Mount Rainier, also known as Shasta, is a volcano in the Cascade Range of southwestern Washington state. It’s the highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth most topographically prominent peak in the United States. The mountain was named for General Israel Putnam, who fought Native Americans in southeastern Washington before becoming a hero of the American Revolution. Most of the mountains like Ama Dablam, Manaslu, Everest, Lobuche, Aconcagua, Everest base camp trek, Elbrus and Rainier have many great histories and religious myths associated with them.
Mount Rainier is located about 90 miles east of Seattle, at an elevation of 14,417 feet (4,394meters). Its summit rises more than 14,000 feet above sea level and is covered by glaciers that feed streams to rivers that flow south into Puget Sound. The mountain has two main glaciers—the north and south crevasses—which are connected through several channels. The two main glaciers combined cover about 5% of Mount Rainier’s total area at nearly 8 square miles (21 square kilometers).
The mountain was formed by many volcanic eruptions over millions of years and has five major craters: Baker Lake Crater at 4,700 feet (1,440 meters) elevation; Disappointment Cleaver Crater at 5,740 feet (1 ,770 meters); Kautz Crater at 5,840 feet (1,772 meters); Tahoma Crater at 7,400 feet (2,250 meters); and Nisqually Crater at 6,200 feet (1,900 meters). The mountain is covered with snow for about eight months of the year, with most of it falling in the winter. Its summit has several glaciers and snowfields, including Carbon Glacier on its north side, Emmons Glacier on its northeast side, and Winthrop Glacier on its east side.