Volcano – Mount Baker

ARE YOU READY FOR AN ERUPTION?

Dominating Whatcom County’s skyline, Mount Baker is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts. Mount Baker is also an active volcano.  While the most recent eruption of new lava from Mount Baker occurred 6,700 years ago, other hazardous activity has caused impacts on the volcano's slopes and downstream.  Between the 1840s and 1880s, hydro-thermal explosions and collapses rocked Mount Baker.  Some resulted in lahars (volcanic mud flows).  A reheating in 1975 and access closures on the mountain's south and east flanks reminded local people of the volcano’s potential to disrupt their lives.  

On cold, clear days, steam plumes rise from the Sherman crater.  At some point, Mount Baker will erupt again, disrupting the landscape and the lives of people downstream and downwind.  

During an eruption at Mount Baker, you can expect:

• Lahars (volcanic mudflows caused by snow and ice melting) can flow for tens of miles down valleys.
• Ash fall, even during small eruptions, can disrupt air and ground transportation and dust our forests, farms, and towns with gritty rock fragments.  

There will be a warning.  Future eruptions will be preceded by days or more of increased earthquakes and, possibly, by measurable swelling of the volcano and the increased emission of volcanic gases.  

While an eruption or lahar might not happen in your lifetime, being prepared is your best defense.