Posted on 10/07/2006 8:12:43 PM PDT by mdittmar
I saw that quake and the 2 aftershocks (micro's) last night on the USGS site.
Scientists are saying it was connected to volcanic activity however no need to worry until the swarms of quakes come for weeks on end.
Normally quakes hit the west side of Raineer so this is unusual location wise.
Let's watch this one "Bump"
Aftershocks rumble at Mount Rainier
By SUSAN PHINNEY
P-I REPORTER
The effects of this weekend's magnitude 4.5 earthquake at Mount Rainier may simmer for several more days as low-level aftershocks continue, scientists said Sunday.
The quake caused minor rockslides in some areas, but all roads were open, with visitors cautioned to watch for falling rocks.
More of a curiosity than a threat, the quake occurred just before 8 p.m. Saturday.
It is uncommon to have a quake centered on the east side of the mountain -- in this case, about two miles beneath Cowlitz Chimney in Lewis County, said Tom Yelin, a geophysicist at the University of Washington seismology lab.
"There haven't been many of those in the last 30 to 40 years," Yelin said. The last one was a magnitude 4.7 quake in 1974.
According to Seattle P-I files, that quake happened in the same area and was "felt over a wide area of Western Washington." The owner of the Packwood Cafe reported his building "shook wildly" with the initial quake.
Saturday's quake apparently did not generate any damage or injuries, and there was no indication that the seismic activity is a prelude to an eruption.
In the four hours following the quake, scientists documented 30 aftershocks. The two largest were about magnitude 2.5.
"Aftershocks will probably continue at a reduced rate over the next several days," Yelin said on Sunday.
A dispatcher for the Lewis County Sheriff's Office said they had a call at 7:53 p.m. Saturday from a citizen in Packwood who thought there had been an explosion. It was the only quake-related call dispatchers received.
P-I reporter Susan Phinney can be reached at 206-448-8397 or susanphinney@seattlepi.com.
Good summary. I just saw much the same reports on KING5.
The local eggheads did say that it had all the appearances of being tectonic, not volcanic. And that they were busy putting together a few more stations on the mountain.
There has been a mini-cluster of micro quakes in the Puget sound area lately, something like 60 of them in the last few weeks. King5 had said they might be related to the deep underground quake cycle, that runs ever 14 months or so and is due to start around the beginning of November.
BTW, there is a new sign near where I live, it's the "Volcano Evacuation Route" sign.
The arrow on it points down the hill towards Puyallup!
If/when that puppy goes, I don't think I'll be in any great rush to go to Puyallup!!
LOL! Yeah No Kidding!
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded by the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at 8:30 a.m., 20 miles south of Greenwater at a depth of three miles. The quake occurred over an hour after a 2.6 magnitude earthquake in the same location and at a depth of 4 miles.
There were no reports of people feeling the earthquakes. No damage was reported. The small "micro" quakes come one week after a larger, magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck the same area, seven miles east of Mount Rainier's summit.
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