Flatiron (volcano)

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Flatiron

Hemp Canyonlands.jpg

Lava cliffs in Hemp Canyonlands near the Flatiron
Highest point
Elevation 730 m (2,395 ft)
Prominence 90 m (295 ft)
Coordinates 51°53′N120°03′W / 51.88°N 120.05°W / 51.88; -120.05
Geography
Location British Columbia, Canada
Geology
Age of rock Pleistocene
Mountain type Volcanic outcrop
Volcanic arc/belt Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
Last eruption 200,000 years
Climbing
Easiest route Trail and bushwhack from Clearwater Valley Road

The Flatiron is the name for an eroded volcanic outcrop in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located in Wells Gray Provincial Park. [1]

Erosion Processes which remove soil and rock from one place on the Earths crust, then transport it to another location where it is deposited

In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, animals, and humans. In accordance with these agents, erosion is sometimes divided into water erosion, glacial erosion, snow erosion, wind (aeolic) erosion, zoogenic erosion, and anthropogenic erosion. The particulate breakdown of rock or soil into clastic sediment is referred to as physical or mechanical erosion; this contrasts with chemical erosion, where soil or rock material is removed from an area by its dissolving into a solvent, followed by the flow away of that solution. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few millimetres, or for thousands of kilometres.

Volcano A rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

Outcrop visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth

An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.

Contents

The Flatiron is 90 m (295 ft) high, 500 m (1,640 ft) long and generally about 125 m (410 ft) wide. It is flanked by Hemp Creek to the west and Trout Creek to the east. [2]

Geology

About 200,000 years ago, a lake formed in the Hemp Canyonlands with its upper end near the meeting of Trout and Hemp creeks. The lake bottom was about 60 m (197 ft) above the present bottom of the Hemp Creek Valley. The surface of the lake was the rim of the Hemp cliffs a few kilometres south of The Flatiron. The lake was created by a blockage downstream on the Clearwater River, but its actual location is unknown, and this could have been an ice dam, a landslide or a lava flow. The Flatiron erupted into this lake and was once much bigger than today. This action is called a ponded lava flow. The lava used to extend right across the Hemp Creek Valley, but floods from melting glaciers carried away the lava and left The Flatiron as a remnant. The water flow might have been 100 times the size of Hemp Creek today. The lava that is exposed today cooled very slowly and formed into columns, one of the park’s finest examples of columnar basalt. The columns that make up the Flatiron have been falling away regularly and piling up at the base, so the Flatiron keeps gets thinner. [2]

Clearwater River (British Columbia) river in Canada

The Clearwater River is the largest tributary of the North Thompson River, joining it at the community of Clearwater, British Columbia. The Clearwater rises from glaciers in the Cariboo Mountains and flows in a mostly southerly direction for 201 km (125 mi) to the North Thompson. Its entire course, except the last 5 km (3 mi), is within Wells Gray Provincial Park. Its confluence with the North Thompson is protected by North Thompson River Provincial Park.

Access

A one-hour hike from Clearwater Valley Road (also called Wells Gray Park Road) leads to a viewpoint of the Hemp Canyonlands with the Flatiron in the distance. After another 30 minutes hiking, it is necessary to leave the trail and bushwhack to the base of the Flatiron. As the cliffs almost surround the Flatiron, the only access to the top is a scramble from the west side above Hemp Creek.

Related Research Articles

Garibaldi Volcanic Belt mountain in Canada

The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is a northwest-southeast trending volcanic chain in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains that extends from Watts Point in the south to the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield in the north. This chain of volcanoes is located in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It forms the northernmost segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which includes Mount St. Helens and Mount Baker. Most volcanoes of the Garibaldi chain are dormant stratovolcanoes and subglacial volcanoes that have been eroded by glacial ice. Less common volcanic landforms include cinder cones, volcanic plugs, lava domes and calderas. These diverse formations were created by different styles of volcanic activity, including Peléan and Plinian eruptions.

The Black Tusk mountain in Canada

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, 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.

Pyramid Mountain (Wells Gray-Clearwater)

Pyramid Mountain is a subglacial mound located on the Murtle Plateau in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.

White Horse Bluff is a subaqueous volcano in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.

Dragon Cone is a monogenetic cinder cone located in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia. It is the source of a 15 km (9 mi) long lava flow, called Dragon's Tongue. This lava covered the floor of narrow Falls Creek Valley and terminated at the Clearwater River, damming it to a height of 3 m (10 ft) and raising the level of existing Clearwater Lake upstream. Geologists have recovered some peat buried by the lava and radiocarbon dating produced an age of 7560 years plus or minus 100 years. Flows from nearby Flourmill Cone, Kostal Cone and Spanish Lake Cones rest on glaciated bedrock without an intervening paleosol, suggesting an early Holocene age.

Kostal Cone mountain in British Columbia, Canada

Kostal Cone, also called Kostal Volcano and Fire Mountain, is a young cinder cone in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada. It rises from the northeast shore of Kostal Lake in the Cariboo Mountains. With an elevation of 1,440 m (4,724 ft), Kostal Cone is one of the lowest volcanoes in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.

Mount Ray (British Columbia) mountain in Canada

Mount Ray, also known as Ray Mountain, is a subglacial mound in Wells Gray Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. Mount Ray last erupted during the Pleistocene. It is part of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.

Buck Hill is a hill in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located 17 km (10.6 mi) north of Clearwater. It rises from the west slope of Trophy Mountain. Buck Hill is just outside the boundary of Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Flourmill Volcanoes

The Flourmill Volcanoes, also known as The Flourmills, are a small volcano range near the west boundary of Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada. Located north of Mahood Lake and west of the Clearwater River, they form part of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.

McLeod Hill is a tuya, located 41 km (25 mi) north of Clearwater in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.

The Barrier

The Barrier is a lava dam retaining the Garibaldi Lake system in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is over 300 m (980 ft) thick and about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long where it impounds the lake.

Clearwater Lake (British Columbia) lake in British Columbia, Canada

Clearwater Lake is one of six large lakes in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada,. The Clearwater River enters the lake at its north end, flowing from Hobson Lake and Azure Lake, and also drains the lake. There are several small streams that flow into Clearwater Lake, but it has no significant tributaries.

Spahats Creek Falls

Spahats Creek Falls, also called Spahats Falls, is a waterfall on Spahats Creek within Wells Gray Provincial Park of British Columbia, Canada. Common references place the falls at around 60 m (197 ft) tall, but taking into account the second tier, it is closer to 75–80 meters tall. It is a popular stop for tourists and especially motorcoach tours since it is only 10 km (6.2 mi) off the busy Yellowhead Highway.

Ray Lake is a lake located in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is fed by and drained by Falls Creek which flows into the Clearwater River at its outlet from Clearwater Lake.

Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field

The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 130 km (81 mi) north of Kamloops. It is situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains and on the Quesnel and Shuswap Highlands. As a monogenetic volcanic field, it is a place with numerous small basaltic volcanoes and extensive lava flows.

Wells Gray Provincial Park provincial park

Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres. It is British Columbia's fourth largest park, after Tatshenshini, Spatsizi and Tweedsmuir.

Trophy Mountain mountain in Canada

Trophy Mountain is a mountain in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located in the south-east region of Wells Gray Provincial Park. The Clearwater River flows to the west, Raft River to the east and Spahats Creek to the south. Trophy Mountain is part of the Shuswap Highland. There are nine summits in the group and the highest is 2,577 m (8,455 ft). Battle Mountain and Table Mountain are the closest summits to the north and Raft Mountain is immediately south.

Bridge River Vent mountain in Canada

The Bridge River Vent is a volcanic crater in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located 51 km (32 mi) west of Bralorne on the northeastern flank of the Mount Meager massif. With an elevation of 1,524 m (5,000 ft), it lies on the steep northern face of Plinth Peak, a 2,677 m (8,783 ft) high volcanic peak comprising the northern portion of Meager. The vent rises above the western shoulder of the Pemberton Valley and represents the northernmost volcanic feature of the Mount Meager massif.

References

  1. Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes: Flatiron Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. 1 2 Neave, Roland (2015). Exploring Wells Gray Park, 6th edition. Wells Gray Tours, Kamloops, BC. ISBN   978-0-9681932-2-8.

See also