Itcha Range

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Itcha Range
Itcha Mountains

Satellite image of the Itcha Range
Highest point
Peak Mount Downton
Elevation 2,375 m (7,792 ft)
Coordinates 52°42′21″N 124°51′2″W / 52.70583°N 124.85056°W / 52.70583; -124.85056
Geography
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
District Range 3 Coast Land District
Range coordinates 52°42′N 124°52′W / 52.7°N 124.87°W / 52.7; -124.87Coordinates: 52°42′N 124°52′W / 52.7°N 124.87°W / 52.7; -124.87
Parent range Chilcotin Plateau
Geology
Orogeny Anahim hotspot volcanism
Period 2.5 million years (Pliocene)
Type of rock Shield volcano

The Itcha Range is a mountain range on the Chilcotin Plateau of the West-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The range is located 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Anahim Lake. Its main peaks are Itcha Mountain and Mount Downton.

Geology

The Itcha Range is a 2.5-million-year-old massive felsic shield volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt which includes other immediately nearby ranges, the Rainbow and Ilgachuz Ranges. The shield has a diameter of 10 kilometers[1] and is now eroded by glaciers carving into the volcanic rock. The Itcha Range and its neighbours were formed when the North American Plate moved over a stationary hotspot, known as the Anahim hotspot. The hotspot is considered similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands.

Most late-stage lavas capping the Itcha shield complex were erupted from cinder cones, tuff rings, and fissures in the eastern half of the complex. The Itcha shield complex contains at least 23 cinder cones, all of which were active during the Pleistocene period.[2]

Satah Mountain occupies the high point of a long ridge of trachytic lava domes, lava flows and basaltic and trachybasaltic pyroclastic cones, extending south from the felsic Itcha Range shield complex. The youngest cone is well preserved, and could be of comparable age to the 7200-year-old Nazko Cone east of the Itcha Range. Like most volcanoes in British Columbia, it is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire which includes over 160 active volcanoes.

Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park

The Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges form the core of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park, while the Rainbow Range lies partly in the Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia Retrieved on 2007-07-08
  2. ↑ Volcanoes of Canada - Map of Canadian volcanoes Retrieved on 2007-07-08

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.