Please remember us in the PNW when the 9.5 Richter Mega-quake hits.

[chknltl]

143. it is something this barstool science 'expert' thinks about

One could check the geologic record of this area if one knew which books and reports to look in to see if even one such catastrophic event set off another. It could be argued that the epic landslide on Mt. St.Hellens set off the eruption but we all know that the pressures being built up under that mountain is what set off that landslide and the eruption was the release of those pressures no longer constrained by the weight of the newly vacated mass.

That is what has me wondering. Do we know what kind of pressures, (if any) are being restrained by the mass of mountain material under our 'dormant' volcanoes?

Like the majority of bar stool science experts I can only draw on what I may have seen on the Discovery Channel. I DO know that material from Rainier has catastrophically flowed down through the Puyallup Valley out into Commencement Bay. I DO know that plate tectonics keeps a steady supply of magma doing whatever it is magna does under our Cascades and I do know that Rainier is slowly rotting out from the erosion of acidic gases venting there from that magma. I do know that it is under a nonstop external erosion caused by water and ice and wind. This is what has me wondering how Mt. Rainier would act if it took a hit from a massive region wide earthquake. It is quite beautiful to look at from where I live but ..... well I just don't know.