In your work as an insurance company executive you have been reassigned to head up the Tacoma, Washington office of Denyallclaims Insurance Co. Although Tacoma is located about 50 miles from the volcanic mountain, Mount Rainier, other executives in Denyallclaims have assured you that the volcano has not erupted for a long time and there is no risk associated with the volcano. In fact, the current manager of the office, has offered to sell you his home in the suburb of Orting, Washington, for what seems to be a good price. You decide to check things out for yourself, and go to the internet to search for hazards associated with Mt. Rainier, Washington.
The following are questions you (and your professor) want answered.
a. When was the last time Mt. Rainier had an eruption?
b. Are there any types of volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier that could affect you in the future if you were living in the area of Tacoma or its suburbs? If so, what types of hazards have affected the Tacoma area in the past?
c. Considering that the summit area of Mt. Rainier is covered to a large extent by glacial ice, would residents of the Tacoma area be threatened in any way by a small eruption from the volcano that only sent a few lava flows down the flanks, none reaching more than 1 km from the summit? If so, why, and if not, why not?
