雷尼尔山上空的银河星系，美国华盛顿州 Moonlight and the Milky Way over Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (© Brad Goldpaint/Cavan)

雷尼尔山上空的银河星系，美国华盛顿州 Moonlight and the Milky Way over Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (© Brad Goldpaint/Cavan)

123岁生日快乐！ Happy 123rd birthday

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier is the crown jewel of its namesake national park, designated March 2, 1899, by President William McKinley. It was just the fifth national park in the United States. Beyond the mountain, the 369-square-mile park also includes valleys, waterfalls, old-growth forests, and pristine alpine meadows famous for summer wildflowers.

Rainier is considered the most glaciated peak in the contiguous US. Native Americans named it Tahoma, which translates to mother of waters. Indeed, the mountain spawns five major rivers, and to this day, its snowmelt provides much of the water for the region.

Although beautiful, Rainier is also one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Scientists consider an eruption in the near future to be highly probable. In addition to spewing ash and triggering landslides, a major eruption would likely trigger massive mudflows, called lahars, that would send a tsunami of mud, boulders, and debris toward the cities of Tacoma and Seattle, only 100 miles away. For now, we'll just admire the majesty of this sleeping giant and be thankful that the national park protects so much pristine northwest wilderness.

雷尼尔山国家公园

雷尼尔山是威廉·麦金利总统于1899年3月2日指定的同名国家公园的皇冠明珠。它只是美国的第五个国家公园。在山的另一边，369平方英里的公园还包括山谷、瀑布、古老的森林和以夏季野花闻名的原始高山草甸。

雷尼尔峰被认为是美国周边冰川最为严重的山峰。美洲原住民将其命名为Tahoma，意为“水之母”。事实上，这座山孕育了五条主要河流，直到今天，它的融雪为该地区提供了大量的水。

雷尼尔火山虽然美丽，但也是世界上最危险的火山之一。科学家认为在不久的将来爆发是极有可能的。除了喷发火山灰和引发山体滑坡外，一次大的火山喷发可能会引发大规模的泥流，称为lahars，这将向仅100英里外的塔科马和西雅图两座城市带来一场由泥浆、巨石和碎片组成的海啸。现在，我们只想欣赏这位沉睡巨人的威严，感谢国家公园保护了如此多原始的西北荒野。