Discover

'Mount Edziza' is a potentally active volcanic complex in Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, British Columbia, Canada. It is located 38 km southeast of Telegraph Creek. It contains numerous peaks and ridges, with numerous large glaciers flowing in all directions.

Contents

History

Geology

Volcanic hazards

Recent activity

Mount Edziza Volcanic Field

See also

External links

References

History

The Tahltan people, who now live in Dease Lake, Telegraph Creek and the Iskut, used obsidian from Mount Edziza to make tools and weapons for trading material. More recently, most of the plateau was made into a provincial park to preserve the volcanic and culture treasures unique to the northern British Columbia area.

Geology

Mount Edziza is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire which includes over 160 active volcanoes. The volcano is perhaps the most spectacular volcanic edifice in British Columbia. It is a shield volcano that began erupting about 9 million years ago and continued activity until about 1340 years ago. It is surmounted by numerous cinder cones and blocky lava flows that still maintain their original forms. This is the second largest area of volcanic activity in the northern Stikine Volcanic Belt as well in Canada. The complex comprises the Mount Edziza Plateau, a large volcanic plateau (65 kilometers long and 20 kilometers wide) made of predominantly basaltic lava flows with four large stratovolcanoes built on top of the plateau. The complex contains an ice-filled caldera, which is almost 2 km wide.
Numerous eruptions have occurred within the last 10,000 years including: Desolation, Mess Lake, Snowshoe lava fields, Kana Cone, Eve Cone, Cinder Cliff, Icefall Cone, Ridge Cone, Williams Cone and Walkout Creek. Many of the volcanic features in the volcanic complex are protected as part of Mount Edziza Provincial Park one of the larger provincial parks in British Columbia.

Volcanic hazards

Mount Edziza has had a long history of volcanism and has been producing basaltic lava flows, silica-rich trachytic lava flows, rhyolitic lava flows and explosive eruptions for the last 7-10 million years. The silica-rich compositions are similar with the most violent eruptions on Earth. A large explosive eruption from Mount Edziza could produce an ash plume that would affect the northwestern part of Canada. Track Bench pumice deposit emphasizes one of the significant volcanic hazards related with the Mount Edziza volcanic complex - the likelihood of a great, explosive eruption. Mount Edziza and other nearby volcanoes to the north have also blocked the Stikine River by lava flows in the past.

Recent activity

The most recent activity at the Mount Edziza complex have been warm springs, several of which are found on Mount Edziza's western flank, including Elwyn springs (36°C), Taweh springs (46°C), and inactive springs near Mess Lake. The springs are near the youngest lava fields on the Mount Edziza Plateau and are probably associated with the most recent volcanic activity at the Mount Edziza complex.
Mount Edziza is one of the top 10 Canadian volcanoes appear related to seismic activity since 1975, the others include: Castle Rock, Hoodoo Mountain, Lava Fork Valley, Crow Lagoon, Mount Silverthrone, Mount Cayley, Mount Meager, Wells Gray-Clearwater Volcanic Field and Mount Garibaldi.

Mount Edziza Volcanic Field

★ Tsekone Ridge

★ Eve Cone

★ Sidas Cone

★ Kana Cone

★ Pillow Ridge

★ Storm Cone

★ Triplex Cone

★ Moraine Cone

★ Williams Cone

★ Glacier Dome

★ Pyramid Dome

★ Sleet Cone

★ Twin Cone

★ Klastline Cone

★ Sphinx Dome

★ Cinder Cliff

★ Triangle Dome

★ Nanook Dome

★ Ice Peak

★ Icefall Cone

★ Camp Hill

★ Walkout Creek

★ Cocoa Cone

★ Tennena Cone

★ Ridge Cone

★ Sheep Track Pumice

★ Coffee Crater

★ The Saucer

★ Pharaoh Dome

★ The Neck

★ Kena Cone

★ Sezill Volcano

★ Cache Hill

★ IGC Centre

★ Cartoona Ridge

★ Tadeda Centre

★ Armadillo Peak

See also

★ Mount Edziza Provincial Park and Recreation Area

★ Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province

★ Stikine Volcanic Belt

★ Mount Edziza Plateau

★ List of volcanoes in Canada

★ Volcanism in Canada

External links

★ Mount Edziza in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia

★ Skiing the Pacific Ring of Fire and Beyound: Mount Edziza

References

★ Volcano World

★ Natural Resources Canada

★