Piccolo Summit

Last updated
Piccolo Summit
Highest point
Elevation 2,043 m (6,703 ft)
Prominence 73 m (240 ft)
Coordinates 50°02′48″N122°56′27″W / 50.04667°N 122.94083°W / 50.04667; -122.94083
Geography
Location British Columbia, Canada
Parent range Fitzsimmons Range
Topo map NTS 92J2
Geology
Age of rock Late Cretaceous
Mountain type Volcanic

Piccolo Summit is a summit in the Fitzsimmons Range of the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the north side of Cheakamus Lake just southeast of the town of Whistler in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The mountain is the highest point of a group of hills called the Musical Bumps.

Contents

In 2004, volcanologist Jack Souther of the Geological Survey of Canada convinced that Piccolo Summit is composed of lava flows that erupted from a volcano about 100 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. [1] Nearby Whistler Mountain is composed of lava flows and nearby Flute Summit is a subvolcanic intrusion that was formed during the same period. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Mount Garibaldi Potentially active stratovolcano in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Garibaldi is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Sea to Sky Country of British Columbia, 80 km (50 mi) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located in the southernmost Coast Mountains, it is one of the most recognized peaks in the South Coast region, as well as British Columbia's best known volcano. It lies within the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges.

Garibaldi Volcanic Belt

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

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.

Mount Meager massif Group of volcanoes in British Columbia, Canada

The Mount Meager massif is a group of volcanic peaks in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc of western North America, it is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Vancouver at the northern end of the Pemberton Valley and reaches a maximum elevation of 2,680 m (8,790 ft). The massif is capped by several eroded volcanic edifices, including lava domes, volcanic plugs and overlapping piles of lava flows; these form at least six major summits including Mount Meager which is the second highest of the massif.

Mount Price (British Columbia)

Mount Price is a small stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of the abandoned settlement of Garibaldi above the eastern flank of the Cheakamus River valley. With a summit elevation of 2,049 m (6,722 ft), it rises above the surrounding landscape on the western shore of Garibaldi Lake. The mountain contains a number of subfeatures, including Clinker Peak on its western flank, which was the source of two thick lava flows between 15,000 and 8,000 years ago that ponded against glacial ice. These lava flows are structurally unstable, having produced large landslides as recently as the 1850s. A large provincial park surrounds Mount Price and other volcanoes in its vicinity.

Mount Fee

Mount Fee is a volcanic peak in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located 13 km (8.1 mi) south of Callaghan Lake and 21 km (13 mi) west of the resort town of Whistler. With a summit elevation of 2,162 m (7,093 ft) and a topographic prominence of 312 m (1,024 ft), it rises above the surrounding rugged landscape on an alpine mountain ridge. This mountain ridge represents the base of a north-south trending volcanic field which Mount Fee occupies.

Garibaldi Lake volcanic field Volcanic field in Canada

The Garibaldi Lake volcanic field is a volcanic field, located in British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by a group of nine small andesitic stratovolcanoes and basaltic andesite vents in the scenic Garibaldi Lake area immediately north of Mount Garibaldi was formed during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The oldest stratovolcano, The Black Tusk, formed between about 1.3 and 1.1 million years ago (Ma). Following glacial dissection, renewed volcanism produced the lava dome and flow forming its summit. Other Pleistocene vents are located along and to the west of the Cheakamus River. Cinder Cone, to the east of The Black Tusk, produced a 9-km-long lava flow during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene.

Opal Cone

Opal Cone is a cinder cone located on the southeast flank of Mount Garibaldi in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It is the source of a 15 km (9 mi) long broad dacite lava flow with prominent wrinkled ridges. The lava flow is unusually long for a silicic lava flow.

Cascade Volcanoes Chain of stratovolcanoes in western North America

The Cascade Volcanoes are a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America, extending from southwestern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California, a distance of well over 700 miles (1,100 km). The arc formed due to subduction along the Cascadia subduction zone. Although taking its name from the Cascade Range, this term is a geologic grouping rather than a geographic one, and the Cascade Volcanoes extend north into the Coast Mountains, past the Fraser River which is the northward limit of the Cascade Range proper.

Whistler Mountain

Whistler Mountain is a mountain in the Fitzsimmons Range of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, located on the northwestern edge of Garibaldi Provincial Park. It is the location of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort and the town of Whistler, British Columbia.

Garibaldi Lake

Garibaldi Lake is a turquoise-coloured alpine lake in British Columbia, Canada, located 37 km (23 mi) north of Squamish and 19 km (12 mi) south of Whistler. The lake lies within Garibaldi Provincial Park, which features mountains, glaciers, trails, forests, flowers, meadows, waterfalls. The park is a wildlife protected area.

Volcanism of Canada Volcanic activity in Canada

Volcanic activity is a major part of the geology of Canada and is characterized by many types of volcanic landform, including lava flows, volcanic plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes, and maars, along with less common volcanic forms such as tuyas and subglacial mounds.

Geology of the Pacific Northwest Geology of Oregon and Washington (United States) and British Columbia (Canada)

The geology of the Pacific Northwest includes the composition, structure, physical properties and the processes that shape the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The region is part of the Ring of Fire: the subduction of the Pacific and Farallon Plates under the North American Plate is responsible for many of the area's scenic features as well as some of its hazards, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides.

The Fitzsimmons Range is a small mountain range on the northwestern edge of the Garibaldi Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located between the valleys of Cheakamus Lake (SW) and Fitzsimmons Creek (NE). Its most famous summit is Whistler Mountain, which overlooks the resort town of Whistler and is one of the two mountains forming the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort. Most of the range is within Garibaldi Provincial Park, while its northeastern extremity is part of the resort municipality, and of the lands associated with the ski resort operation. Other summits in the range include Oboe Summit, Piccolo Summit and Flute Summit, which are hillocks along the ridge running southeast from Whistler Mountain and were named in association with the renaming of Whistler. Beyond them is Singing Pass and Mount Fitzsimmons 2603 m (8540 ft) which is at the opposite end of the range from Whistler Mountain and the location of Fitzsimmons Glacier, which is the source of Fitzsimmons Creek.

Jack Gordon Souther was an American-born Canadian geologist, volcanologist, professor and engineer. He contributed significantly to the early understanding of recent volcanic activity in the Canadian Cordillera. Many of his publications continue to be regarded as classics in their field, even now several decades after they were written.

Flute Summit is a flat-topped summit in the Fitzsimmons Range of the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the north side of Cheakamus Lake just southeast of the town of Whistler in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The mountain is part of a group of hills called the Musical Bumps.

Canadian Cascade Arc Canadian segment of the North American Cascade Volcanic Arc

The Canadian Cascade Arc, also called the Canadian Cascades, is the Canadian segment of the North American Cascade Volcanic Arc. Located entirely within the Canadian province of British Columbia, it extends from the Cascade Mountains in the south to the Coast Mountains in the north. Specifically, the southern end of the Canadian Cascades begin at the Canada–United States border. However, the specific boundaries of the northern end are not precisely known and the geology in this part of the volcanic arc is poorly understood. It is widely accepted by geologists that the Canadian Cascade Arc extends through the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. However, others have expressed concern that the volcanic arc possibly extends further north into the Kitimat Ranges, another subdivision of the Coast Mountains, and even as far north as Haida Gwaii.

Monmouth Creek complex

The Monmouth Creek complex is a volcanic complex in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of the community of Squamish on the west side of the Squamish River mouth. It lies in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains and is part of the Squamish volcanic field in the southern Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, which represents the northernmost extension of the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Mount Cayley volcanic field Remote volcanic zone in Canada

The Mount Cayley volcanic field (MCVF) is a remote volcanic zone on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, stretching 31 km (19 mi) from the Pemberton Icefield to the Squamish River. It forms a segment of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the Canadian portion of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which extends from Northern California to southwestern British Columbia. Most of the MCVF volcanoes were formed during periods of volcanism under sheets of glacial ice throughout the last glacial period. These subglacial eruptions formed steep, flat-topped volcanoes and subglacial lava domes, most of which have been entirely exposed by deglaciation. However, at least two volcanoes predate the last glacial period and both are highly eroded. The field gets its name from Mount Cayley, a volcanic peak located at the southern end of the Powder Mountain Icefield. This icefield covers much of the central portion of the volcanic field and is one of the several glacial fields in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains.

Mount Cayley massif Mountains in British Columbia

The Mount Cayley massif is a group of mountains in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located 45 km (28 mi) north of Squamish and 24 km (15 mi) west of Whistler, the massif resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield. It consists of an eroded but potentially active stratovolcano that towers over the Cheakamus and Squamish river valleys. All major summits have elevations greater than 2,000 m (6,600 ft), Mount Cayley being the highest at 2,385 m (7,825 ft). The surrounding area has been inhabited by indigenous peoples for more than 7,000 years while geothermal exploration has taken place there for the last four decades.

References

  1. 1 2 Jack Souther (August 12, 2004). "Why Flute is Red and Piccolo Green". Whistler Naturalists.