[Illustration: Mt. Hood, Oregon. Eruptions from the volcano about 1,800 and 200 years ago from the Crater Rock lava dome formed a broad apron of rock debris on the volcano’s south side. (_Photograph by Lyn Topinka._)] Mount Baker, Washington. Eyewitness reports of small ashy plumes and active steam vents on Mount Baker dating as far back as the mid-1800’s were clear evidence that the ice-covered volcano had one of the most active geothermal systems among Cascade volcanoes. When new fumaroles and unusually dark vapor plumes appeared abruptly in March 1975, however, people in the Northwest became concerned about an impending eruption and possible avalanches and lahars from Sherman Crater, a vent just south of Mount Baker’s summit. Despite a tenfold increase in the release of heat by the volcano during the next 12 months, which resulted in extensive changes to the ice cover in Sherman Crater and produced minor releases of ash, no eruption occurred. The thermal activity was not accompanied by earthquakes, which generally precede most eruptions, and since 1976, the volcano has not showed additional signs of activity. [Illustration: Mount Baker viewed to the west. Increased fumarolic activity occurred in Sherman Crater (left of summit) during the mid-1970’s.] The increased thermal activity between 1975 and 1976 prompted public officials and Puget Power to temporarily close public access to the popular Baker Lake recreation area and to lower the reservoir’s water level by 10 meters. Significant avalanches of debris from the Sherman Crater area could have swept directly into the reservoir, triggering a disastrous wave that would have caused loss of life and damage to the reservoir. [Illustration: Mount Rainier towers 3,000 meters above the surrounding valleys, all of which have been swept by lahars during the past 10,000 years. Future eruptions will probably trigger similar lahars. (_Photograph by David Wieprecht._)] Mount Rainier, Washington. Mount Rainier has not produced a significant eruption in the past 500 years, but scientists consider it to be one of the most hazardous volcanoes in the Cascades. Mount Rainier has 26 glaciers containing more than five times as much snow and ice as all the other Cascade volcanoes combined. If only a small part of this ice were melted by volcanic activity, it would yield enough water to trigger enormous lahars.