Scientists deploy monitors on unusually active WA volcano

MOUNT ADAMS, Wash. – Scientists have issued a statement following a spike in seismic activity at Mount Adams in central Washington. 

The volcano usually sees an earthquake every two or three years. There were six in September 2024 alone, the most in a single month since monitoring began in 1982.

There is only one nearby permanent seismic monitor. In response to the increased activity, scientists have decided to install temporary stations in the Mount Adams area.

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 21: A view of Mount Adams is photographed from an Alaska Airlines flight flying at 30,000 feet on September 21, 2021, near Seattle, Washington. Mount Adams is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, 98 miles south

The new stations will allow researchers an opportunity to better assess the significance of recent seismic activity. 

Right now, there is no indication that the level of earthquake activity is cause for concern, according to the United States Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory.

Findings from the rapid deployment instruments will determine if USGS and Pacific Northwest Seismic Network need to take any additional actions. 

Mount Adams: Where is it and is it dangerous?

Mount Adams is located in south-central Washington, about 50 miles southwest of Yakima and 30 miles north of the White Salmon-Hood River area. It is ranked as a “high-threat” volcano in the United States.

Washington, Mount Adams in the Cascade range is the second highest mountain in the state of Washington, It is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

A volcano’s threat level is based on what is known about how recently, and what kind of, eruptions have happened. This information is weighed against potential impacts to nearby populations, plane activity, and general infrastructure impacts if there were to be a volcanic event, according to USGS.

“The greatest threat to people living near Mount Adams are lahars (muddy flows of rock, ash, and ice that surge downstream like rapidly flowing concrete) that could occur during eruptive or noneruptive periods. About 6,000 and 300 years ago, lahars generated by landslides of weakened rock high on the southwest side of the volcano flowed as far as the Trout Lake area and beyond,” said representatives with USGS-CVO. 

Smaller landslide-triggered avalanches on the southwest side of the summit block more recently, in 1921 and 1987. Scientists say these only traveled a few miles.

Historically, activity at the volcano is rarely explosive. The last eruption at the site was between 3,800 and 7,600 years ago. 

Mount Adams holds the distinction as the largest active volcano by size and volume in Washington state.

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