Mount Baker Wilderness is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

within the

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

in the western

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

of northern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. Its eastern border is shared with the boundary of the Stephen Mather Wilderness and

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in Washington (state), Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the No ...

for a distance of 40 miles (65 kilometers). The wilderness extends from State Route 20 north to the Canada–US border. On the west, it is bounded by the foothills of the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

lowlands. Almost entirely within

Whatcom County Whatcom County (, ) is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the Canadian province of British Columbia to t ...

, the wilderness lies on the western slopes of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

. The three forks of the

Nooksack River The Nooksack River is a river in western Whatcom County of the northwestern U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, draining Nooksack Valley, extensive valley systems within the North Cascades around Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker and the Twin ...

and the Baker River are the major drainages of the wilderness.

Ecology

Vegetative cover is typical of the west slopes of the Cascades including western redcedar,

coast Douglas-fir ''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''menziesii'', commonly known as Coast Douglas-fir, Pacific Douglas-fir, Oregon pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer native to western North America from west-central British Columbia, Canada southward t ...

noble fir ''Abies procera'', the noble fir, also called red fir, is a species of fir native to the Cascade Range and Pacific Coast Ranges of the northwestern Pacific Coast of the United States. It occurs at altitudes of . Description ''A. procera'' is a ...

Pacific silver fir ''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to in English as the white fir, red ...

subalpine fir ''Abies lasiocarpa'', the subalpine fir or Rocky Mountain fir, is a western North American fir tree. Description ''Abies lasiocarpa'' is a medium-sized evergreen conifer with a very narrow conic crown, growing to tall, exceptionally , with a t ...

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern ...

and

mountain hemlock ''Tsuga mertensiana'', known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California. Description ''Tsuga mertensiana'' is a large evergreen conifer ...

, and at higher elevations,

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

s. Animals include

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a s ...

s and

hoary marmot The hoary marmot (''Marmota caligata'') is a species of marmot that inhabits the mountains of northwest North America. Hoary marmots live near the tree line on slopes with Graminoid, grasses and forbs to eat and rocky areas for cover. It is the ...

s. On mountains and higher ridges, considerable areas of rock and permanent glaciers (over 10,000 acres (40 km²)) occur.

Geology

The terrain is rugged, with steep slopes and numerous ridges dissected by small intermittent or permanent drainages. Mount Baker (), an active volcano, is one of the area's most distinctive features. The mountain periodically exhibits thermal activity. The most northern of Washington's volcanoes it stands at . Other major mountains include: * Twin Sisters Mountain, ''North Twin'' () – * Twin Sisters Mountain, South Twin () – * Tomyhoi Peak () – * American Border Peak () – * Mount Larrabee (früher: ''Red Mountain'') () – * Goat Mountain () – * Mount Sefrit () – * Ruth Mountain () – * Hadley Peak () – The wilderness is wholly contained within

and is adjacent to the

Mount Baker National Recreation Area Mount Baker National Recreation Area is a designated National Recreation Area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is about south of the Canada–US border within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Northwestern Washington. The recr ...

References

External links

*
Mt. Baker Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service
Mount Baker Wilderness
The University of Montana (adapted PD source) {{Authority control

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

IUCN Category Ib North Cascades of Washington (state) Protected areas of Whatcom County, Washington Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in Washington (state)

Ecology

Geology

See also

References

External links