- [Voiceover] What does it mean to be curious?

For my students, curiosity creates opportunities for a bigger and brighter future.

(bright upbeat music) (upbeat acoustic music) - If you've ever skied here at Mount Baker ski area, I think you probably know that mountain.

But it's not Mount Baker, it's not a volcano.

This is Mount Shuksan, made of green metamorphic rock, an entire mountain made out of this stuff.

And the origin of those metamorphic rocks?

The bottom of the ocean.

(upbeat acoustic music) (gentle acoustic music) At over 9,000 feet of elevation, Mount Shuksan is the eighth largest peak in Washington and one of the most stunning.

The mountain is blanketed by massive glaciers with deep crevasses that make it difficult to access.

So to get a closer look at the unique green rock that Shuksan in is made of, we're heading south to Darrington and the non-glaciated White Chuck Mountain.

(upbeat music) So what is this rock that was from the ocean floor?

I mean, this is White Chuck Mountain and the whole mountain's made out of this stuff.

And here it is over here, too.

I mean, basalt is on the ocean floor, brown lava rock.

But this is not brown and this is not lava rock anymore.

The basalt igneous has been slowly transformed into a metamorphic rock called greenschist.

There's a texture here.

Can you see that this greenschist has been smushed and flattened?

That's because the original brown basalt lava that slowly started to dive beneath North America 160 million years ago during the age of the dinosaurs.

The pressure increased and green metamorphic minerals started to form.

That's why the rock is green.

And the minerals that formed under those high pressure conditions, actinolite, chloride, epidote, are on display in this pistachio colored rock.

Greenschist, no longer in the ocean.

(bright upbeat music) Oh yes, this talus field is stunning with these huge blocks of greenschist.

And yes, it's almost impossible to believe that green metamorphic rocks formed 20 miles below are now up here in the Washington mountains, a mile above sea level.

Isn't the question is, how is that possible?

How are you gonna do that journey?

How are you gonna lift a geologic elevator that far?

How much time does that take?

We're still working on it.

Geologists have been working in the North Cascades for a century, have tried to figure that out.

Plate tectonics continue to evolve.

The geologic community will continue to work on those problems.

But in the meantime, scenery and places like this are here for you to enjoy at White Chuck Mountain and Mount Shuksan up by Mount Baker.

(bright upbeat music) (wind whooshing) - [Announcer] This series was made possible in part with the generous support of Pacific Science Center.