Earlier this month, we visited the Cascade Range volcanoes on British Columbia. Today we're hitting the volcanoes in Washington, including likely the most famous volcano (after Yellowstone) in the United States as well as a contender for the most powerful (known) eruption in the Cascades. All the images come from the Sentinel-2 Earth observing missions launched by the European Space Agency. This missions will become even more vital for monitoring the planet after NASA's Terra and Aqua satellite reach the end of their operational life in the near future. Remember, if you want to see the full resolution version of these images, I put them here.
Mt. Baker* (Kulshan)
The first potentially active Cascade volcano in the US, Mt. Baker is also one that shows off that it is far from extinct. Occasionally this volcano near Bellingham will show off a small fumarole (hot gas vent) that will get people's attention. This is all part of the hot springs and hydrothermal vents at the summit area of Baker, likely driven by magma that intruded under the volcano in the 1970s. These features are also the cause of the impressive (and dangerous) ice caves on the volcano.
