Mount Baker, Active stratovolcano in Whatcom County, United States.
Mount Baker rises to 3286 meters (10781 feet) in the Cascade Range and displays several glaciers covering its flanks. The summit zone of andesite carries snow and ice year-round, while lower sections are forested with conifers.
British explorer George Vancouver named the mountain in 1792 after Lieutenant Joseph Baker of HMS Discovery. In the following centuries, the area experienced several documented eruptions and steam releases from Sherman Crater.
The Nooksack name Kweq' Smánit means "white mountain" and refers to the glacier-covered summit above 7,000 feet; slopes between 5,000 and 7,000 feet are Kwelshán, "shooting place," for hunting. Nooksack families once travelled up the North Fork to summer camps in the alpine meadows to dry berries and meat.
The standard climbing route to the summit crosses the Easton Glacier and usually takes two days. The ski area lies below Artist Point, where several metres of snow fall each year. The mountain is about 64 km from Vancouver and 50 km east of Bellingham.
Sherman Crater regularly releases steam, marking the second most active thermal system in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens. Scientists monitor this steam output continuously to track seismic activity below the surface.
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