Sorcery Ridge

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Sorcery Ridge
Canada British Columbia relief location map.jpg
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Sorcery Ridge
Location in British Columbia
Highest point
Elevation 2,039 m (6,690 ft) [1]
Coordinates 57°39′21.85″N130°36′54.15″W / 57.6560694°N 130.6150417°W / 57.6560694; -130.6150417 [1]
Geography
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
District Cassiar Land District
Parent range Tahltan Highland
Topo map NTS   104G10 Mount Edziza

Sorcery Ridge is a mountain ridge extending east of Tencho Glacier on the southern flank of Mount Edziza in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded on the north and south by valleys containing unnamed streams while to the east and northeast it is bounded by Tennaya Creek valley. Sorcery Ridge is the namesake of Sorcery Creek which flows adjacent to Tennaya Creek from another ridge just to the south. [2]

Contents

The highest point of Sorcery Ridge reaches an elevation of 2,039 metres (6,690 feet) at its westernmost end. [1] [2] Sorcery Ridge is one of three ridges east of the Big Raven Plateau named by Canadian volcanologist Jack Souther, the other two being Cartoona Ridge to the south and Idiji Ridge to the north. [2]

Geology

Sorcery Ridge consists largely of sedimentary, volcanic, granitic and metamorphic rocks of Mesozoic and Paleozoic age. These rocks are overlain by Pliocene alkali basalt flows of the Nido Formation which are in turn overlain by Pleistocene alkali basalt, hawaiite, tristanite, trachybasalt and mugearite flows and pyroclastic breccia of the Ice Peak Formation. The Nido and Ice Peak formations are two geological formations comprising the Mount Edziza volcanic complex which has been the focus of volcanic activity since the Miocene. [2]

The northern side of Sorcery Ridge contains a 215-metre-high (705-foot) volcanic plug called The Neck. [2] [3] It consists mainly of trachyte of the Ice Peak Formation and is about 300 metres (980 feet) in diameter, representing the eroded remains of a parasitic vent on the southeastern flank of the Ice Peak stratovolcano. [3] Two distinctive flows of Edziza obsidian are present on Sorcery Ridge which are also part of the Ice Peak Formation. [4]

See also

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Tennena Cone, alternatively Icebridge Cone, is a small volcanic cone in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has an elevation of 2,390 metres and lies on the western flank of Ice Peak, the prominent south peak of Mount Edziza. The cone is almost completely surrounded by glacial ice of Mount Edziza's ice cap which covers an area of around 70 square kilometres. Tennena Cone is 200 metres high, 1,200 metres long and up to 600 metres wide, its symmetrical structure resembling a black pyramid. The cone and the surrounding area lies in Mount Edziza Provincial Park which also includes the Spectrum Range to the south.

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Cartoona Ridge is a mountain ridge extending east from the eastern side of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded on the north by Shaman Creek valley, on the south by Chakima Creek valley, on the east by Kakiddi Creek valley and on the west by the Big Raven Plateau. Its highest point and only named peak is Cartoona Peak at the westernmost end of the ridge with an elevation of 2,300 metres. Carttona Ridge is one of three ridges east of the Big Raven Plateau named by Canadian volcanologist Jack Souther, the other two being Idiji Ridge and Sorcery Ridge to the north.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Raven Formation</span> Geological formation in British Columbia, Canada

The Big Raven Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Quaternary age in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is the youngest and least voluminous geological formation of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex (MEVC); it overlies at least six older formations of this volcanic complex. The main volcanic rocks of the Big Raven Formation are alkali basalts and hawaiites, although a small volume of trachyte comprises the Sheep Track Member. These rocks were deposited by volcanic eruptions in the last 20,000 years during the latest magmatic cycle of the MEVC. Alkali basalt and hawaiite are in the form of lava flows and small volcanic cones while trachyte of the Sheep Track Member is mainly in the form of volcanic ejecta which covers an area of about 40 square kilometres.

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The Edziza Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Pleistocene age in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. First described in 1984, the Edziza Formation was mapped as one of several geological formations of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. It overlies at least four other geological formations of this volcanic complex that differ in age and composition. The main volcanic rock comprising the Edziza Formation is trachyte which was deposited by volcanic eruptions at the end of the third magmatic cycle of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex 0.9 million years ago.

Artifact Ridge is a mountain ridge extending southeast from the eastern side of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded on the north by Bourgeaux Creek valley, on the south by Artifact Creek valley, on the east by the Little Iskut River valley and on the west by the Kitsu Plateau. The ridge is at the southeastern end of Mount Edziza Provincial Park and gets its name from the knapping of obsidian tools and points by early Tahltan hunters. Destell Pass cuts north–south through the westernmost end of Artifact Ridge.

Yagi Ridge is a mountain ridge extending northwest from the middle of the Spectrum Range at the southern end of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded on the north by Nagha Glacier and Nagha Creek valley, on the south by Yeda Creek on the Arctic Lake Plateau and on the west by Mess Creek valley. Yagi Ridge reaches an elevation of 2,243 metres at the head of Nagha Glacier where its eastern end adjoins to the Spectrum Range just northwest of Yeda Peak.

Idiji Ridge is a mountain ridge extending east of Tencho Glacier on the southern flank of Mount Edziza in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded on the south by a valley containing an unnamed valley, on the east by Tennaya Creek valley and on the north by cirques extending east of Ice Peak. Idiji Ridge takes its name from the adjacent Idiji Glacier; Idiji means "it thunders" in the Tahltan language.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elevation and coordinates derived from Google Earth.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Souther, J. G. (1988). "1623A" (Geologic map). Geology, Mount Edziza Volcanic Complex, British Columbia. 1:50,000. Cartography by M. Sigouin, Geological Survey of Canada. Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. doi: 10.4095/133498 .
  3. 1 2 Souther, J. G. (1992). The Late Cenozoic Mount Edziza Volcanic Complex, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada (Report). Memoir 420. Canada Communication Group. p. 154. doi:10.4095/133497. ISBN   0-660-14407-7.
  4. Reiner, Rudy (2015). "Reassessing the role of Mount Edziza obsidian in northwestern North America". Journal of Archaeological Science . 2. Elsevier: 218, 219. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.04.003. ISSN   2352-409X.