Mount Rainier, one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the U.S. and in the world, is widely expected to erupt again.

The only unknown facing scientists is when the massive stratovolcano, 4,392 meters tall and located 87 kilometers southeast of Seattle in Washington state, will finally explode.

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Scientists from the United States and Norway recently mapped the electric and magnetic signatures of magma flows beneath Mount Rainier (pronounced "ray-near"). They've also discovered a mammoth magma reservoir below the mountain that will fuel any eruption with massive magma flows.

The research found out that magma or fluid molten rock is trapped in a pool some eight kilometers below the peak. The pool seems to be some eight kilometers to 16 kilometers thick and has about the same width.

Scientists used results from seismic imaging measurements of variations in electrical and magnetic fields to build a "road map" of the path molten rock will take on its route to the surface during an eruption.

Their findings were published this week in the journal Nature. The scientific study sought to help experts understand the volcano's behavior, and eventually determine when Mount Rainier might erupt again.

Despite the new images being most detailed to date, they do not provide any information when Mount Rainer will erupt. The U.S. National Park Service expects the volcano to erupt again, however.

Scientists consider Mt. Rainier one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and the volcano is on the Decade Volcano list.

This list consists of the 17 volcanoes in the world with the greatest likelihood of causing great loss of life and property if they erupt.

An eruption of Mount Rainier is expected to be deadly and devastating because the large amount of glacial ice on the volcano could produce massive lahars or pyroclastic flows.

Some 150,000 people live on top of old lahar deposits of Mount Rainier, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

TagsMount Rainier, Mount Rainier eruption