Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano 45 miles southeast of Tacoma and 60 miles south-southeast of Seattle. Its last eruption was "a light dusting of ash" in 1894, the USGS said in a report. Large eruptions haven't occurred for more than 1,000 years.

A lava-spewing fissure has opened up along Iceland's Sundhnúkur crater row as the Reykjanes peninsula experiences another volcanic eruption.

Mount Rainier, the active volcano towering above southwestern Washington state, started rumbling — very lightly — on Tuesday. A swarm of small earthquakes was detected under the mountain triggering focused monitoring from officials. But researchers have determined there is no current threat of an eruption.

Hundreds of small earthquakes were detected at Mount Rainier on Tuesday in the largest such swarm at the active stratovolcano since 2009, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The swarm began shortly before 1:30 a.m. near Mount Rainier’s summit, with the largest earthquake being a 1.7 magnitude, the USGS said on X just after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

A swarm of small earthquakes was detected beneath Mount Rainier on July 8, 2025, but officials say there is no current threat of an eruption.

Earthquakes are common at Mount Rainier, happening about nine times every month, the agency said. Swarms of earthquakes happen once or twice per year. Larger swarms are more rare – the last major event was in 2009, when a “vigorous swarm” of more than 1,000 earthquakes, reaching up to magnitude 2.3, shook the mountain for three days.

A series of earthquakes near Japan’s remote Tokara Islands over the past two weeks, along with a major eruption from a long-dormant volcano earlier this week, has added to growing speculation about a disaster striking Japan on July 5.