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Mount Baker Wilderness Area
Mount Baker Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the western Cascade Range of northern Washington state. Its eastern border is shared with the boundary of the Stephen Mather Wilderness and North Cascades National Park 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 lowlands. Almost entirely within Whatcom County, the wilderness lies on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains. The three forks of the Nooksack River 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, noble fir, Pacific silver fir, subalpine fir, western hemlock and mountain hemlock, and at higher elevations, alpine meadows. Animals include mountain goats and hoary marmots. On mountains and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whatcom County, Washington
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan County to the east, Skagit County to the south, San Juan County across Rosario Strait to the southwest, and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847. The county was created from Island County by the Washington Territorial Legislature in March 1854. It originally included the territory of present-day San Juan and Skagit Counties, which were later independently organized after additional settlement. Its name derives from the Lummi word ''Xwotʼqom,'' meaning "noisy water." Whatcom County has a diversified economy with a significant agricultura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thuja Plicata
''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae, just cedar, giant cedar, or shinglewood. It is not a true cedar of the genus ''Cedrus''. Description ''Thuja plicata'' is a large to very large tree, ranging up to tall and in trunk diameter. Trees growing in the open may have a crown that reaches the ground, whereas trees densely spaced together will exhibit a crown only at the top, where light can reach the leaves. The trunk swells at the base and has shallow roots. The bark is thin, gray-brown and fissured into vertical bands. As the tree ages, the top is damaged by wind and replaced by inferior branches. The species is long-lived; some trees can live well over a thousand years, with the oldest verified aged 1,460. The foliage forms flat sprays with scale-like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Border Peak
American Border Peak is a mountain just south of the Canada–United States border, in the North Cascades of Washington state, with a corresponding sister peak, Canadian Border Peak, just north along a col connecting to it across the border. It is located within the Mount Baker Wilderness, part of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, near North Cascades National Park. It is notable for its large, steep local relief; however its somewhat rotten rock makes it less appealing to climbers than nearby Slesse Mountain. Climate American Border Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach the North Cascades, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades. As a result, the west side of the North Cascades experiences high precipita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomyhoi Peak
Tomyhoi Peak is a Skagit Range mountain situated one mile south of the Canada–United States border, in the North Cascades of Washington state. It is located west of Mount Larrabee and within the Mount Baker Wilderness, which is part of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. This mountain's name was officially adopted in 1913 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The nearest higher peak is Canadian Border Peak, to the northeast. Precipitation runoff on the east side of the mountain drains into Tomyhoi Lake and Tomyhoi Creek, whereas the west side of the mountain drains into Damfino Creek. The unofficially named Tomyhoi Glacier lies on its north flank. The summit offers views of Mount Larrabee, American Border Peak, Canadian Border Peak, Mount Shuksan, and Mount Baker. Access The Keep Kool Trail (#699) is accessed by the Twin Lakes Road (Forest Service #3065 in the North Fork Nooksack area) off of the Mount Baker Highway. The first to the Keep Kool trailhead is wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twin Sisters Mountain
Twin Sisters Mountain (Nooksack: Kwetl’kwítl’ Smánit, "red mountain"), commonly called the Twin Sisters, is a mountain in the U.S. state of Washington. Part of the Cascade Range, it lies just southwest of Mount Baker. Of its two main peaks, South Twin is higher, with a summit elevation above . The summit of North Twin is above . There are several glaciers on the northeast slopes of Twin Sisters Mountain. Geography Both of the summits are located within Mount Baker Wilderness. Twin Sisters Mountain as a whole is located southwest of Mount Baker, separated from the volcano by the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River. The South Fork Nooksack River flows around the eastern end of Twin Sisters Mountain. Other streams that drain Twin Sisters Mountain include Skookum Creek, Sister Creek, Green Creek, and Howard Creek. All the streams eventually end up in the Nooksack River. Geology Twin Sisters Mountain is composed of relatively unaltered dunite, an ultramafic rock that is m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Baker
Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens. About due east of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, Mount Baker is the youngest volcano in the Mount Baker volcanic field. While volcanism has persisted here for some 1.5 million years, the current volcanic cone is likely no more than 140,000 years old, and possibly no older than 80–90,000 years. Older volcanic edifices have mostly eroded away due to glaciation. After Mount Rainier, Mount Baker has the heaviest glacier cover of the Cascade Range volcanoes; the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker, is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 grasses and forbs to eat and rocky areas for cover. It is the largest North American ground squirrel and is often nicknamed "the whistler" for its high-pitched warning issued to alert other members of the colony to possible danger. The animals are sometimes called "whistle pigs". Whistler, British Columbia, originally ''London Mountain'' because of its heavy fogs and rain, was renamed after these animals to help make it more marketable as a resort. The closest relatives of the species are the yellow-bellied, Olympic, and Vancouver Island marmots, although the exact relationships are unclear. Description The hoary marmot is a large, bulky, ground squirrel, with short, heavy limbs, and a broad head. Adults range from in total length, including a tail. The species is sexually dimorphic, with males being signif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Goat
The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ice. Despite its vernacular name and both genera being in the same subfamily (Caprinae), the mountain goat is not a member of ''Capra'', the genus that includes all other goats, such as the wild goat (''Capra aegagrus''), from which the domestic goat is derived. Instead, it is more closely allied with the takins (''Budorcas'') and chamois (''Rupicapra''). Classification and evolution The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae (along with antelopes, gazelles, and cattle). It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae, along with true goats, wild sheep, the chamois, the muskox and other species. The takins of the Himalayan region, while not a sister lineage of the mountain goat, are nonetheless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Tundra
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with tundra#Arctic tundra, polar tundra. The high elevation causes an adverse climate, which is too cold and windy to support tree growth. Alpine tundra ecotone, transitions to sub-alpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as ''Krummholz''. With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by adiabatic cooling of air, and is similar to polar climate. Geography Alpine tundra occurs at hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 growing up to tall, with exceptional specimens as tall as tall. They have a trunk diameter of up to . The bark is about thick and square-cracked or furrowed, and purplish-brown to gray in color. The crown is a neat, slender, conic shape in young trees with a tilted or drooping lead shoot, becoming cylindric in older trees. At all ages, it is distinguished by the slightly pendulous branchlet tips. The shoots are orange–brown, with dense pubescence about long. The leaves are needle-like, long and broad, soft, blunt-tipped, only slightly flattened in cross-section, pale glaucous blue-green above, and with two broad bands of bluish-white stomata below with only a narrow green midrib between the bands; they differ from those of any othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Hemlock
''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books .Gymnosperm Database''Tsuga heterophylla'' The Latin species name means 'variable leaves'. Description Western hemlock is a large evergreen conifer growing to tall, exceptionally ,Tallest Hemlock, M. D. Vaden, Arborist''Tallest known Hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla''/ref> and with a trunk diameter of up to . It is the largest species of hemlock, with the next largest (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 coni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 trunk up to thick, exceptionally . The bark on young trees is smooth, gray, and with resin blisters, becoming rough and fissured or scaly on old trees. The lowest branches can be observed growing above ground level. The leaves are flat and needle-like, long, glaucous green above with a broad stripe of stomata, and two blue-white stomatal bands below; the fresh leaf scars are reddish (tan on the inland variety). They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but with the leaf bases twisted to be arranged to the sides of and above the shoot, with few or none below the shoot. The cones are erect, long, dark purple with fine yellow-brown pubescence, ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged seeds in early fall. Taxonomy There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
