The cone-like profile of Mt. Baker is the dominant landmark on Vancouver's southern skyline. While surrounding lower mountains have formed by the slow uplift of the land, Mt. Baker has been built by repeated volcanic eruptions of lava and ash over the last 40,000 years. The cone-like shape of Mt. Baker indicates that the pace of volcanic construction has exceeded erosion by glaciers and streams. Mt. Baker last erupted during the 1800s.

Mt. Baker has been constructed by outpourings of lava and volcanic ash. A record of these past eruptions lies within the volcanic layers exposed at Sherman Crater near the summit of Mt. Baker. Sherman Crater is the site of small eruptions during the 1800s and discharges of volcanic gas during the 1970s. Mt. Baker continues to steam today.

Mt. Baker volcano rises 3300 m above Vancouver. Any future eruption of Mt. Baker represents a potential hazard to Vancouver and the Lower Mainland area.

The summit of Mt. Baker is covered by glaciers. Future eruptions could result in rapid melting, mobilizing loose volcanic material into deadly mudflows. These mudflows descend stream valleys at high speed and can cause devastation for tens of kilometers downstream.

Through the Microscope

This bubble-rich lava is composed of rectangular crystals of the mineral feldspar, and casts of gas bubbles. The matrix contains submicroscopic crystals whose growth was curtailed by the rapid cooling of the lava during eruption. The feldspar crystals grew in slow cooling rock melts (magma) deep in the Earth and were carried to surface in the rising magma. Rapid cooling to rock trapped gas that was bubbling out of the lava, preserving a sponge-like texture.