Natural Features

Mount Rainier towers over the meadows and buildings of Sunrise. — The Sunrise Visitor Center and Day Lodge with Mount Rainier and the Emmons Glacier in the background.
NPS Photo

The protection, study and management of the park's natural resources and processes is essential for achieving the park's purpose and mission goals. The park includes outstanding geologic and hydrologic resources that represent key physical elements in the park ecosystem, including glaciers and snowfields, geomorphic features such as watersheds and landforms, soils, and paleoecologic deposits. Glaciers, snowfields, watersheds, and soils are especially sensitive to air pollution and climatic change.

Volcano - Glaciers - Aggradation - Earthquakes