Editing Mount Baker (section)

==Geology==
[[File:Mount Baker 22181.JPG|thumb|upright=1.8|Panorama from the northwest showing Lincoln and Colfax peaks, the [[Black Buttes]] and Mount Baker]]
The present-day cone of Mount Baker is relatively young, perhaps less than 100,000&nbsp;years old.<ref name="Hildreth03"/> The volcano sits atop a similar older volcanic cone called [[Black Buttes]], which was active between 500,000 and 300,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref name="Tabor">{{cite book |last=Tabor |first=Rowland W. |title=Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |date=1999 |page=40 |isbn=0-89886-623-5 |oclc=40559713}}</ref>

Much of Mount Baker's earlier geological record [[erosion|eroded]] away during the [[quaternary glaciation|last ice age]] (which culminated 15,000–20,000 years ago), by thick [[ice sheet]]s that filled the [[valley]]s and surrounded the volcano. In the last 14,000&nbsp;years, the area around the mountain has been largely ice-free, but the mountain itself remains heavily covered with snow and ice.<ref name="Gardner"/>

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 [[vegetation|vegetated]]. Volcanic rocks of Mount Baker and Black Buttes rest on a foundation of non-volcanic rocks.<ref name="Hildreth03"/>

[[File:Mount Baker.jpg|thumb|[[Park Glacier|Park]] and [[Rainbow Glacier (Washington)|Rainbow Glacier]]s on the northeast flank]]
Deposits recording the last 14,000 years<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=Kevin M. |author-link=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Tucker |first2=David S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist) |last3=Riedel |first3=Jon L. |last4=Gardner |first4=Cynthia A. |author-link4=Cynthia Gardner |last5=McGeehin |first5=John P. |date=2020 |title=Latest Pleistocene to present geology of Mount Baker Volcano, northern Cascade Range, Washington |url=http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1865 |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |issue=1865 |page=3 |doi=10.3133/pp1865 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020usgs.rept....3S }}</ref> at Mount Baker indicate that Mount Baker has not had highly [[explosive eruption]]s like those of other volcanoes in the [[Cascade Volcanoes|Cascade Volcanic Arc]], such as [[Mount St. Helens]], [[Glacier Peak]], or the [[Mount Meager massif]], nor has it erupted frequently. During this period, four episodes of [[magma]]tic [[eruption|eruptive]] [[active volcano|activity]] have been recently recognized.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Scott03">{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=K.M |author-link1=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Tucker |first2=D.S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist) |last3=McGeehin |first3=J.P. |date=2003 |title=Holocene history of Mount Baker volcano, North Cascades (abs) |journal=XVI INQUA Congress Program with Abstracts |page=162 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=17 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720122317/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=K.M |author-link1=Kevin M. Scott |first2=Tucker |last2=D.S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist) |date=2006 |title=Eruptive Chronology of Mount Baker Revealed by Lacustrine Facies of Glacial Lake Baker (abs) |journal=GSA Abstracts with Programs |volume=38 |issue=5 |url=http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=24 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2010-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702041231/http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Magmatic eruptions have produced [[tephra]], [[pyroclastic flows]], and [[lava flows]] from [[summit (topography)|summit]] vents and the [[Schriebers Meadow Cone]]. The most destructive and most frequent events at Mount Baker have been [[lahars]] or debris flows and debris avalanches. Many, if not most, of these were not related to magmatic eruptions, but may have been induced by magma [[intrusion]], steam eruptions, [[earthquake]]s, gravitational instability, or possibly even heavy rainfall.<ref name="Gardner"/><ref name="Scott03"/><ref name="mbvrc"/>

===Eruptive history===

====Early history====
Research beginning in the late 1990s shows that Mount Baker is the youngest of several volcanic centers in the area and one of the youngest volcanoes in the Cascade Range.<ref name="Hildreth03"/><ref name="mbvrc">{{cite web |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/ |title=Mount Baker Volcano Research Center |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2021-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310215759/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Pliocene]] [[Hannegan caldera]] is preserved {{convert|25|km|mi|order=flip}} northeast of Mount Baker <ref name="Tucker07a">{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=D.S. |author-link1=Dave Tucker (geologist) |last2=Hildreth |first2=W. |author-link2=Wes Hildreth |last3=Ullrich |first3=T. |last4=Friedman |first4=R. |date=2007 |title=Geology and complex collapse mechanisms of the 3.72 Ma Hannegan caldera, North Cascades, Washington, USA |journal=Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. |volume=119 |pages=329–342 |doi=10.1130/B25904.1 |issue=3/4 |bibcode=2007GSAB..119..329T }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=D.S. |author-link1=Dave Tucker (geologist) |date=2006 |title=Geologic map of the Pliocene Hannegan caldera, North Cascades, Washington (accompanying text) |publisher=Geological Society of America |series=Digital map and Chart Series |volume=3 |page=3 |doi=10.1130/2006.DMCH003 |url=https://www.geosociety.org/maps/2006-DMCH003/2006-DMCH003-TXT_E.pdf |access-date=2009-03-31 }}</ref> Volcanic activity in the Mount Baker volcanic field began more than one million years ago, but many of the earliest lava and tephra deposits have been removed by [[glacial erosion]]. The pale-colored rocks northeast of the modern volcano mark the site of the ancient (1.15&nbsp; million years old) [[Kulshan caldera]] that collapsed after an enormous [[volcanic ash|ash]] eruption one million years ago.  Subsequently, eruptions in the Mount Baker area have produced cones and lava flows of [[andesite]], the rock that constitutes much of the other Cascade Range volcanoes such as Rainier, [[Mount Adams (Washington)|Adams]], and [[Mount Hood|Hood]]. From about 900,000&nbsp; years ago to the present, numerous andesitic volcanic centers in the area have come and disappeared through glacial erosion. The largest of these cones is the [[Black Buttes]] edifice, active between 500,000 and 300,000&nbsp; years ago and formerly bigger than today's Mount Baker.<ref name="Scott"/><ref name="Topinka2">{{USGS |first=Lyn |last=Topinka |title=Mount Baker, Washington, Brief Eruptive History |url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Baker/EruptiveHistory.../baker_brief_eruptive_history.html |access-date=2008-05-11 }}</ref>

====Modern craters and cone====
[[File:Baker Fumarole.jpg|thumb|right|Sampling [[fumarole]] gas at [[Sherman Crater]] in 1981]]
Mount Baker was built from stacks of [[lava]] and [[volcanic breccia]] prior to the end of the [[last glacial period]], which ended about 15,000&nbsp;years ago. Two craters are on the mountain. Ice-filled Carmelo Crater is under the summit ice dome.<ref name="Hildreth03"/> This crater is the source for the last cone-building eruptions<ref name=Scott03b>{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=K.M. |author-link1=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Tucker |first2=D.S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist)|last3=McGeehin |first3=J.P. |date=2003 |title=Island of Fire in a Sea of Ice — The Growth of Mount Baker volcano and the Fraser Glaciation in the North Cascades |journal=XVI INQUA Congress Program with Abstracts |page=51 |url=http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=18 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2010-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702051932/http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=18 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Tucker04">{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=D.S. |last2=Scott |first2=K.M. |author-link1=Dave Tucker (geologist) |author-link2=Kevin M. Scott |date=2004 |title=Boulder Creek assemblage, Mount Baker, Washington: a record of the latest cone building eruptions |journal=GSA Abstracts with Programs |volume=36 |issue=4 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/5abstracts/abstractText.php?id=20 |access-date=2009-03-31 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
The highest point of Mount Baker, Grant Peak, is on the exposed southeast rim of Carmelo Crater, which is a small pile of [[andesitic]] [[scoria]] lying on top of a stack of [[lava flow]]s just below. Carmelo Crater is deeply dissected on its south side by the younger Sherman Crater. This crater is south of the summit, and its ice-covered floor is {{convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on}} below the summit ice dome. This crater is the site of all Holocene eruptive activity.<ref name="Scott03"/> Hundreds of [[fumarole]]s vent gases, primarily {{chem|H|2|O|link=water}}, {{chem|C|O|2|link=carbon dioxide}}, and {{chem|H|2|S|link=hydrogen sulfide}}.<ref name="mbvrc"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Werner |first1=C. |last2=Evans |first2=W.C. |last3=McGee |first3=K.A. |last4=Doukas |first4=M.P. |last5=Tucker |first5=D.S. |author-link5=Dave Tucker (geologist) |last6=Bergfeld |first6=D. |last7=Poland |first7=M.P. |last8=Crider |first8=J.G. |date=2007 |title=Quiescent degassing of Mount Baker, Washington |journal=GSA Abstracts with Programs |volume=39 |issue=4 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=45 |page=65 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720122425/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=45 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:7487 copy Sherman Crater from Grant Peak 8-1-04.jpg|thumb|left|View south into Sherman Crater from Grant Peak, {{convert|10781|ft|m||abbr=on}} in 2004. Sherman Peak, {{convert|10140|ft|m|abbr=on}} at left; fumaroles of west rim at right.]]
Lava flows from the summit vent erupted between 30,000 and 10,000&nbsp;years ago, and during the final stages of edifice construction, blocky [[pyroclastic flow]]s entered the volcano's southeastern drainages.<ref name="Tucker04"/> An eruption from Sherman Crater 6,600&nbsp;years ago erupted a blanket of ash that extended more than {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} to the east.<ref name="Tucker07"/> Today, sulfurous gases reach the surface via two fumarole pathways: Dorr Fumarole, northeast of the summit, and [[Sherman Crater]], south of the summit. Both are sites of [[hydrothermal alteration]], converting lavas to weak, white-to-yellow [[clay]]s; [[sulfur]] is a common mineral around these fumaroles. At Sherman Crater, collapses of this weakened rock generated lahars in the 1840s.<ref name="Scott03"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Warren |first1=S.N. |last2=Watters |first2=R.J. |last3=Tucker |first3=D.S. |author-link3=Dave Tucker (geologist) |date=2006 |title=Future Edifice Collapse as a Result of Active Hydrothermal Alteration and Geologic Structure at Mt. Baker, Washington |journal=Eos Trans. AGU |volume=87 |page=Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V53A–1746 |issue=52 |bibcode=2006EOSTr..87...53Z |doi=10.1029/2006EO050009 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Mazama Park eruptive period: 6,600 years ago====
Source:<ref name=":0" />

Around 6,600 years ago, a series of discrete events culminated in the largest tephra-producing eruption in postglacial time at Mount Baker. This is the last episode of undoubted magmatic activity preserved in the geologic record.<ref name="Hildreth03"/> First, the largest collapse in the history of the volcano occurred from the Roman Wall and transformed into a lahar that was over {{convert|300|ft|m}} deep in the upper reaches of the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River. It was at least {{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep {{convert|30|mi|km|abbr=on}} downstream from the volcano.<ref name="Scott03"/> At that time, the Nooksack River is believed to have drained north into the [[Fraser River]]; this lahar is unlikely to have reached [[Bellingham Bay]]. Next, a small hydrovolcanic eruption occurred at Sherman Crater, triggering a second collapse of the flank just east of the Roman Wall. That collapse also became a lahar that mainly followed the course of the first lahar for at least {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}}, and also spilled into tributaries of the Baker River. Finally, an eruption cloud deposited ash as far as {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} downwind to the northeast and east.<ref name="Tucker07">{{cite journal |last1=Tucker |first1=D.S. |author-link1=Dave Tucker (geologist) |last2=Scott |first2=K.M. |author-link2=Kevin M. Scott |last3=Foit |first3=F.F. |last4=Mierendorf |first4=R.R. |date=2007 |title=Age, distribution and composition of Holocene tephras from Mount Baker, Cascade arc, Washington, USA |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |volume=39 |issue=4 |page=66 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=43 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2022-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205014707/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=43 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Historical activity====
[[File:Mount Baker steam plume from Bellingham, WA, 1999.jpg|thumb|right|Steam plume rising from Sherman Crater, December 1999, telephoto taken from Bellingham, Washington]]

Several eruptions occurred from Sherman Crater during the 19th century;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=D.S |author-link1=Dave Tucker (geologist)|author-link2=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Scott |first2=K.M. |last3=Lewis |first3=D. R. |chapter=Field guide to Mount Baker volcanic deposits in the Baker River valley: Nineteenth Century lahars, tephras, debris avalanches, and early Holocene subaqueous lava |date=2007 |editor1-last=Stelling |editor1-first=P.L. |editor2-last=Tucker |editor2-first=D.S. |editor-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist)|title=Floods, Faults and Fire: Geological Fieldtrips in Washington State and Southwest British Columbia |series=Geol. Soc. Amer. Field Guide |volume=9 |page=83 |doi=10.1130/2007.fld009(04) |isbn=978-0-8137-0009-0 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F1Sx3i2CZyUC&pg=PA83 }}</ref> they were witnessed from the Bellingham area.<ref name="ScottTucker03">{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=K.M. |author-link=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Tucker |first2=D.S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist) |date=2003 |title=The Sherman Crater eruptive period at Mount Baker, North Cascades, 1843 To present: implications for reservoirs at the base of the volcano |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=19 |journal=GSA Abstracts with Programs |volume=35 |issue=6 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720122441/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A possible eruption was seen in June 1792 during the Spanish expedition of [[Dionisio Alcalá Galiano]] and [[Cayetano Valdés y Flores|Cayetano Valdés]]. Their report read, in part:{{blockquote|During the night [while anchored in Bellingham Bay] we constantly saw light to the south and east of the mountain of Carmelo [Baker] and even at times some bursts of flame, signs which left no doubt that there are volcanoes with strong eruptions in those mountains.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kendrick |first=John |title=The Voyage of ''Sutil'' and ''Mexicana'', 1792: The last Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast of America |date=1990 |publisher= The Arthur H. Clark Company |location=Spokane, Washington |isbn=0-87062-203-X |page=108}}</ref>}} Most of Mount Baker's eruptions that have a confirmed [[VEI]] level had a VEI of 2 but two possible eruptions had a VEI of 3.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=321010|title=Global Volcanism Program &#124; Baker|website=Smithsonian Institution &#124; Global Volcanism Program|access-date=2024-09-18}}</ref>

In 1843, explorers reported a widespread layer of newly fallen rock fragments "like a snowfall" and that the forest was "on fire for miles around". These fires were unlikely to have been caused by ashfall, however, as charred material is not found with deposits of this fine-grained [[volcanic ash]], which was almost certainly cooled in the atmosphere before falling. Rivers south of the volcano were reportedly clogged with ash, and Native Americans reported that many salmon perished. Reports of flooding on the Skagit River from the eruption are, however, probably greatly exaggerated.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=K.M. |author-link1=Kevin M. Scott |last2=Tucker |first2=D.S. |author-link2=Dave Tucker (geologist) |date=2004 |title=Natural dams and floods of legend at Mount Baker volcano-evidence from the stratigraphic record of volcanic activity during the Sherman Crater eruptive period (AD 1843 to present) |journal=GSA Abstracts with Programs |volume=36 |issue=5 |page=377 |url=http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=21 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2010-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702042605/http://www.mbvo.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A short time later, two collapses of the east side of Sherman Crater produced two lahars, the first and larger of which flowed into the natural Baker Lake, increasing its level by at least {{convert|10|ft|m}}. The location of the 19th-century lake is now covered by waters of the modern dam-impounded [[Baker Lake (Washington)|Baker Lake]]. Similar but lower-level hydrovolcanic activity at Sherman Crater continued intermittently for several decades afterward.<ref name="Topinka2"/><ref name=ScottTucker03/> On 26 November 1860, passengers who were traveling by steamer from [[New Westminster]] to Victoria reported that Mount Baker was "puffing out large volumes of smoke, which upon breaking, rolled down the snow-covered sides of the mountain, forming a pleasing effect of light and shade."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofbritish00begguoft/historyofbritish00begguoft_djvu.txt |title=British Columbia: From the Earliest Times to the Present |first=Alexander |last=Begg |date=1894 |publisher=Toronto, Briggs |author-link=Alexander Begg (1825–1905) }}</ref> In 1891, about {{convert|15|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} of rock fell producing a lahar that traveled more than {{convert|6|mi|km|abbr=on}} and covered {{convert|1|sqmi|km2|adj=on|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=D.R. |last2=Scott |first2=K.M. |author-link2=Kevin M. Scott|last3=Tucker |first3=D.S. |author-link3=Dave Tucker (geologist)|date=2007 |title=Debris avalanches in Rainbow Creek at Mount Baker, Washington — dating and matrix analysis |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |volume=39 |issue=4 |page=66 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=37 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212404/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=37 |url-status=dead }}retrieved 2009-03-31</ref>

Activity in the 20th century decreased from the 19th century. Numerous small debris avalanches fell from Sherman Peak and descended the Boulder Glacier; a large one occurred on July&nbsp;27, 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/images/images.shtml |title=Boulder Debris Avalanche |work=Mount Baker Volcano Research Center |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2009-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018144050/http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/images/images.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=D. |last2=Post |first2=A. |last3=Friedman |first3=J.D. |date=1975 |title=Recurrent geothermally induced debris avalanches on Boulder Glacier, Mount Baker, Washington |journal=Journal of Research, US Geological Survey |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=77–87 |bibcode=1975JRUGS...3...77F }}</ref> [[File:Boulder Glacier 3737.JPG|right|thumb|Mount Baker and [[Boulder Glacier (Washington)|Boulder Glacier]] as seen from the southeast]] In early March 1975, a dramatic increase in fumarolic activity and snow melt in the Sherman Crater area raised concern that an eruption might be imminent.<ref name="Gardner"/> Heat flow increased more than tenfold.<ref name="Scott"/><ref name="Topinka2"/> Additional monitoring equipment was installed and several geophysical surveys were conducted to try to detect the movement of magma.<ref name="Gardner"/> The increased thermal activity prompted public officials and Puget Power to temporarily close public access to the popular Baker Lake recreation area and to lower the reservoir's water level by {{convert|10|m|ft|order=flip}}. If those actions had not been taken,{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} significant avalanches of debris from the Sherman Crater area could have swept directly into the reservoir, triggering a disastrous wave that could have caused human fatalities and damage to the reservoir.<ref name=ScottTucker03/><ref name="Brantley99">{{cite web |last=Brantley |first=Steven R. |title=Volcanoes of the United States, Online Version 1.1 |work = USGS General Interest Publications |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |date=1999-01-04 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volcus/ |access-date=2008-05-11 }}</ref> Other than the increased heat flow, few anomalies were recorded during the geophysical surveys, nor were any other precursory activities observed that would indicate that magma was moving up into the volcano.<ref name="Gardner"/> Several small lahars formed from material ejected onto the surrounding glaciers and acidic water was discharged into Baker Lake for many months.<ref name="Scott"/><ref name="Topinka2"/>

Activity gradually declined over the next two years, but stabilized at a higher level than before 1975.<ref name="Scott"/><ref name="Topinka2"/> The increased level of fumarolic activity has continued at Mount Baker since 1975, but no other changes suggest that magma movement is involved.<ref name="Gardner">{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=C.A. |url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Baker/Hazards/ |title=Potential Volcanic Hazards from Future Activity of Mount Baker, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-498 |last2=Scott |first2=K.M. |last3=Miller |first3=C.D. |last4=Myers |first4=B. |last5=Hildreth |first5=W. |last6=Pringle |first6=P.T. |date=1995 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |author-link=Cynthia Gardner |author-link2=Kevin M. Scott |author-link5=Wes Hildreth |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |access-date=May 8, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006192252/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Baker/Hazards/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Current research at Mount Baker====
A considerable amount of research has been done at Mount Baker over the past decade, and it is now among the most-studied of the [[Cascade Volcanoes]]. Recent and ongoing projects include gravimetric and GPS-based geodetic monitoring, fumarole gas sampling, tephra distribution mapping, new interpretations of the Schriebers Meadow lava flow, and hazards analyses. Mapping of Carmelo and Sherman craters, and interpretations of the eruptive history, continue, as well. The Mount Baker Volcano Research Center<ref name="mbvrc"/> maintains an online archive of abstracts of this work, and an extensive references list, as well as photos.

===Climate===
Mount Baker has an alpine [[Tundra|tundra climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|ET]])
{{Weather box	
| single line = Y
| location = Mount Baker Summit. 1991-2020	
| Jan high F  =   	19.3
| Feb high F  =   	18.6
| Mar high F  =   	19.1
| Apr high F  =   	23.2
| May high F  =   	31.7
| Jun high F  =   	37.7
| Jul high F  =   	47.2
| Aug high F  =   	47.8
| Sep high F  =   	43.1
| Oct high F  =   	33.2
| Nov high F  =   	22.2
| Dec high F  =   	17.9
| year high F =   	30.1
| Jan mean F  =     14.0
| Feb mean F  =   	12.0
| Mar mean F  =     11.6
| Apr mean F  =   	14.6
| May mean F  =   	22.3
| Jun mean F  =   	27.7
| Jul mean F  =   	36.1
| Aug mean F  =  	36.8
| Sep mean F  =   	32.8
| Oct mean F  =   	24.7
| Nov mean F  =   	16.4
| Dec mean F  =   	12.9
| year mean F =   	21.8
| Jan low F  =   	8.7
| Feb low F  =   	5.4
| Mar low F  =   	4.0
| Apr low F  =   	5.9
| May low F  =   	12.8
| Jun low F  =   	17.7
| Jul low F  =   	24.9
| Aug low F  =   	25.9
| Sep low F  =   	22.5
| Oct low F  =   	16.1
| Nov low F  =   	10.6
| Dec low F  =   	7.9
| year low F =   	13.5
| precipitation colour = green	
| Jan precipitation inch  =   	27.87
| Feb precipitation inch  =   	19.78
| Mar precipitation inch  =   	23.14
| Apr precipitation inch  =   	13.60
| May precipitation inch  =   	9.00
| Jun precipitation inch  =   	7.18
| Jul precipitation inch  =   	3.65
| Aug precipitation inch  =   	4.44
| Sep precipitation inch  =   	10.92
| Oct precipitation inch  =   	21.20
| Nov precipitation inch  =   	32.47
| Dec precipitation inch  =   	28.04
| year precipitation inch =   	201.28
| Jan dew point F = 5.1
| Feb dew point F = 2.4
| Mar dew point F = 1.0
| Apr dew point F = 1.6
| May dew point F = 8.1
| Jun dew point F = 13.4
| Jul dew point F = 18.8
| Aug dew point F = 19.1
| Sep dew point F = 16.2
| Oct dew point F = 11.6
| Nov dew point F = 7.5
| Dec dew point F = 5.2
| year dew point F = 9.2
|source 1 = PRISM Climate Group<ref name=prism>{{cite web|url=http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/|title=PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University|website=www.prism.oregonstate.edu|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref>}}

===Glaciers and hydrology===
[[File:Map baker glaciers.gif|thumb|right|A map of the glaciers on Mount Baker]]
Eleven named glaciers descend from Mount Baker. Two additional glaciers ([[Hadley Glacier]] and [[Sholes Glacier]]) descend from lower slopes detached from the main glacial mass.   The [[Coleman Glacier (Washington)|Coleman Glacier]] is the largest; it has a surface area of {{convert|1285|acre|km2|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Post"/>  The other large glaciers—which have areas greater than {{convert|625|acre|km2|1|abbr=on}}—are [[Roosevelt Glacier]], [[Mazama Glacier (Mount Baker)|Mazama Glacier]], [[Park Glacier]], [[Boulder Glacier (Washington)|Boulder Glacier]], [[Easton Glacier]], and [[Deming Glacier (Washington)|Deming Glacier]].<ref name="Post">{{cite journal |first1=A. |last1=Post |first2=D. |last2=Richardson |first3=W.V. |last3=Tangborn |first4=F.L. |last4=Rosselot |date=1971 |title=Inventory of glaciers in the North Cascades, Washington | journal=USGS Prof. Paper |volume=705-A |pages=A1–A26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Topinka |first=Lyn |title=Mount Baker Glaciers and Glaciation |publisher=United States Geological Survey |date=2002-07-09 |url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Baker/description_baker.html |access-date=2008-05-09 }}</ref> All [[retreat of glaciers since 1850|retreated]] during the first half of the century, advanced from 1950 to 1975 and have been retreating with increasing rapidity since 1980.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fountain |first1=A.G. |last2=Jackson |first2=K. |last3=Basagic |first3=H.J. |last4=Sitts |first4=D. |date=2007 |title=A century of glacier change on Mount Baker, Washington |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |volume=39 |issue=4 |page=67 |url=http://www.mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=35 |access-date=2009-03-31 |archive-date=2010-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620183301/http://mbvrc.wwu.edu/abstracts/abstractText.php?id=35 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="pelto">{{cite web |last=Pelto |first=Mauri S. |title=North Cascade Glacier Climate Project |url=http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/ |access-date=2008-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530150004/http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/ |archive-date=2013-05-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=M. |last1=Pelto |first2=C. |last2=Hedlund |date=2001 |title=Terminus behavior and response time of North Cascade glaciers, Washington, U.S.A |journal=Journal of Glaciology |volume=47 |issue=158 |pages=496–506 |doi=10.3189/172756501781832098 |bibcode=2001JGlac..47..497P |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Beckey |first=Fred |author-link=Fred Beckey |title=Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Rainy Pass to Fraser River |publisher=[[The Mountaineers (Pacific NW)|Mountaineers Books]] |edition=2nd |date=1995 |isbn=0-89886-423-2 |oclc=14692076 }}</ref>

Mount Baker is drained on the north by streams that flow into the [[Nooksack River#North Fork|North Fork Nooksack River]], on the west by the [[Nooksack River#Middle Fork|Middle Fork Nooksack River]], and on the southeast and east by tributaries of the Baker River.<ref name="Hyde">{{cite journal |first1=Jack H. |last1=Hyde |first2=Dwight Raymond |last2=Crandell |date=1978 |title=PostGlacial Volcanic Deposits at Mount Baker, Washington, and Potential Hazards from Future Eruptions |url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1022C |journal=USGS Prof. Paper |volume=1022-C |page=C1 |bibcode=1978usgs.rept....8H }}</ref> [[Lake Shannon]] and [[Baker Lake (Washington)|Baker Lake]] are the largest nearby bodies of water, formed by two dams on the Baker River.