The Black Tusk

The Black Tusk
The Black Tusk viewed from the southeast
Elevation	2,319 m (7,608 ft)[1]
Prominence	569 m (1,867 ft)[1]
Location
The Black Tusk British Columbia, Canada
Range	Garibaldi Ranges
Coordinates	49°58′31″N 123°02′34″W / 49.97528°N 123.04278°W / 49.97528; -123.04278Coordinates: 49°58′31″N 123°02′34″W / 49.97528°N 123.04278°W / 49.97528; -123.04278[2]
Topo map	NTS 92G/14
Geology
Type	Stratovolcano
Age of rock	Pleistocene
Volcanic arc/belt	Canadian Cascade Arc Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
Last eruption	Pleistocene
Climbing
First ascent	1912 by William J. Gray and party[1]
Easiest route	Exposed rock scramble

The Black Tusk is a stratovolcano and a pinnacle of volcanic rock in Garibaldi Provincial Park of British Columbia, Canada. At 2,319 m (7,608 ft) above sea level,^[3] the upper spire is visible from a great distance in all directions. It is particularly noticeable from the Sea-to-Sky Highway just south of Whistler, British Columbia. Distinctive and immediately identifiable, The Black Tusk is among the best known mountains in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The volcano is part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt which is a segment of the Canadian Cascade Arc, but it is not within the geographic boundary of the Cascade Range.

Indigenous

To Squamish people, this mountain is known as t'ak't'ak mu'yin tl'a in7in'a'xe7en. In their language it means "Landing Place of the Thunderbird", speaking of the supernatural in7in'a'xe7en or Thunderbird. The jagged shape of the mountain and its black colouring are said to come from the Thunderbird's lightning.^[4] The same is true for Mount Cayley, another stratovolcano farther north.

Geology

The Black Tusk is considered to be the remnant of an extinct andesitic stratovolcano which formed between about 1.3 and 1.1 million years ago.^[5] Following glacial dissection, renewed volcanism produced the lava dome and flow forming its summit about 170,000 years ago. According to Natural Resources Canada, The Black Tusk was "perhaps the conduit for lava within a cinder-rich volcano. The loose cinder has eroded, leaving only the hard lava core."^[6] The exposed lava rock of the core is loose and friable. It is also black, giving the mountain its name and character. Cinder Cone, to the east of The Black Tusk, produced a 9 km (6 mi) long lava flow during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene.

The mountain currently hosts two significant glaciers, in large cirques carved into the northeastern and northwestern flanks of the broad cone below the lava pinnacle. Both glaciers start from about 2,100 m (6,890 ft) and flow northwards to below 1,800 m (5,906 ft). The glaciers are heavily covered in rocky debris due to the crumbling nature of the Tusk's rock.

The Black Tusk is a member of the chain of volcanic peaks that run from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. The peaks formed in the past 35 million years as the Juan de Fuca, Gorda and Explorer plates to its west have been subducting under the North American Plate at the Cascadia subduction zone.

Recreation

Part of the trail from Garibaldi Lake to The Black Tusk.

The Black Tusk's lower flanks and south summit are a popular backcountry hiking and scrambling destination. Most hikers approach from the Taylor Meadows campground to the south near Garibaldi Lake, although there is a second route from the north that travels by way of Helm Lake.^[7] A third option approaches from the west, from a microwave relay tower located at about 1,800 m (5,906 ft) on the western flank, which is reached by a dirt road from the Cheakamus River valley.

The upper summit area at the top of the lava column can only be reached by scrambling up a short but exposed rock chimney to reach the south summit. The true summit, only about a metre higher, lies just to the north across a precipitous drop. It is rarely climbed, requiring a rappel of about 10 m (33 ft) into a notch followed by a loose and dangerous reascent up the crumbling lava. On the northern side of the north summit stands an isolated and intimidating rock formation known as the "Bishop's Mitre", which is rumoured to be unclimbed.^[4][8]

Close-up view of The Black Tusk.

See also

• Garibaldi Provincial Park
• Cascade Volcanoes
• Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
• List of volcanoes in Canada
• Volcanism of Canada
• Volcanism of Western Canada

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Tusk.

• "The Black Tusk". Bivouac.com. 
• "Black Tusk, The". BC Geographical Names. 
• "Black Tusk". Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. 
• Garibaldi Provincial Park (Black Tusk/Garibaldi Lake Area)
• "Garibaldi Lake". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. 
• Natural Resources Canada (Garibaldi: Where Fire Met Ice)

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Volcanoes of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt The Black Tusk Brew Bridge River Tuber Salal Glacier Sham Callaghan Cauldron Cayley Pyroclastic Vulcan's Thumb Cinder Cone Ember Fee Franklin Glacier Garibaldi Atwell Opal Glacier Pikes Little Ring Meager Bridge River Capricorn Devastator Job Perkin's Pillar Plinth Pylon Monmouth Creek The Castle Pali Price Clinker Ring Round Silverthrone Silverthrone Machmell River Slag The Table Tricouni Southwest Watts Point See also Volcanism of Canada portal