Mount Adams, the second-highest mountain in the state of Washington, is also one of the largest active volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains. People erupt with fear and doomsaying whenever it shows signs of activity, however minor.
Between September and November, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded nine earthquakes under Mount Adams, that that was enough to send social media and mainstream news outlets into overdrive, reporting for months that volcanologists are on “high alert” for a potentially devastating eruption.
That’s news to volcanologists like Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, where nine earthquakes in three months is a drop in the bucket compared to Yellowstone National Park, and that’s not erupting anytime soon, either.
“Nine earthquakes could be five minutes in Yellowstone, and there have not been any earthquakes detected under Mount Adams since November,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “All the online proliferation on an eruption of Mount Adams is a bunch of garbage.”
Light Uptick, But Mass Hysteria?
Mount Adams is considered an active volcano but hasn’t erupted in more than 1,000 years. Poland described the nine earthquakes as “a light uptick in seismicity” that has since stopped. Yet, the reports continue.
“Mount Adams has a tendency to be quiet,” he said. “The Cascades Volcano Observatory put out an information statement saying there was a very slight uptick in earthquake activity, and there hasn’t been any since November. That’s the story.”
That’s why Poland was baffled that people were sensationalizing old news from Mount Adams. An article saying Mount Adams was “due to blow” based on the earthquake uptick that ended in November was published March 11.
Since then, Poland said he’s seen a lot of misinformation, including articles and videos predicting an eruption of Mount Adams.
“There's a video that talks about earthquakes at Mount Adams, and it shows a Ring camera video from the 2019 Ridge Crest earthquake in eastern California,” he said. “I’ve seen other videos saying Mount Adams is on the verge of erupting, and they show images of Hawaii, Mount Rainier, and Mount Hood.”
Mount St. Helens, another volcano in the Cascades, had over 350 earthquakes detected between February and June 2024. Nobody's predicting an imminent eruption because that's nothing out of the ordinary for the much more notorious Washington volcano.
Poland can understand why an uptick in Mount Adams' seismicity might have been newsworthy in 2024. However, he doesn’t know why people are fearmongering this far into 2025, especially since the volcano’s been quiet since last November.
“The weird thing is that, somehow, this became a story again,” he said, “and the one volcano they don't show in these videos is the one they claim to be talking about.”
Not Shaking Things Up
Earthquakes are regular occurrences under volcanoes. They can be so regular that they aren’t of any significant concern.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory recorded 1,173 earthquakes in 2024, on the low side of an average year. Yellowstone typically has 1,500 to 2,500 earthquakes each year.
While the nine earthquakes at Mount Adams were notable, they weren’t big enough or shallow enough to indicate anything about when or if the volcano will erupt. Poland said the signs that would put volcanologists on “high alert” would be more noticeable.
“A little bit of seismic activity can be a sign of a volcano coming back to life, but that activity builds over time,” he said. “At Mount Adams, we’d also see the ground swell upward as magma gets very shallow under the surface. Mount Adams is also covered in snow and ice, so we might see a little ice melt. All these things are functions of magma that are rising and accumulating beneath the surface that could, at some point, feed an eruption.”
There has been no ground deformation or magma-induced ice-melting on Mount Adams, which the Cascades Volcano Observatory and the USGS monitor with special instruments installed all over the volcano. The agencies will have plenty of advance notice if an eruption is imminent.
Mount Adams has stayed quiet since November and isn’t showing signs of reawakening after 1,000 years of dormancy. Poland is adamant that any articles or claims to the contrary are ill-informed and unnecessarily sensationalist.
“I'm really surprised by all the Mount Adams stuff that's been coming out recently,” he said. “There’s an interesting psychology to these things, but this has been weird.”
The Real Reawakenings
Mount Adams isn’t showing signs of an imminent eruption, but that doesn’t mean it’s quiet along the Pacific Coast. There are volcanoes are showing signs of reawakening, and the USGS is closely monitoring them.
“Mount Spurr, about 50 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, is showing all the signs of reawakening,” he said. “There's been a buildup in earthquake activity, and the ground has been inflating like a balloon. There’s meltwater in the ice of the summit, gas emissions have been measured, and more steam vents have been found. These are signs that magma is accumulating under the summit of Mount Spurr.”
Based on the current activity, the Alaska Volcano Observatory placed Mount Spurr under a Yellow (Advisory). Another volcano, Great Sitkin on the Great Sitkin Island on the Alaskan archipelago, is under an Orange Watch with a “slow eruption of lava” within the summit crater, but that’s been ongoing for some time.
Meanwhile, the 3,600-foot-tall, 1.24-mile-wide Axial Seamount off the coast of Oregon is expected to erupt before the end of 2025. Since it is 300 miles offshore and has under 4,626 feet of cold ocean water, it isn’t likely to cause much impact once it erupts.
When a volcanic eruption is imminent and could potentially harm people, volcanologists will have enough time and knowledge to alert the public and ensure their safety. That’s why Poland doesn’t see much point in getting anyone riled up about Mount Adams.
“Nothing has changed at Mount Adams,” he said. “The only thing that’s happened is nine earthquakes four months ago and nothing since.”
The Wyoming Test Kitchen
One reason volcanologists know so much about the dynamics of volcanoes worldwide is the ongoing research in Yellowstone National Park. Poland said the everyday changes within the park help researchers understand other volcanoes that pose a much more potent risk to humanity.
“The volcanological community benefits from everything we learn in Yellowstone National Park,” he said. “The more we understand Yellowstone, the more we can understand similar systems, and vice versa.”
A study published in January 2025 used magnetotellurics to determine that Yellowstone’s magma chamber is more solid than liquid. That was conclusive evidence that the risk of a supervolcanic eruption is even lower than previously believed.
Mount Adams is quieter than Yellowstone, so Poland and other volcanologists aren’t “on high alert” for an imminent eruption. It’s a reminder of the crucial monitoring and research ongoing in Yellowstone and what it brings to the world.
“Yellowstone remains a wonderful example of similar volcanic systems around the world,” Poland said. “When we understand more about Yellowstone, we can apply that knowledge to other volcanoes worldwide, whether they’re in Italy, New Zealand, or Japan. It’s a dynamic place.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
