Blog Post Image: New View of Rainier’s Volcanic Plumbing

Geophysicist Phil Wannamaker, of the Energy & Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah, stands in the foothills above the campus. Wannamaker conceived and co-authored a new study providing the clearest look yet at the underground system that generates molten rock where two of Earth’s tectonic plates collide, then sends it upward to the magma chamber beneath 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, the tallest volcano in the Cascade Range and in Washington state. Photo Credit: Nick Steffens, University of Utah Marketing and Communications