Vulcan's Thumb

Last updated
Vulcan's Thumb
Vulcan's Thumb.jpg
Highest point
Elevation 2,290 m (7,510 ft)
Coordinates 50°06′41.06″N123°17′40.22″W / 50.1114056°N 123.2945056°W / 50.1114056; -123.2945056
Geography
Location British Columbia, Canada
District New Westminster Land District
Parent range Pacific Ranges
Topo map NTS   92J3 Brandywine Falls
Geology
Age of rock Pleistocene
Mountain type Pinnacle
Volcanic arc/belt Canadian Cascade Arc
Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
Climbing
First ascent None

The Vulcan's Thumb is a rock pinnacle in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest of a number of slender pinnacles protruding from the sharp summit ridge of Pyroclastic Peak, which forms part of the Mount Cayley massif. [1]

Three eruptive stages built the Mount Cayley massif, the second of which is named after the Vulcan's Thumb. [1]

See also

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 Kelman, M. C., Russell, J. K., Hickson, C. J. (2001). "Preliminary petrography and chemistry of the Mount Cayley volcanic field, British Columbia", Current Research Part A, Geological Survey of Canada Paper 2001-A11, pp. 4, 5.