Glacier Peak

Tucked away within the interior of the Cascade Range of central Washington, Glacier Peak is the most remote of the peaks in this book. Indeed, no road penetrates within eight miles of the mountain; many approach hikes are more than 10 miles long, and from Puget Sound the peak barely stands out from lesser surrounding mountains. If you didn't know better, you would not guess it was one of Washington's high volcanoes. Nevertheless, Glacier Peak, at 10,541 ft., is one of the Cascade giants, and is highly visible from nearly all points along the Washington Cascade crest. Local Indians knew the mountain as "Dakobed" (one translation says "Great Parent") and "Takomed" or "Takobud," a generic term meaning "White Mountain." Like Garibaldi, Glacier Peak is a heavily-glaciated, significantly-eroded dacite volcano. The mountain has a long history of building and explosive eruptions, the last major eruption occurring at least 12,000 years ago. That eruption, though not as violent as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, did manage to deposit volcanic ash as far away as Alberta, and spewed debris over a wide area to the southeast. There is no evidence of significant eruptions since that time - except for the extrusion of Disappointment Peak, a dacite plug - but hot springs near the base of the peak are a sign that volcanic forces are still at work beneath the mountain (although the springs have been cooling significantly). At least one geologist considers Glacier Peak the least likely of the Washington volcanoes to erupt in the near future; others are not so certain. The volume of glacial ice and the composition of Glacier Peak have resulted in very heavy erosion. The summit crater has been worn away to a gentle saddle ("Crater Gap") between the Scimitar Glacier on the west and the Chocolate Glacier on the east. Sections of the crater rim still exist in the summit formation and several craggy points to the north. There is evidence to suggest the mountain was once a bit higher than its present altitude; however, it is thought that the eruption 12,000 years ago, or earlier eruptions, and not glaciation alone, lowered the elevation of Glacier Peak.