The 'Wells Gray-Clearwater Volcanic Field' is a
dormant volcanic field located in south-eastern
British Columbia. The field consists of numerous small,
basaltic volcanoes and extensive
lava flows. It is located within
Wells Gray Provincial Park, which also includes the 465 foot-high
Helmcken Falls.
Geology
The origin of the volcanism is yet unknown but is probably related to
crustal thining. Many individual volcanoes in the field have been active for the past 3 million years during which time the region was covered by thick glacial ice at least twice, prior to the well known
Fraser Glaciation (also known as the
Wisconsin Glaciation). The last eruption in the field was at
Kostal Cone about 400 years ago. Some of the
lava flows in the field are similar to those that erupted at
Volcano Mountain, which is called
olivine nephelinite.
Hazards
The Wells Gray-Clearwater Volcanic Field is one of the top 10 volcanic areas in Canada with recent
seismic activity, the others include:
Castle Rock,
Mount Edziza,
Mount Cayley,
Hoodoo Mountain,
Lava Fork Valley,
Crow Lagoon,
Mount Silverthrone,
Mount Meager and
Mount Garibaldi. The field has had a long history of
Strombolian eruptions. Since the region is mostly
forested and the lava flows are likely to travel long distances from the
volcanoes, it is possible that eruptions could start large
forest fires, although many more types of eruptions are possible within the field, such as
Whitehorse Bluffs, which was formed by repeated subaqueous
explosive eruptions.
List of volcanoes
The volcanoes within the field include:
See also
★
Helmcken Falls
★
List of volcanoes in Canada
References
★
Nature Wells Gray: Volcanoes, Waterfalls, Wildlife, Trails & More, , Trevor, Goward, Lone Pine Publishing, ,
★
Volcanoes of North America, , Charles A., Wood, Cambridge University Press, ,
★
Roadside Geology of Southern British Columbia, , Bill, Mathews, Mountain Press Publishing Company, ,
External links
★
National Resources Canada
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