CASCADES VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WEEKLY UPDATE

Belknap shield volcano

Monday, January 14, 2013

Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL

Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Activity Update: All volcanoes in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington are at normal levels of background seismicity. These include Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams in Washington State; and Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry Volcano, and Crater Lake, in Oregon.

Recent Observations: Seismic activity in the Cascade Range during the past week remains at background level. A few small earthquakes not related to volcanic activity continue to occur due west of Newberry Volcano near the site of an Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) experiment run by AltaRock Energy, Inc., but the level of seismicity there is declining. Four small earthquakes occurred this week. For more information on the EGS experiment, see http://altarockenergy.com/projects.htm. The only other earthquakes located near Cascade volcanoes this week were at Mount Rainier (6 events) and Mount St. Helens (1 event).

The U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory and the University of Washington continue to monitor the Washington and Oregon volcanoes closely and will issue additional updates and changes in alert level as warranted.