THE SKY SHADOW
In this beautiful sunrise capture we see Washington’s Mount Rainier casting an upward shadow towards the sky. The photo was posted by redditor runrgrl, who says the image was taken from Fox Island, near Gig Harbor. The body of water in the foreground is Hale Passage.
The ‘sky shadow’ phenomenon occurs when the sun rises further to the south and Mt Rainier can block the first rays of the morning. Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States with a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m).
Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. Because of its large amount of glacial ice, Mt. Rainier could potentially produce massive lahars (a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water) that would threaten the whole Puyallup River valley. [Source]
