Blackcomb Peak
This article describes the geographical feature Blackcomb Peak, for the ski resort see Whistler Blackcomb. Blackcomb Peak is a mountain located east of Whistler, British Columbia and forms the boundary between the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort and Garibaldi Provincial Park. Like Whistler Mountain, it is located on the edge of Garibaldi Provincial Park and the ski lifts are used to access the park for the Spearhead Traverse. Several skiing runs are established on the mountain, with Whistler Village at the base of the mountain on the side facing Whistler Mountain, Blackcomb Village on the face opposite; the 2010 Winter Olympics sliding sports took place on its slopes, with the Whistler Sliding Centre located on it
Mount Bishop (Fannin Range)
Mount Bishop is a mountain located on the northern border of Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising from the shores of Indian Arm to a summit of 1,509 metres. Mount Bishop is a rocky summit with old growth on its lower slopes; the mountain was named in honour of Joseph Charles Bishop, the first president of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club, who died in 1913 after falling into a crevasse whilst climbing on Mount Baker. The first ascent of Mount Bishop was made in 1909 by a party of climbers from the British Columbia Mountaineering Club led by Fred Mills; the mountain was approached by boat to the top of Indian Arm, opposite Crocker Island, where the group camped overnight. In the morning they broke into two groups, the others climbing Mount Elsay and headed up Bishop Creek. Among the Bishop party was a Mr Cromie, former owner of the Vancouver News-Advertiser. Upon reaching the summits of the two mountains at about 9.30am, the two parties of climbers called to each other.
Although Mount Bishop is close to Vancouver, it is climbed. Hikers now approach this mountain from either the BCMC trail on the west shoulder of Mount Elsay, or the North Shore Rescue trail which runs up from the East side of the Seymour Dam. Both these trails bring one to Vicar Lake a steep climb brings the hiker up the west ridge of the mountain to the peak; the Peak is flanked by Mount Dickens on the North, with Elsay Lake and Mount Elsay to the South. This should be approached only with caution and experience. West Trail West Trail description on Club Tread website South Trail South Trail on Club Tread Archives Website of the North Vancouver Archives BCMC Website of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club Mount Bishop hiking route description Website of the Outdoor Vancouver
Mount Breakenridge
Mount Breakenridge, 2,395 m or 7,858 ft, is a mountain in the Lillooet Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, located on the east side of upper Harrison Lake in the angle of mountains formed by that lake and the Big Silver River. The name was conferred by Lieutenant Palmer RE for Archibald, T. Breakenridge RE, a member of his party, during a reconnaissance survey by the Royal Engineers from the north end of Harrison Lake to Four Mile House in the Douglas Road along the Lillooet River in 1859. In Ucwalmícwts, the language of the Lower Lillooet people, the mountain's name is mólkwcen, the name of a fishing camp located near the mouth of Stokke Creek, a creek feeding Harrison Lake from its origins on the flank of Breakenridge. Mount Breakenridge is the subject of intensive study by government geologists due to the location of a fracture or shear zone on the mountainside above Harrison Lake. Researchers have identified the shear zone as a major risk for collapse into Harrison Lake, one of British Columbia's largest and deepest lakes, causing a large megatsunami.
The fracture is a group of cracks caused by tension from a large and unstable piece of rock, was most made more unstable by the abundant rain and seismic activity of the area. Supermarine landslides, what is feared in the case of Mount Breakenridge, disrupt the body of water from above when debris falls in, the energy from the debris travels into the water. If the unstable piece of rock fell, it would quickly move and displace large amounts of water; when a landslide generates a tsunami, it can produce waves that cause severe damage when the energy of the waves is amplified by being trapped in an inlet of the coast. The potential destruction that could be seen in the event of a landslide and accompanying tsunami would be devastating; these types of tsunamis have enough strength to cause a serious threat for any village nearby and have been known to remove all the sand off a beach after moving through the area. Most at risk is the resort village of Harrison Hot Springs, located at the south end of the lake.
Other towns that would be reached by the water are Port Douglas, at the head of the lake, Fraser Valley, Whatcom County, Washington. Any town along the Harrison River is at risk. There are many industries; the roads would be destroyed or blocked, inhibiting transportation for the logging trucks, fisheries would be destroyed or unable to function due to the disturbed lake. The aspects of the area that draw in tourists to the resort town, such as skiing and camping, would be negatively affected; the areas that would be affected do have some precautionary measures in place. There are defensive structures in place to help stop flowing debris that were constructed to protect the transportation routes. There is a tsunami warning and alerting plan in place that notifies citizens of impending danger via sirens, phone calls, door to door messages. There are online precautionary and educational resources available such as suggested safety plans although in the event of the tsunami occurring, there would not be much warning time.
The expansion of development in the region is making the community more vulnerable to disaster. The area is a forested landscape, the intact forests may reduce the force of an incoming tsunami, lessening the damage and loss to life, although the exact level of destruction and disturbance regime is still dependent on local factors such as the shape or features of the coastline. After a destructive event such as the feared tsunami, there would most be secondary succession, a type of ecological recovery where the area is not destroyed and the species that once lived there can return. However, this depends on how the community reacts to help the area recover, such as clearing trash and debris from the tsunami out of the landscape, etc. Depending on the level of destruction the infrastructure, industrial facilities, residential parts of the community would have to be rebuilt, either or completely, it is important that citizens of the area and the rest of the world know about the danger, possible due to the instability of the mountainside and the potential for a resulting megatsunami.
Tsunamis are an unstoppable force but people need to be proactive and prepared to try to lessen the damage and loss through evacuation planning and be ready to assist in recovery after the fact. People’s lives, property and financial livelihoods are at risk, as well as the species of the surrounding ecosystem and the landscape itself being in the path of danger. Depending on how common these species are and what roles they play in the ecosystem, their extinction caused by such a disaster would have a large impact on the way the area's systems functioned. If nothing else, the economic hit that the tsunami would produce would be devastating due to the effects it could have on the logging and tourism industries. In the past, there have been several tsunamis in the British Columbia area. Two, occurring in 1700 and 1946, never hit the shore. Three tsunamis did make landfall. One struck in 1960, was caused by a magnitude 9.5 quake. It affected the town of Tofino by damaging the local log booms; the next, in 1964, was caused by a magnitude 8.5 earthquake and produced a 14-foot wave that flooded parts of the towns Hot Springs Cove and Port Alberni.
The wave was traveling over 435 mph and caused abou
Brandywine Mountain
Brandywine Mountain, 2,213 m or 7,260 ft, is a summit in the Powder Mountain Icefield of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southwestern British Columbia, about 25 km west of the resort town of Whistler. Its name is derived from that of Brandywine Falls, the result of a bet over the falls' height. Mount Fee Mount Cayley Mount Callaghan Brandywine Creek
Camelsfoot Range
The Camelsfoot Range is a sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. The Fraser River forms its eastern boundary; the range is 90 km at its maximum length and less than 30 km wide at its widest. The far southeast end of the Camelsfoot is rugged, dropping to one last point at 7000'-plus before plunging into the gorge of the Fraser Canyon at Fountain, near Lillooet. For 45 km NW from there, the range is rocky and forested with lodgepole pine, breaking into high benchlands and large creek basins draining through benchland country via small canyons. Beyond that the range's terrain is much more gentle, with high, meadowed ridges running east towards the Fraser Canyon between treed plateaus and small canyons, a few large, barren domes running further north along the Fraser; the range is bounded on the north and west by a large and impressive benchland-and-hoodoo sand canyon similar to those along the range's east flank - that of Churn Creek, a provincial protected area.
The historic Empire Valley Ranch is near the mouth of Churn Creek and is provincially protected for heritage and environmental reasons. It is on a high side-valley above the Fraser Canyon. Camelsfoot Peak and the range itself take their name from an odd episode in the story of the Fraser and Cariboo Gold Rushes. Frank Laumeister, a United States veteran of the Camel Corps, bought 23 camels from the US military, ending their use, he used the animals to carry freight on the Douglas Road and the Old Cariboo Road from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria, on the new Cariboo Wagon Road from Yale. After this, he discontinued using the camels. Horses could not stand their smell, the camels' soft feet were hurt by the rocky soils of the BC Interior and the canyon trails, handlers found them difficult. Many escaped retirement into the wilds; the last confirmed sighting was in the Ashcroft area in 1905 1910 by some claims. Barroom stories recount sightings elsewhere in the southern Interior into the 1930s, but these are taken with the same amount of stock as the Sasquatch or the Cariboo Alligator.
The original Log Cabin Theatre in Lillooet, still exists today was used by Laumeister for a camel barn. No one knows; the new highway bridge in Lillooet is named the Bridge of the Twenty-Three Camels to commemorate their role in local history. The name of the Yalakom River is a simplified version of the Chilcotin word for the ewe of the mountain sheep. Shulaps, the name of the range to the west of the Camelsfoot, is a simplified version of the Chilcotin for the ram. There have been copper prospects operating on Red Mountain 2445 m, the highest in the range, on Poison Mountain 2264 m, just south Red, is located where the spine of the Shulaps Range intersects with that of the Camelsfoot, at the apex of the Yalakom valley which runs SE towards Lillooet from this point. Poison Mountain's name comes from the toxic leaching of its orebodies into local streams while Red's comes from the colour of its cuprous earth. Red's flanks show ziggurat-like scars that are evidence of the scale of ore-sampling that at one time was underway.
There are projected open-pit mine and smelter plans for the Poison Mountain-Red Mountain orebody, using power from the projected Hat Creek lignite deposits nearby on the other side of the Fraser. These have never been brought forward in the public planning process, nor are they to be given the scope of First Nations land claims in the immediate region. Red has a twin summit, French Mountain 2231 m named French Bar Mountain after a rich gold-bearing bar on the Fraser just east. North of them is a remote, gentle summit known as Black Dome Mountain 2252 m. China Head 2125 m and Nine Mile Ridge 2422 m are southeast of Red and are large, wide ridges covered in meadow. China Head's name is thought by some to have to do with a conical-shaped hill atop the ridge visible from the Fraser, but the name may have to do with long-established Lillooet entrepreneur Cheng Won, who owned a hog ranch on Leon Creek, another valley south and "Wo Hing General Store" in Lillooet; the term "head" in 19th-century frontier usage was a synonym for mountain or ridge or headland, not meant as a reference to a head.
Due south of it is the isolated massif of Yalakom Mountain 2424 m, one of the highest in the range and remains a redoubt of mountain sheep and other big game, was part of a long-standing wildlife preserve. East of Yalakom Mountain is Hogback Mountain 2149 m, whose name is not descriptive but concerns Cheng Won's hog ranch on its shoulders from which the pigs would run wild onto the mountain. South of Hogback and Leon Creek the range becomes much more rugged as it narrows. Mount Birch 2232 m, just south of Leon Creek, is named after the Lieutenant-Governor who ran the Crown Colony of British Columbia for most of the alcoholic Frederick Seymour's term as Governor. Birch has a twin summit on its short, sharp ridge - Mount Duncan 2182 m and a southern foreshoulder overlooking the confluence of the Yalakom and Bridge Rivers is named Mount Bishop 1,721 m. From Bishop south to the Fraser the boundary of the range is the lower stretches of the Bridge River, after its confluence with the Yalakom. A rural farming and ranching community named Moha called Yalakom, is located around that confluence, the lower end of the Big Canyon of the Bridge River.
Southeast from Duncan there is S
Mount Cayley massif
The Mount Cayley massif is a group of mountains in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located 45 km north of Squamish and 24 km west of Whistler, the massif resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield, it consists of an eroded but active stratovolcano that towers over the Cheakamus and Squamish river valleys. All major summits have elevations greater than 2,000 m, Mount Cayley being the highest at 2,385 m; 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. Part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the Mount Cayley massif was formed by subduction zone volcanism along the western margin of North America. Eruptive activity began about 4,000,000 years ago and has since undergone three stages of growth, the first two of which built most of the massif; the latest eruptive period occurred sometime in the last 400,000 years with lesser activity continuing into the present day.
Future eruptions are to threaten neighbouring communities with pyroclastic flows and floods. To monitor this threat, the volcano and its surroundings are monitored by the Geological Survey of Canada. Eruption impact would be a result of the concentration of vulnerable infrastructure in nearby valleys; the massif resides in the middle of a north–south trending zone of volcanism called the Mount Cayley volcanic field. It consists predominantly of volcanoes that formed subglacially during the Late Pleistocene age, such as Pali Dome, Slag Hill, Ring Mountain and Ember Ridge, but activity continued at Pali Dome and Slag Hill into the Holocene epoch; the Mount Cayley volcanic field is part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, which in turn represents a northern extension of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. Volcanism of the Cascade Arc is a result of the Juan de Fuca Plate sliding under the North American Plate at the Cascadia subduction zone. Three main summits comprise the Mount Cayley massif; the highest and northernmost is Mount Cayley with an elevation of 2,385 m.
Its northeastern flank abuts the southern end of the Powder Mountain Icefield. This is a 9 km long and 5 km wide irregularly-shaped glacier that trends to the northwest. Just southwest of Mount Cayley lies 2,341 m in elevation, it contains a jagged summit ridge of many slender rock pinnacles, the largest of, known as the Vulcan's Thumb. Wizard Peak with an elevation of 2,240 m is east of Pyroclastic Peak and is the lowest of the three main summits; as a stratovolcano, the Mount Cayley massif is built up of solidified lava and ash from successive volcanic eruptions. It is predominantly dacitic in composition, although rhyodacite is common, its original and current volumes remain uncertain. It may have had a volume as large as 13 km3, but erosion has since reduced it to glacially eroded crags; the modern volcano has an estimated volume of 8 km3 and is only a modest fraction of its total output of silicic eruptive products. It has a proximal relief of 550 m and a draping relief of 2,070 m, with a nearly vertical cliff more than 500 m high above the Turbid Creek valley.
Turbid Creek, Dusty Creek, Avalanche Creek and Shovelnose Creek flow from the slopes of the Mount Cayley massif. Deep seismic profiling 12.5 to 13 km below the massif has identified a large bright spot, a reflector interpreted to be a mid-crustal magma chamber or body of hot rock. Similar mid-crustal reflectors have been identified under subduction zone volcanoes in Japan; the Mount Cayley massif has experienced volcanic eruptions sporadically for the last 4,000,000 years, making it one of the most persistent eruptive centres in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt. Three primary eruptive stages in the history of the massif have been identified; the Mount Cayley and Vulcan's Thumb stages occurred between 4,000,000 and 600,000 years ago with the construction of the stratovolcano and plug domes. A 300,000-year-long period of quiescence followed, during which prolonged erosion destroyed much of the original volcanic structure; this was followed by the third and final Shovelnose stage about 300,000 to 200,000 years ago with the emplacement of parasitic lava domes and flows.
Although one of the Shovelnose domes has been potassium-argon dated at 310,000 years old, this date may be in error from excess argon. The Shovelnose stage rocks could be much younger less than 15,000 years old. Eruptions during the three stages produced volcanic rocks of felsic and intermediate compositions, including andesite and rhyodacite; the lack of evidence for volcano-ice interactions at the Mount Cayley massif implies that all eruptive stages most took place prior to glacial periods. This contrasts with many neighbouring volcanoes, which contain abundant volcanic glass and fine-scale columnar jointing from contact with ice during eruptions. Initial volcanic activity of the Mount Cayley massif 4,000,000 years ago corresponded with changes to the regional plate tectonics; this involved the separation of the Explorer and Juan de Fuca plates off the British Columbia Coast, which had some significant ramifications for regional geologic evolution. After this reorganization ceased, volcanism shifted westward from the Pemberton Volcanic Belt to establish the younger and active Garibaldi Volcanic Belt.
The westward shift in volcanism may have been related to steepening of the Juan de Fuca slab after the formation of the Explorer Plate. The early Mount Cayley stage was characterized by the eruption of felsic lava flows and pyroclastic rocks onto a crystalline bas
North Shore Mountains
The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city; the steep southern slopes of the North Shore Mountains limit the extent to which the mainland municipalities of Greater Vancouver's North Shore can grow. In many places on the North Shore, residential neighbourhoods abruptly end and rugged forested slopes begin; these forested slopes are crisscrossed by a large network of trails including the Baden-Powell Trail, the Howe Sound Crest Trail, the Binkert/Lions Trail and a wide variety of mountain biking trails. The North Shore Mountains are a small subrange of the Pacific Ranges, the southernmost grouping of the vast Coast Mountains, they are bounded on the south by Burrard Inlet, on the west and north-west by Howe Sound, on the north and north-east by the Garibaldi Ranges. To the east the bounds are defined by Indian Arm; the ridge running north from Mount Seymour has its own name, the Fannin Range, while the bulk of the range and most of the Howe Sound-flanking portion of it is known as the Britannia Range.
Although not high, these mountains are rugged and should not be underestimated. Severe weather conditions in the North Shore Mountains contrast with mild conditions in nearby Vancouver; this is true in winter, but in summer, large precipices are hidden close to popular hiking trails and it is easy to get lost, despite being in sight of the city. Those who venture into the North Shore Mountains for whatever reason should be well prepared at any time of year. Three deep valleys divide the North Shore Mountains; these are, in order from west to east: Capilano River valley The Lynn Headwaters Lynn Valley Seymour River valleyThe Capilano and Seymour rivers emanate from the massive GVRD watershed area. The watershed extends deep into the North Shore Mountains region, but is off-limits to all unauthorized human activities; the Lynn Headwaters, a deep cirque valley drained by Lynn Creek, is no longer part of the GVRD watershed and is now a popular Regional Park. There are two Provincial Parks in the area, Cypress Provincial Park and Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
Both feature reliable road access, downhill ski areas, extensive trail networks. Nearby Grouse Mountain features a downhill ski area and tourist attractions which are accessible by the Skyride, an aerial tramway. A popular hiking trail, the Grouse Grind, climbs up the steep flanks of Grouse Mountain from the tramway parking lot. Before the Grouse Mountain Skyride was built, a chairlift operated from Skyline Drive at the head of North Vancouver's Lonsdale Avenue, the ski area itself could be accessed via Mountain Highway, which now has a gate at its upper end in the Lynn Valley neighbourhood. In the Seymour valley, a paved access road called the Seymour Trailway winds for many kilometres into the mountains, it is used for recreation, for TV and film productions such as Stargate SG-1. There are dozens of individual mountains in the North Shore Mountains; the list below is incomplete. Sky Pilot Mountain Mount Hanover Deeks Peak Black Mountain – A forested summit overlooking Horseshoe Bay. Ski runs on the northern slopes are managed by Cypress Mountain Resort.
Hollyburn Mountain – A popular hiking destination. Known as Hollyburn Ridge and the location of an old alpine recreation community dating back to the early years of the 20th Century, it is the site of the only groomed cross-country ski trails in the Lower Mainland. Mount Strachan – Ski runs on the southern slopes are managed by Cypress Mountain Resort. Mount Fromme – A large forested summit dome seen but visited; this mountain is noted for the mountain biking trails on its south slopes. Grouse Mountain – Site of a popular ski area, the popular hiking trail Grouse Grind. Dam Mountain – Located directly west of Grouse Mountain with the hike from the Grouse lodge referred to as the "Snowshoe Grind". Goat Mountain – Another popular alpine hiking destination conveniently located near the top of the Grouse Mountain aerial tramway. Crown Mountain – An exposed granite pyramid ringed by sheer cliffs. Lynn Peak – A small forested mountain a popular hiking destination due to ease of access; the Needles – An isolated series of ridge-top summits north of Lynn Peak.
Coliseum Mountain – A remote alpine area consisting of a series of gentle granite exposures. Mount Burwell – A remote granite dome located at the limit of legal backcountry access. Cathedral Mountain – Among the tallest and most prominent of the North Shore Mountains, but off-limits due to its location within the Greater Vancouver watershed. Mount Seymour – Good trails and convenient access by road make Seymour a local classic hiking area. Downhill ski area in winter. Mount Elsay – A remote backcountry peak located beyond Seymour. Mount Bishop – A climbed peak in the remote northern region of Mt. Seymour Provincial Park; the Lions – Probably the most famous peaks in the North Shore Mountains. These mountains, a pair of twin granite domes, are visually distinctive and can be seen from much of the Greater Vancouver area. Mount Harvey – An isolated alpine peak located near the Lions. Brunswick Mountain – The highest of the North Shore Mountains, located north of Mount Harvey. Capilano Mountain – east of the headwaters of the Capilano River Britannia Range Fannin Range Geography
