Remote Webcam Now Operational On Mount Rainier (Expecting What?)

Sun Bear, Chippewa Medicine Man (1929-1992):

A volcano that will devastate the Seattle area is foretold is an ancient prophecy from Washington State’s Puyallup tribe, which says, “The time will come when Little Sister will speak, and Grandfather will answer. And the land will be swept clean to the ocean.” Sun Bear explained that Donald Matheson, a leader of the Puyallup tribe, moved his people to Idaho in 1979 because he believed it was time for this prophecy to be fulfilled. In March 1980, the mountain that we call little sister began to whisper. May 18th of 1980, the Little Sister spoke with a cubic mile of mountain that was spread over the northwest area, and many other parts of the world… “The Little Sister is called Mount St. Helens. Soon, the Grandfather is going to answer so much bigger. That one is called Mt. Rainier.” Indian prophecies also foretold worldwide environmental catastrophes such as the greenhouse effect, “changes in the seasons and in the weather, disappearance of wildlife, famine,” and the ozone hole, which was referred to as a “hole in our lodging.”


Remote webcam now operational on Mount Rainier (The Seattle Times, July 24, 2011):

Now you can take in the views at Camp Muir on Mount Rainier, which is now the highest webcam in Washington, and the most remote in the United States.

Mount Rainier National Park says the new webcam at Camp Muir is now fully operational and available online to the public.

The images are expected to be very popular and broadly used by a wide array of interested groups.

Climbers and hikers into Mount Rainier alpine zones, of course, will be able to use the webcam to see where the tops of the clouds are and will discover that often when it is rainy at Paradise or lower down in the valley, it may be sunny and warm at Muir.

Weather forecasting centers such as the National Weather Service will also be able to use the images and data for forecasting purposes both for the public and for pilots.

There are scientific opportunities associated with the images as well regarding snowmelt, glacier mass-balance, and air quality, to name a few.

As unique as the webcam is there will be times, especially in the winter, when images won’t be clear or all you’ll see is white because of clouds and/or blowing snow.

There is not enough power at Camp Muir to operate any heating elements that could keep the camera shedding rime ice. As this is a newly developed application of existing technology, we may encounter more unanticipated challenges.

Park officials say to be patient as you’ll notice interruptions in service or problems with the images.

Currently, the image is set to a resolution of 1024 x 786 and it is slightly pixelated.The camera is fixed and cannot be moved remotely, so we must actually physically move the camera to change its view. Another item on the wish list would be to install a remotely moveable camera.

You can access the image on the Mount Rainier National Park website.

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