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Mount Baker

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

                       Mount Baker
   Mount Baker and Boulder Glacier from the southeast
   Elevation     10,778 ft (3,285 m)
   Location      Washington State, USA
   Range         Cascades
   Coordinates   48°46′38″N, 121°48′48″W
   Topo map      USGS Mount Baker
   Type          stratovolcano
   Age of rock   < 30000 yr
   Last eruption 1880
   First ascent  1868 by Edmund T. Coleman and party
   Easiest route rock/ice climb

   Mount Baker (elevation 10,778 feet, 3,285 m) is a glaciated andesitic
   stratovolcano in the Cascades of Washington State in the United States
   about 30 miles (50km) due east of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom
   County. It is also easily visible from much of Greater Victoria,
   Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley just across the Canadian border
   to the north, and especially from the communities of Mission and
   Abbotsford, both about 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of Vancouver,
   BC—as well as from some locations in Everett and even Seattle to the
   southwest. The mountain is named for Lieutenant Joseph Baker III of the
   Royal Navy aboard HMS Discovery, who sighted the mountain on April 30,
   1792.

   After Mount Rainier, Baker is the most heavily glaciated of the Cascade
   volcanoes: the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker (0.43 cubic miles,
   1.8 cubic kilometers) is greater than that of all the other Cascades
   volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest
   places in the world: in 1999, Mount Baker set the world record for
   snowfall in a single season. (1140 inches/95 feet/2896 cm) .

Geology

   The present-day cone of Mount Baker is relatively young, perhaps less
   than 30,000 years old, but it sits atop a similar older volcanic cone
   called Black Buttes volcano which was active between 500,000 and
   300,000 years ago. Much of Mount Baker's earlier geological record was
   eroded away during the last ice age (which culminated 15,000-20,000
   years ago), by thick ice sheets that filled the valleys and covered
   much of the region. In the last 14,000 years, the area around the
   mountain has been largely ice free, but the mountain itself remains
   heavily mantled with snow and ice.

   Isolated ridges of lava and hydrothermally altered rock, especially in
   the area of Sherman Crater, are exposed between glaciers on the upper
   flanks of the volcano: the lower flanks are steep and heavily
   vegetated. The volcano rests on a foundation of non-volcanic rocks in a
   region that is largely non-volcanic in origin.

   Deposits which record the last 14,000 years at Mount Baker indicate
   that Mount Baker has not had highly explosive eruptions like those of
   Mount St. Helens or Glacier Peak, nor has it erupted frequently. During
   this period only four episodes of magmatic eruptive activity can be
   definitively recognized. Magmatic eruptions have produced tephra,
   pyroclastic flows, and lava flows from summit vents and from the
   Schriebers Meadow cinder cone. However, the most destructive and most
   frequent events at Mount Baker have been debris flows and debris
   avalanches, many, if not most, of which were not related to magmatic
   activity but may have been induced by steam emissions, earthquakes,
   heavy rainfall, or in some other way.
   Park and Rainbow Glaciers on the northeast flank
   Enlarge
   Park and Rainbow Glaciers on the northeast flank

   Historical activity at Mount Baker includes several explosions during
   the mid-19th century, which were witnessed from the Bellingham area,
   and numerous small-volume debris avalanches since the late 1950s. In
   1975, increased fumarolic activity in the Sherman Crater area caused
   concern that an eruption might be imminent. Additional monitoring
   equipment was installed and several geophysical surveys were conducted
   to try to detect the movement of magma. The level of Baker Lake was
   lowered and people were restricted from the area due to concerns that
   an eruption-induced debris avalanche or debris flow might enter Baker
   Lake and displace enough water to either cause a wave to overtop the
   Upper Baker Dam or cause complete failure of the dam. However, few
   anomalies other than the increased heat flow were recorded during the
   geophysical surveys, nor were any other precursory activities observed
   to indicate that magma was moving up into the volcano. An increased
   level of fumarolic activity has continued at Mount Baker from 1975 to
   the present, but there are no other changes that suggest that magma
   movement is involved.
   Easton Glacier (on the south flank) in 2003. The superimposed black
   line marks how far the glacier was in 1985.
   Enlarge
   Easton Glacier (on the south flank) in 2003. The superimposed black
   line marks how far the glacier was in 1985.

   There are 10 main glaciers on the mountain. All retreated during the
   first half of the century, advanced from 1950-1975 and have been
   retreating increasingly rapidly since 1980 . The Coleman Glacier is the
   largest with a surface area of 5.2 km² (Post et al., 1971). The other
   large glaciers, with areas greater than 2.5 km², are Roosevelt, Mazama,
   Park, Boulder, Easton and Deming Glaciers.

U.S. Navy

   Two ammunition ships of the United States Navy (traditionally named for
   volcanoes) have been named after the mountain. The first was USS Mount
   Baker (AE-4), in commission from 1941 to 1947 and again from 1951 to
   1969. In 1972, the Navy commissioned USS Mount Baker (AE-34). It was
   decommissioned in 1996 and placed in service with the Military Sealift
   Command as USNS Mount Baker (T-AE-34).

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Baker"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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