Mount
Baker the Volcano
Elevation
10,778 feet (3,285 meters)
Getting to Mt Baker
Road
The best view of the mountain is from the Glacier
Creek Road off of Highway 542. A 10-kilometer hike, taking off from Dead Horse Road
(No.3907) affords closer views of Baker's north side. On the south side of the
mountain Forest Service Road 372, taking off from Baker Lake Road, ends near the
Schreibers Meadow cinder cone.
Description
Mount Baker is the most isolated of the Cascade volcanoes in the
USA. It rests on a foundation of non-volcanic rocks in a region that is largely
non-volcanic in origin. Since the last Ice Age, the area around the mountain has
been largely ice free, but the mountain itself remains heavily mantled with snow and
ice. After Mount Rainier, it is the most heavily glaciated of the Cascade volcanoes,
the volume of snow and ice being greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes
(except Rainier) combined. Due to its many
glaciers, local Native Americans gave Mt. Baker a name meaning "White Steep
Mountain." The present-day cone sits atop a similar older volcanic cone called
Black Buttes volcano which was active between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago.
During the last 10,000 years there
have been at least two or more lava flows, at least eight mudflows and a pyroclastic
flow. Mount Baker
erupted on several occasions during the 19th century, and its most prominent crater,
Sherman Crater, may have formed in the 18th or early 19th century. Most hydrothermal
activity at Mount Baker is concentrated within Sherman Crater. This activity, in the form
of steam and flows of hot rock and gas, increased significantly in March 1975 and caused
concern that an eruption might be imminent. The activity diminished somewhat by
1978. Mudflows remain the most likely hazard from the volcano. Avalanches of
snow and rock debris from the rim of Sherman Crater have swept down Boulder
Glacier at least six times since 1958.
Mount
Baker, Washington
Index page for Mount Baker, on the official web site of the USGS, Cascades Volcano
Observatory, Vancouver, Washington. Has many related links, graphics, maps, images
and other items of interest.
Featured Places and
Web Sites
Visitor
Information
Mt Baker
Details of area attractions. (Part of the Lynden Tribune web site.)
Mt-Baker.Com
Offers information and services about the Mt. Baker area.
Mount
Baker Experience. 225
Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230. Phone: (Business/Editorial Office):
360-332-1777; Fax: 360-332-2777. E-mail
National
Forest
Mount
Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
This US Department of Agriculture's page on the Forest includes information on recreation,
weather and wilderness areas in the Washington
Cascades. The
northwestern tip of the vast Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is
comprised of Mt
Baker Wilderness, and the Mt
Baker National Recreation Area.
Mount
Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Description and transportation. (On GORP.)
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
National Forest - An Overview
This site was created as a project for a Washington History class at Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington to
inform people about the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest.
Ski
Area
A world record in
snowfall was measured at Mt. Baker Ski Area in the winter of 1998-99.
Mount Baker Ski
Conditions
Mt. Baker Ski Area
Mt. Baker Ski Area sits at the edge of the wilderness in the heart of the North Cascade
Mountains, located 56 miles east of Bellingham on State Hwy 542. It has become one
of Washington's premier ski resorts. According to a Powder Magazine study, Mt. Baker Ski
Area receives the highest amount of average snowfall of any ski area in North America,
with more than 615 inches falling each year.
Scenic
Highway
The upper 24 miles of Mount Baker
Highway, (WA 542), from the town of Glacier to Artist Point (elev. 5.140 feet),
was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1989. This section of
the highway winds along the North Fork Nooksack River, and at road's end,
trail systems lead into the Mt. Baker Wilderness.
The entire highway, from its
juncture with I-5 in Bellingham to Artist Point, has been designated
a Washington State Scenic and Recreation Highway.
Mount Baker
Highway
Where to find a stand of old growth Douglas firs. (Part of the Old
Growth web site.)
North
Fork of the Nooksack River
Click on the map to go to any of the highlights or side-trips of this Mount
Baker Highway tour. (Part of the NPS Park Geology web site.)
Scenic
Byway - Mount Baker Highway
Details on byway attractions. (On the Bellingham/Whatcom County
Convention and Visitors Bureau web site.)
Wilderness
Area
Mount
Baker Wilderness
Description and photo. (On the Wilderness.net web site.)
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