Sorcery Ridge | |
---|---|
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 [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]
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]
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]
Mount Edziza, sometimes called Edziza Mountain or Edziza Peak, is a stratovolcano in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the Big Raven Plateau of the Tahltan Highland which extends along the western side of the Stikine Plateau. The mountain has an elevation of 2,786 metres, making it the highest volcano of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. However, it had an elevation of at least 3,396 metres before its original summit was likely destroyed by a violent, climactic eruption in the geologic past; its current flat summit contains an ice-filled, 2-kilometre (1.2-mile) in diameter crater. Mount Edziza contains several lava domes, cinder cones and lava fields on its flanks, as well as an ice cap that is characterized by several outlet glaciers stretching out to lower altitudes. All sides of the mountain are drained by tributaries of Mess Creek and Kakiddi Creek which are situated within the Stikine River watershed.
The Spectrum Range, formerly gazetted as the Spectrum Mountains and the Rainbow Mountains, is a small mountain range in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located at the southern end of the Tahltan Highland, it borders the Skeena Mountains in the east and the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the west. The Spectrum Range is surrounded by the Arctic Lake Plateau in the southwest and the Kitsu Plateau in the northwest, both of which contain volcanic features such as cinder cones. It lies at the southern end of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex which includes the two neighbouring plateaus as well as Mount Edziza and the Big Raven Plateau to the north. The mountain range is drained on all sides by streams within the Stikine River watershed and, unlike Mount Edziza to the north, contains relatively small separate glaciers. Mount Edziza Provincial Park is the main protected area surrounding the Spectrum Range.
The Big Raven Plateau is an intermontane plateau in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It lies on the Tahltan Highland and is surrounded by several valleys, including those of Mess Creek, Kakiddi Creek, Chakima Creek, Walkout Creek and the Klastline River. The plateau is drained by many small streams that flow into these neighbouring valleys and, unlike the valleys, it is relatively barren of vegetation. Stream erosion has resulted in the creation of canyons with intervening ridges on the eastern and western sides of the plateau, resulting in the creation of rugged terrain. The plateau is in Mount Edziza Provincial Park which is one of the largest provincial parks in British Columbia. Access to the Big Raven Plateau is mainly by aircraft or by a network of footpaths from surrounding roads.
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 are in Mount Edziza Provincial Park which also includes the Spectrum Range to the south.
The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a group of volcanoes and associated lava flows in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located on the Tahltan Highland, it is 40 kilometres southeast of Telegraph Creek and 85 kilometres southwest of Dease Lake. The complex encompasses a broad, steep-sided lava plateau that extends over 1,000 square kilometres. Its highest summit is 2,786 metres in elevation, making the MEVC the highest of four large complexes in an extensive north–south trending volcanic region. It is obscured by an ice cap characterized by several outlet glaciers that stretch out to lower altitudes.
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.
The Raspberry Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Miocene age in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.
The Armadillo Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Miocene age in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.
The Nido Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Neogene age in northwestern 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.
The Mount Edziza volcanic complex (MEVC) in British Columbia, Canada, has a long history of volcanism that spans more than 7 million years. It occurred during five cycles of magmatic activity, each producing less volcanic material than the previous one. Volcanism during these cycles has created several types of volcanoes, including cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, subglacial volcanoes, shield volcanoes and lava domes. The approximately 1,000-square-kilometre (400-square-mile) volcanic plateau forming the base of the MEVC owes its origin to successive eruptions of highly mobile lava flows. Volcanic rocks such as basalt, trachybasalt, benmoreite, tristanite, mugearite, trachyte and rhyolite were deposited by multiple eruptions of the MEVC; the latter seven rock types are products of varying degrees of magmatic differentiation in underground magma reservoirs. At least 10 distinct flows of obsidian were produced by volcanism of the MEVC, some of which were exploited by indigenous peoples in prehistoric times to make tools and weaponry. Renewed volcanism could produce explosive eruptions and block local streams with lava flows.
Tencho Glacier is a mountain glacier in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located inside Mount Edziza Provincial Park on the Tahltan Highland, an upland area of the Stikine Plateau. Tencho Glacier is the source of several small streams that flow from the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.
Tennaya Glacier is one of several glaciers draining the eastern side of the Mount Edziza ice cap in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located southeast of the summit of Mount Edziza and northwest of Ice Peak at the head of Tennaya Creek. Meltwater from Tennaya Glacier feeds Tennaya Creek which eventually flows into Nuttlude Lake, an expansion of Kakiddi Creek.
Idiji Glacier is one of several glaciers draining the eastern side of the Mount Edziza ice cap in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the summit of Mount Edziza in a cirque just southeast of Ice Peak. Idiji Glacier is separated from the much larger Tencho Glacier by a ridge that extends south of Ice Peak above the Idiji cirque headwall. Idiji Glacier is the namesake of Idiji Ridge which is just to the southeast.
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 creek, 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.
Kounugu Mountain is a mountain in the Spectrum Range at the southern end of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is southeast of Yeda Peak, west and northwest of the Little Iskut River, south of Stewbomb Creek valley and just north of Little Ball Lake. It has an elevation of 2,267 metres and lies at the southeastern end of the Spectrum Range. The mountain is also at the southeastern end of Mount Edziza Provincial Park which is southeast of the community of Telegraph Creek.
Kuno Peak is a mountain peak in the Spectrum Range at the southern end of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is south of Yagi Ridge, west of Yeda Peak, southeast of Outcast Hill, east of Exile Hill, northeast of Tadekho Hill and north of Little Arctic Lake, the latter four of which are on the northern end of the Arctic Lake Plateau. It has an elevation of 2,183 metres and lies at the southwestern end of the Spectrum Range. Tadekho Creek originates from the southern flank of the ridge connecting Kuno Peak with Yeda Peak.