Mount Baker

The Majesty

Mount Baker: The Threat!

How is Mount Baker thoughtto have been formed?

What is a pyroclastic flow?

Courtesy: USGS

Which British Columbia Community is directly across the border fromSumas, Washington?

Abbotsford

Read about the potential threat of Mount Baker to this community courtesy of the Geological Survey of Canada.

Courtesy USGS

Courtesy: USGS

Summit: 9038 ft. Located east of Mt. Baker

- A non-volcanic peak

How many

metres is 9038 feet?

9038 feet X 0.3048 =

2755 metres

Conversion Formulafeet to metres:

multiply by 0.3048

Glacier Ranger Station- Located northwest of Mt. Baker (see earlier map)

730 year old Douglas FirDiameter: 8 ft. 2 in. (2.45 metres)

A Douglas Fir is what type of tree?

Annual Precipitation atGlacier Ranger Station:66.63 inches

TemperateRainforest

How many millimetres are there in 66.63 inches?

66.63 inches X 25.4 =

1692 mm

Conversion Formulainches to millimetres:

multiply by 25.4

Recall that Vancouver Airport receives on average about 1000 mm of precipitation each year.Which process of precipitation accounts for the higher total at Glacier?

Orographic Precipitation

Glacier is at a higher elevation than Vancouver Airport which is near sea level in Richmond. Consequently, for Glacier, there is more uplift of the onshore wind giving enhanced cooling and condensing of the air to form more clouds and precipitation.

Undercuttingof the slope beside the road on Mount Baker Highway.

What agents of erosion are responsible for this?

- Precipitation- Surface Water- Freeze Thaw Action- Gravity- Wind

Nooksack river

Flows westward from the Mount Baker area.

Which volcanic hazard mentioned earlier would pose the greatest threat to the Nooksack?

i.e. mud flows

Whitewater rafting is very popular along portions of the Nooksack river.

Heather Meadows Visitor CentreElevation: 4400 feet (1320 metres)

What process helped to produce the grooves and scratches evident on this exposed rock surface?

Mt. HermannNotice the changes in vegetation with increased elevation.

Table Mountain

Hermann saddle

Upper Bagley Lake occupies a glacier carvedbasin known as a ____________.

Back wall of the cirque

A lake that occupies a cirque is called a _______.

Looking downstream from the tarn

Continuing downstream

Further down is Lower Bagley Lake and a dam.

Low lying heatherdominates this alpine meadow area as do smaller coniferous trees.

Why?

Increased elevation translates into a colder climate and a shorter growing season resulting in smaller vegetation. The low lying bushes survive winter due to the internal warmth of the earth and an overlying blanket of snow which acts as insulation. The conifers have adapted to the environment with a spiral shape and drooping branches to shed the weight of snow.

BasaltColumns

What type of rockis basalt?

More basalt columns

What type of plate is associatedwith basaltic rock?

Oceanic Plate i.e. the Juan de Fuca plate

Mt. Baker

basalt columns

This collection of angular rock fragments at the base of a slope is known as

__________.

Note: In an arid climate, it would be referred to as .

What type of physicalweathering made a significant contribution tothe formation of this scree?

Elevation: 5100 ft. (1554 m)

Summit: 10 778 ft. (3285 m)

Even in August, tourists can enjoy snow at Artist Point. Snow has an excellent ability to reflect solar radiation / insolation. This ability is known as the

____________ effect.

Sandstone (notice the layers) turned on its side due to plate movement

What type of rock is sandstone?