an eruption. The new peak observed from Seattle is off Columbia Crest, and was formed by spiral winds carrying snow and whipping it into the coneshaped peak described" (San Jose Mercury). The Seattle Post-Intelligencer of January 6, 1895, contains a full report of the expedition. Without being able to reach the summit, the explorers report having seen, on December 24, jets of steam issuing from the large crater and a column of black smoke from the small crater. Of interest in this connection is the following report from Ellensburg: "The eruption of Mount Rainier has explained a mystery that has baffled all. The waterworks reservoir here suddenly became exhausted. Investigation showed a crevice running along the hill north and south, varying from one inch to one foot in width and of unknown depth. It ran directly through the reservoir, letting the water out. It has been traced several hundred feet along the hill. No shocks of earthquake have been felt here as far as known" (San Francisco Chronicle). Ellensburg is over 200 miles distant from Mount Rainier. C.D.P. (Ellensburg is less than sixty miles distant from Mount Rainier. Editor.)
 
Source ID Publication Pub Date Pub Details
1906  Holden, E.S., 1898, A Catalog of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast 1769-1897, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1087  1898   
Transcription: 1894. Mount Rainier, Washington; much has been said in the newspapers concerning an appearence of change in the summit of this mountain. The principal facts seem to indicate some sort of change, possibly due to avalanches, and the report that smoke issued from the crater seems worthy of credence. On the morning of November 21 five citizens of Seattle report that they saw puffs of smoke coming from the west side of the top of the mountain at intervals of twenty seconds from 6:20 a.m. to 8 a.m. The smoke came up in huge, ballon-shaped masses, and after hanging suspended for a short time was wafted toward the eastern side of the mountain. Before 8 o'clock the top of the mountain had lost its whiteness, and appeared dark, jagged and rough. The same phenomena were observed from Tacoma and Portland. On the afternoon of Thursday, December 13, smoke was seen rising from the crater by Observer Saulsbury, of the Weather Bureau, and others, from Seattle. Mr. Saulsbury saw the phenomenon through a glass repeatedly from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and was positive that the substance was smoke and not vapor.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer sent out an exploring party in the latter part of December to reach the summit if possible and determine the character of the phenomena. The party, owing to the dangerous condition of the snow fields, could get no farther than the foot of Carbon Glacier, from where the following message was sent back by homing pigeon on December 26: "The expedition has been an entire success. It was demonstrated that while the mountain has been smoking and steaming, the change is due principally to tremendous avalanches and not to an eruption. The new peak observed from Seattle is off Columbus crest, and was formed by spiral winds carrying snow and whipping it into the cone-shaped peak described."___San Jose Mercury.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer of January 6, 1895, contains a full report of the expedition. Without being able to reach the summit,the explorers report having seen, on December 24, jets of steam issuing from the large crater and a column of black smoke from the small crater. Of interest in this connection is the following report from Ellensburg: "The eruption of Mount Rainier has explained a mystery that has baffled all. The waterworks reservoir here suddenly became exhausted. Investigation showed a crevice running along the hill north and south, varying from 1 inch to 1 foot in width and of unknown depth. It ran directly through the reservoir, letting the water out. It has been traced several hundred feet along the hill. No shocks of earthquake have been felt here as far as known."___S.F. Chronicle. (Ellensburg is over 200 miles distant from Mount Rainier.__C.D.P.)
 


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