Typewritten answers to the following questions should be turned in by the due
date - October 10.
- Imagine that in your work as an insurance company executive you have been
reassigned to head up the Tacoma, Washington office of your company, Denyallclaims
Insurance Co. Although Tacoma is located about 50 miles from the volcanic
mountain, Mount Rainier, other executives in Denyallclaims have reassured you that the
volcano has not erupted for a long time, and there is no risk associated with the volcano
if you choose to live in Tacoma or its beautiful suburbs. In fact,
the current manager of the office, who you will be replacing, has
offered to sell you his home in the suburb of Sumner, Washington, for
what seems to be a good price. You decide to check things out for yourself, and
log on to the internet to search for volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier,
Washington. The following are questions you want answered, and which you should
answer for this assignment.
- When was the last time Mt. Rainier had an eruption? (1 point)
- Are there any types of volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier that could affect
you in the future if you were living in the area of Tacoma or its
suburbs? If so, what types of
hazards have affected the Tacoma area in the past? (1 point)
- Considering that the summit area of Mt. Rainier is covered to a large extent by glacial
ice, would residents of the Tacoma area be threatened in any way by a small eruption from the
volcano that only sent a few lava flows down the flanks, none reaching more than 1 km from
the summit? If so, why, and if not, why not? (2 points)
- Among the things you should be able find on searching web is a
hazards map for the area around Mount Rainier. This map is in PDF
format, so make sure you have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on
your computer. The link is http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Rainier/Publications/FS065-97/FS065-97_map.pdf
(You might want to print this map if you cannot see the whole map at
the same time on your computer screen. If you don't have a color
printer, keep the color image on your monitor so you can interpret the
various color codes on the printed black and white version).
What hazards exist in the Sumner, Washington where the Denyallclaims
manager has offered to sell you his house? How often doe events
represented by this hazard occur? Would you still consider
buying the house (if so, why and if not why not)? (2 points)
- Use the internet to answer the following questions:
- What possible volcanic event could occur in
the Canary Islands (off the northwest coast of Africa) that could
have a disastrous effect on the east coast of the United
States? (Try the key words - Canary - Islands -
disaster) Describe the possible event and the possible effects
it would have on the United States. (2 points)
- How much warning would U.S. east coast cities have to prepare for the
event if it occurred? (1 point)
|