Peering high above us, do you see the glistening peak of Mount Baker? Mount Baker is locally known as Koma Kulshan. It stands as a majestic testament to nature’s grandeur. Let’s uncover the secrets of this stratovolcano together.
Mount Baker is an active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano. It rises to 10781 feet. That is 3286 meters. It is a prominent feature in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It is located in the North Cascades of Washington State.
Mount Baker is the youngest volcano in its volcanic field. Volcanism has persisted here for 1.5 million years. The current cone is younger. It is likely no more than 140000 years old. Older volcanic structures have mostly eroded away. Glaciation caused this.
Mount Baker boasts the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range. Only Mount St Helens is more thermally active. Its glacier cover is second only to Mount Rainier in the Cascade Range. The volume of snow and ice is significant. It measures 0.43 cubic miles. That’s 1.79 cubic kilometers. This is greater than all other Cascade volcanoes combined. Rainier is excluded.
Interestingly, Mount Baker is one of the snowiest places globally. The Mount Baker Ski Area set a world record in 1999. It recorded 1140 inches of snowfall in a single season. That’s 29 meters or 95 feet.
Mount Baker ranks as the third-highest mountain in Washington. It is the fifth-highest in the Cascade Range. This excludes Little Tahoma Peak and Shastina. They are subpeaks of Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta respectively. Located in the Mount Baker Wilderness, it offers stunning views. It is visible from Greater Victoria, Nanaimo, and Greater Vancouver in British Columbia. To the south, Seattle and Tacoma in Washington offer views on clear days.
Indigenous peoples have known the mountain for millennia. Spanish explorer Gonzalo Lopez de Haro first documented it in 1790. He mapped it as Gran Montaña del Carmelo. Later, George Vancouver named it for 3rd Lieutenant Joseph Baker. Baker served on HMS Discovery. He spotted it on April 30, 1792.
Locally, the Nooksack people call it Kweq’ Smánit. This means “white mountain”. This refers to the glacier-covered summit above 7000 feet. The open slopes between 5000 and 7000 feet are Kwelshán. This means “shooting place”. It refers to hunting on the slopes. Spelhpálhxen, meaning “many meadows”, describes sheltered meadows below around 5500 feet.
The Upper Skagit peoples call it tqúbub in Lushootseed. This means “permanently snow-covered mountain”.
Before European colonization, the Nooksack and Upper Skagit peoples used the mountain. They hunted and gathered on its slopes. The mountain held religious importance for the Nooksack. It was also a source of wealth. Mountain goat wool was a prized commodity. The high slopes were prime hunting territory. Deer, elk, mountain goat, bear, marmot, and grouse were hunted here.
Edmund Thomas Coleman led the first recorded ascent in 1868. He reached the summit with Eldridge, Tennant, Ogilvy, and Stratton. They approached via the Middle Fork Nooksack River.
Mount Baker’s cone is relatively young. It is less than 100000 years old. It sits atop an older volcanic cone called Black Buttes. Black Buttes was active between 500000 and 300000 years ago.
Mount Baker has two craters. Carmelo Crater is ice-filled. It lies under the summit ice dome. Sherman Crater is south of the summit. It is the site of all Holocene eruptive activity.
Mount Baker’s eruptive history includes a significant event 6600 years ago. A series of events culminated in a large tephra-producing eruption. The largest collapse in the volcano’s history occurred from the Roman Wall. It transformed into a lahar. It was over 300 feet deep in the upper reaches of the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River.
Several eruptions occurred from Sherman Crater in the 19th century. They were witnessed from the Bellingham area. In early March 1975, fumarolic activity increased dramatically. This raised concerns about a possible eruption.
Today, Mount Baker stands as a reminder of nature’s power and beauty. Its rich history and geological features continue to captivate scientists and visitors alike. The mountain has eleven named glaciers. The Coleman Glacier is the largest.