FIELD TRIP STOP 10 - Schriebers Meadow Road (off Baker River Road)

Schriebers Meadow Road Erosion along the sides of the valley-filling lava flow leads to an inversion of topography. Sulphur Creek lava flow and its future Three miles beyond the turnoff from the main Baker River Road (USFS Road 11), the road to Schriebers Meadow (USFS Road 12) ascends the sloping surface of a basaltic lava flow, which erupted from a small parasitic volcano on the slopes of Mount Baker at Schriebers Meadow. Rocky and Sulphur Creeks flow on this relatively young lava and have cut steep-sided slots in it. Since the rough surface of the flow has not been glaciated, geologists know that it erupted after the Ice Age ended about 13,000 years ago. Because the lava is so permeable, rain and snowmelt have little chance to erode it before seeping underground. Between major creek channels the lava is well preserved. Unfortunately the brush is thriving and even a glimpse of the flow surface is fast disappearing. As erosion continues to wear away the ridges on each side of this valley, this lava may eventually become a ridge-capping flow perched high above deep canyons, as have older flows on Forest and Lava Divides on the east side of Mount Baker.

On to ancient rocks

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| USGS Geology in the Parks home | NPS Park Geology Tour home | This site is a cooperative endeavor of the US Geological Survey Western Earth Surface Processes Team and the National Park Service. Please share your comments and suggestions with us! parkgeology@den.nps.gov http://www.nature.nps.gov/grd/usgsnps/noca/nocaft10.html This page was last updated on 12/1/99

Material in this site has been adapted from a new book, Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic by R. Tabor and R. Haugerud, of the USGS and published by The Mountaineers, Seattle