Volcano Hazards in the Mount Adams Region, Washington

Introduction

Mount Adams, one of the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range, dominates the Mount Adams volcanic field in Skamania, Yakima, Klickitat, and Lewis counties and the Yakima Indian Reservation of south-central Washington. The nearby Indian Heaven and Simcoe Mountains volcanic fields lie west and southeast, respectively, of the 1250-km² (500-mi²) Adams field (plate1). Even though Mount Adams has been less active during the past few thousand years than neighboring Mounts St. Helens, Rainier, and Hood, it assuredly will erupt again. Future eruptions will probably occur more frequently from vents on the summit and upper flanks of Mount Adams than from vents scattered in the volcanic fields beyond. Large landslides and lahars that need not be related to eruptions probably pose the most destructive, far-reaching hazard of Mount Adams. The purpose of these maps and booklet is to (1) describe the kinds of hazardous geologic events that will likely occur in the future at Mount Adams and at other volcanoes in the region, (2) outline the areas that will most likely be affected by these events, and (3) recommend actions that individuals and government agencies can take to protect lives and property.

Link to the Data

• Digital Data Set of Volcano Hazards for Active Cascade Volcanoes, Washington (Schilling, 1996),

Links to the Other Hazard Assessments

• Mount Baker (Gardner and others, 1995)
• Glacier Peak (Waitt and others, 1995)
• Mount Rainier (Hoblitt and others, 1995)
• Mount St. Helens (Wolfe and Pierson, 1995)

First posted December 22, 2010
Revised September 18, 2013