Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province (NCVP), sometimes called the Stikine Volcanic Belt, is a group of volcanoes and volcanic fields located in the Pacific Northwest of North America. It includes volcanoes that are 10 million years old or younger in northern British Columbia, the Yukon, and easternmost Alaska. The province is the most active volcanic region in Canada, containing more than 100 volcanoes, including Alligator Lake, Heart Peaks, Hoodoo Mountain, Mount Edziza, Ruby Mountain and Volcano Mountain.
The southern-most extent of the NCVP is near the Tseax Cone, a few dozen kilometers north of Terrace, British Columbia and the northwestern most extend includes Mount Prindle, in eastern Alaska. The Tseax River Cone, and a series of lava flows immediately northwest along Lava Fork, probably represent the most recent volcanic activity in Canada (100-300 years ago).
These volcanoes formed as a result of continental rifting of the crust as the Pacific Plate slides northward along the Queen Charlotte Fault, on its way to the Aleutian Trench.
[edit] History
The term Stikine Volcanic Belt was originally defined by Jack Souther (GSC) as a group of volcanic deposits centered around the Stikine River, in northwestern British Columbia. As more mapping and dating of volcanic deposits was completed in the Cordillera, the Stikine Volcanic Belt was expanded to include volcanic deposits further and further from the geographic area associated with the name "Stikine". In part for this reason, Edwards and Russell (2000; Geol Soc of America Bulletin) redefined this area of volcanism as the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province. As a geographic descriptor, application of the name "Stikine" to volcanic rocks exposed along the Yukon River seems a bit odd and confusing. As well, a much older group of totally unrelated volcanic rocks comprise the "Stikine Assemblage", which also mainly occurs within the geographic area informally referred to as "Stikine Country". The NCVP is a broader name, to encompass a broader geographic area, in which the most recent volcanism has a similar character (mainly alkaline, mafic volcanic rocks), a similar age range (Neogene to Holocene), and a similar tectonic setting (transtension). However, the term Stikine Volcanic Belt is still used to refer to a subset of these volcanoes located near the Stikine River, in northwestern British Columbia.
[edit] See also
- List of volcanoes in Canada
- Volcanism in Canada
- Anahim Volcanic Belt
- Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
- Wrangell Volcanic Field
- Wells Gray-Clearwater Volcanic Field
- Chilcotin Plateau Basalts
