The mountain’s offer of protection is false. Mount Rainier is not just a mountain. It is a sleeping volcano. Steam and heat often rise from the very top of the huge mountain, causing snow to melt. Mount Rainier is 4,392 meters tall. Its top is covered in snow all year. More than 25 thick glaciers cover a lot of the mountain. In some areas, these rivers of ice are more than one hundred meters thick.
Mount Rainier always has been a popular place to visit. Many people go to enjoy the beautiful forests that surround the mountain. Others go to climb the mountain.
Hazard Stevens and Philemon VanTrump became the first people known to reach the top of Mount Rainier. They reached the top in August of 1870 after a 10-hour climb through the snow.
In 1890, a young schoolteacher became the first woman to reach the top. Her name was Fay Fuller. For many years after her successful climb, she wrote newspaper stories asking the federal government to make Mount Rainier a national park. Many people who visited the mountain also wanted it to be protected forever by the government.
On March second, 1899, President William McKinley signed a law that made Mount Rainier a national park. It was the fifth national park established in the United States.
Today, National Park Service experts say about 10,000 people attempt to climb the huge mountain each year. But only about half of the climbers reach the top.
The mountain can be extremely difficult to climb. Severe weather is possible at almost any time. Snow and ice cover parts of the mountain all year. Many people have died trying to climb Mount Rainier. Mountain climbing experts often use it as a difficult test for people who want to climb some of the world’s highest mountains.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25