 | Aerial view of the caldera and lake of Baitoushan (photo by Wooil M. Moon) |
Baitoushan
(Changbaishan or Paektusan)
9003 ft (2744 m) Highest point in Korea . |
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| Location: | China / North Korea border | ||
| Lat / Long: | 42.0° N, 128.1° E | ||
| Volcanic Type: | Stratovolcano with caldera | ||
| Volcanic Status: | Dormant, last eruption 1702 | ||
| First Ascent: | |||
| First Ski Descent: | |||
| Skiable Vertical: | perhaps over 4000 ft (1200 m) on the outer slopes | ||
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Baitoushan (the "white headed mountain") is a spectacular lake-filled caldera on the China / North Korea
border, bearing a striking resemblance to Oregon's famed Crater Lake despite its near-complete obscurity in
the West. Baitoushan was decapitated in a massive eruption around 1000 AD, forming a caldera over 3 miles
(5 km) across as the upper cone collapsed into the emptied magma chamber.
Although there are many similarities to Crater Lake /
Mount Mazama (see the table below), there is a large difference in the caldera diameters, resulting in
an even larger difference in the areas and volumes of the lakes filling the two calderas. This also leads to
the deduction that the pre-eruption height of Baitoushan was considerably less than the 12000 ft (3700 m)
of Mount Mazama, probably around 11000 ft (3400 m) or below.
The mountain is known to Koreans as Paektusan or Baikdusan and is revered by many of them as a sacred
mountain (in fact ethnic Koreans make up most of the regional population on both sides of the border). The
1260 ft (384 m) deep lake within the caldera is named Tianchi or Chonji in Chinese or Korean, both of which
mean "heavenly lake". Given the continuing political situation in North Korea, foreign access is currently
only possible from the Chinese side of the border. Substantial winter snows fall on Baitoushan, typically
accumulating 60-80 inches (1.5-2 m) deep, but the possibilities for any skiing are unknown. |
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 . Topographic map of Baitoushan (1:500,000 scale) from Tactical Pilotage Chart F-9C <click to enlarge> |
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Some useful links: Global Volcanism Program: Baitoushan |
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More photos and info about routes, access, etc. may be added in the future ... |
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