The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group,
is a potentially active
monogenetic volcanic field in east-central
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
, Canada, located approximately north of
Kamloops. It is situated in the
Cariboo Mountains of the
Columbia Mountains
The Columbia Mountains are a group of mountain ranges along the upper Columbia River in British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington. The mountain range covers 135,952 km² (52,491 sq mi). The range is bounded by the Rocky Mountain T ...
and on the
Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard language, Picard dialect of French language, French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to:
Places
* Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France
* Quesnel, British Columbia, a c ...
and
Shuswap Highland
The Shuswap Highland is a plateau-like hilly area of in British Columbia, Canada. It spans the upland area between the Bonaparte and Thompson Plateaus from the area of Mahood Lake, at the southeast corner of the Cariboo Plateau, southeast towar ...
s. As a monogenetic volcanic field, it is a place with numerous small
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
ic
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
es and extensive
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
flows.
Most of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is encompassed within a large wilderness park called
Wells Gray Provincial Park
Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres (524,990 hectares o ...
.
This park was established in 1939 to protect
Helmcken Falls and the unique features of the
Clearwater River drainage basin, including this volcanic field.
Five roads enter the park and provide views of some of the field's volcanic features.
Short hikes lead to several other volcanic features, but some areas are accessible only by aircraft.
Geology
Pleistocene epoch
Based on
radiocarbon
Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...
and
potassium-argon dating, volcanic activity in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field began in the early
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided ...
, creating
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
-filling and
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
-capping lava flows that have a total volume of approximately .
The emplacement of these lava flows spanned at least three periods of glaciation, evidence for which is preserved in the form of
tuyas, ice-ponded valley deposits, and
subglacial mounds.
The few tuyas in the region, such as
Gage Hill,
Hyalo Ridge,
McLeod Hill
McLeod Hill is a tuya, located north of Clearwater in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.
McLeod Hill last erupted about 12,000 years ago when the Murtle Plateau was s ...
and
Mosquito Mound, were formed when magma intruded into and melted a vertical pipe in the overlying glacial ice. The partially molten mass cooled as a large block, with gravity flattening its upper surface. The glacial erosion of the tuyas suggests they erupted during the early Pleistocene epoch.
At least one explosive
subaqueous volcano
A subaqueous volcano is a volcano formed beneath freshwater and which never builds above lake level. They are commonly in the form of gently sloping tuff cones, although they can sometimes have an , such as White Horse Bluff in the Wells Gray-C ...
formed during the Pleistocene epoch.
This subaqueous volcano, known as
White Horse Bluff
White Horse Bluff is a subaqueous volcano in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada.
Geology
About half a million years ago, the Clearwater Valley was filled by a lake backed up by a lava dam near Hemp Creek. White Hor ...
, is thought to have formed in three phases.
Its first phase of activity was involved with water, possibly dammed by glacial ice which filled the
Clearwater River valley.
The volcano heated glacial water then flooded down the volcano's vent, creating violent steam explosions and broken lava fragments.
Once the steam explosions had subsided, the broken lava fragments settled back into the glacial water, creating the unvolcano-like form of White Horse Bluff which is mostly made of fragmental
volcanic glass
Volcanic glass is the amorphous (uncrystallized) product of rapidly cooling magma. Like all types of glass, it is a state of matter intermediate between the closely packed, highly ordered array of a crystal and the highly disordered array of ...
called
hyaloclastite.
The volcano ceased erupting soon after breaching the surface of the glacial water.
Other volcanic events elsewhere interacted with
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
and
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...
creating numerous
pit craters.
Many of these pit craters have been filled with water creating several
crater lakes. In some places glacial
till and fluvial sands and gravels are maintained under the several lava flows that form the volcanic field.
Paleosols are found, but are rare.
Glaciation has left a thick blanket of till over nearly all of the volcanic deposits and therefore outcrop is largely limited to cliffforming exposures in several valleys.
Holocene epoch
At the end of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
approximately 10,000 years ago, massive floods from the melting glacial ice carved deep canyons into the underlying plateau-capping lava flows.
Most of these canyons contain rivers such as the
Murtle and Clearwater, and waterfalls such as
Canim Falls,
Moul Falls,
Spahats Falls and the high
Helmcken Falls.
The faces of the basaltic lava flows and waterfalls remain vertical due to the nature of the basaltic lava flows.
Basaltic lava shrinks as it cools and forms vertical columns of rock called
columnar basalt.
More recently, the southern end of the volcanic field has experienced continuous volcanic activity since the end of the last ice age. This volcanic activity occurred in three areas; Spanish Creek,
Ray Lake and
Kostal Lake which were followed by
lava fountain
Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land ...
eruptions creating
cinder cone
A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruption ...
s and lava flows.
Volcanism in the Spanish Creek and Ray Lake areas were synglacial but continued after the glacial ice had melted away.
Two cinder cones, known as
Flourmill Cone and
Pointed Stick Cone, were created in the Spanish Creek area.
Lava flows from the two cinder cones lie on glaciated bedrock without an intervening
paleosol, indicating an early
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
age.
Eruptions near Ray Lake built a cinder cone known as
Dragon Cone and concluded with an approximately long
aā lava flow that has been
radiocarbon dated at about 7,600 years old.
This lava flow, known as "Dragon's Tongue", is at least thick at the proximal end, but thins to at the distal end, damming the southern end of
Clearwater Lake.
Tree molds are maintained within the lava flow at the lower end.
The latest volcanic eruption created a small tree-covered
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
ic cinder cone at the east end of Kostal Lake called
Kostal Cone perhaps as recently as 400 years ago, making it one of the youngest volcanoes in Canada based on tree-growth data.
Origins
The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field began forming approximately 3,500,000 years ago and has grown steadily since then.
The tectonic causes of the volcanism that have produced the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field are not yet clear and are therefore a matter of ongoing research. It is approximately inland from the north-south trending
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 ...
and is along-strike from the
Nootka Fault on the
British Columbia Coast
, settlement_type = Region of British Columbia
, image_skyline =
, nickname = "The Coast"
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = British ...
, which has been
subducting under the
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Paci ...
at the
Cascadia subduction zone
The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is a very long, sloping subduction zone where the Explorer, Juan de Fuc ...
. The Wells Gray volcanics are mostly
alkali olivine
The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers qui ...
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
, with some lava flows comprising
mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
xenolith
A xenolith ("foreign rock") is a rock fragment ( country rock) that becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and solidification. In geology, the term ''xenolith'' is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in ig ...
s.
Basalts of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field have been considered to be the easternmost expression of the
Anahim Volcanic Belt
The Anahim Volcanic Belt (AVB) is a west–east trending chain of volcanoes and related magmatic features in British Columbia, Canada. It extends from Athlone Island on the Central Coast, running eastward through the strongly uplifted and deeply ...
.
However, its relationship is unknown because the age-location trend does not reach into the Wells Gray-Clearwater area, and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is not along trend with the Anahim Volcanic Belt.
The Wells Gray volcanics were thought to have formed by
crustal thinning and the existence of crustal penetrating structures.
More recent studies by
volcanologist
A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...
s associated with the
Geological Survey of Canada have indicated that the subducted extension of the Nookta Fault may be the primary cause of the alkalic structure of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.
The volcanism might have been mostly generated by
asthenospheric upwelling possibly by displacement along the
transform fault
A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subduct ...
.
If the transform fault had a section of vertical tearing to contain potentially different dip angles between the
Explorer and
Juan de Fuca Plates, the subducted plate asthenosphere may possibly flow upward into the mantle wedge.
Similarly, if the displacement had a section of extension, a horizontal
slab window
In geology, a slab window is a gap that forms in a subducted oceanic plate when a mid-ocean ridge meets with a subduction zone and plate divergence at the ridge and convergence at the subduction zone continue, causing the ridge to be subducted. ...
-like gap would have developed, again allowing a pathway for upwelling magma.
In either case, the unsettled asthenosphere might have experienced low degrees of decompressional melting and interacted with North American
lithosphere to yield within plate compositions.
Lava composition
The composition of some lava flows in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is unusual because they include small, angular to rounded fragments of rock called
nodules and
crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...
s that come from the
mantle
A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that.
Mantle may refer to:
*Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear
**Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
.
These green nodules are known as
peridotite
Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high pr ...
s because they are mostly made of a
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
silicate
In chemistry, a silicate is any member of a family of polyatomic anions consisting of silicon and oxygen, usually with the general formula , where . The family includes orthosilicate (), metasilicate (), and pyrosilicate (, ). The name is a ...
mineral called
olivine
The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers qui ...
.
These lava flows also comprise large crystals of olivine,
plagioclase
Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more p ...
, and
pyroxene
The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated to ''Px'') are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe I ...
that crystallized deep within the Earth's
crust and mantle.
The lavas and nodules they contain are similar to those erupted at
Volcano Mountain in the
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
.
The nodules help
volcanologist
A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...
s and other geoscientists to verify what the mantle beneath the volcanic field is like.
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
lava flows are more alkalic than the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
lava flows and comprise several
xenolith
A xenolith ("foreign rock") is a rock fragment ( country rock) that becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and solidification. In geology, the term ''xenolith'' is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in ig ...
s of
chromium
Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hard ...
-
spinel
Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , which means ''spine'' in reference to its pointed crystals.
Properties
S ...
lherzolite
Lherzolite is a type of ultramafic igneous rock. It is a coarse-grained rock consisting of 40 to 90% olivine along with significant orthopyroxene and lesser amounts of calcic chromium-rich clinopyroxene. Minor minerals include chromium and a ...
, spinel clinopyroxenite, and rare
ferroan websterite
Websterite is ultramafic igneous rock that consists of roughly equal proportions of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. It is a type of pyroxenite.
Websterite is named after the town Webster in North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state ...
and spinel wehrlite.
Xenoliths do not exist in the older lava flows.
However, chemical evidence indicates that every lava flow was produced in a similar way by low degrees of piecemeal melting.
The melts originally came from the
upper mantle which, over time, was progressively depleted by every following melting event.
Current activity
The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is one of the 10 volcanic areas in Canada associated with recent
seismic activity; the others are
Castle Rock,
Mount Edziza,
Mount Cayley
Mount Cayley is an eroded but potentially active stratovolcano in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located north of Squamish and west of Whistler, the volcano resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield. ...
,
Hoodoo Mountain,
The Volcano,
Crow Lagoon,
Mount Meager massif,
Mount Garibaldi
Mount Garibaldi (known as Nch'kaý to the indigenous Squamish people) is a dormant stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has a maximum elevation of and rises above the surro ...
and
Nazko Cone. Seismic data suggests that these volcanoes still contain living
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...
plumbing systems, indicating possible future eruptive activity.
Although the available data does not allow a clear conclusion, these observations are further indications that some of Canada's volcanoes are potentially active, and that their associated hazards may be significant.
Beneath areas of monogenetic cinder cone activity, such as the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, the seismicity appears to be more dispersed.
In a few cases earthquakes are clustered in time and space, suggestive of volcanic earthquake swarms.
Volcanic hazards
Lava eruptions
Because the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is in a remote location, danger from lava eruptions would be low to moderate. Magma with low levels of
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
(as in
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
) commonly extend tens of kilometers from the volcano's vent.
The leading edges of basalt flows can travel as fast as on steep slopes but they typically advance less than on gentle slopes.
But when basalt lava flows are confined within a channel or
lava tube
A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave.
Formation
A lava tube is a type of lava ...
on a steep slope, the main body of the flow can reach velocities more than .
Based on past volcanic activity, the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field has a long history of producing quiet
lava fountain
Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land ...
ing-style eruptions.
Such eruptions consist of ejection of
incandescent
Incandescence is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from a hot body as a result of its high temperature. The term derives from the Latin verb ''incandescere,'' to glow white. A common use of incandescence i ...
cinder,
lapilli and
lava bombs to altitudes of tens to hundreds of metres. They are small to medium in volume, with sporadic violence. Since the region is mostly forested and lava flows are likely to travel long distances, it is possible lava eruptions could start large
forest fire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s and some river valleys might be dammed.
Explosive eruptions
More violent eruptions are possible only in unique circumstances, such as an eruption into a lake.
Any future eruption is most likely to affect only a limited area downslope from the volcano. Poisonous substances, such as
volcanic gas, includes a variety of substances. These include gases trapped in cavities (
vesicles
Vesicle may refer to:
; In cellular biology or chemistry
* Vesicle (biology and chemistry), a supramolecular assembly of lipid molecules, like a cell membrane
* Synaptic vesicle
; In human embryology
* Vesicle (embryology), bulge-like features o ...
) in
volcanic rocks, dissolved or dislocated
gases in
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...
and
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
, or gases emanating directly from lava or indirectly through
ground water heated by volcanic action. The volcanic gases that pose the greatest potential hazard to people, animals, agriculture, and property are
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic a ...
,
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
and
hydrogen fluoride
Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . This colorless gas or liquid is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often as an aqueous solution called hydrofluoric acid. It is an important feedstock ...
.
Locally, sulfur dioxide gas can lead to
acid rain
Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but ac ...
and air pollution downwind from the volcano.
Monitoring
Currently the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is not monitored closely enough by the
Geological Survey of Canada to ascertain how active the volcanic field's magma system is.
The existing network of
seismograph
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...
s has been established to monitor tectonic earthquakes and is too far away to provide a good indication of what is happening beneath the volcanic field.
It may sense an increase in activity if the volcanic field becomes very restless, but this may only provide a warning for a large eruption.
It might detect activity only after the volcanic field has started erupting.
A possible way to detect an eruption is studying the volcanic field's geological history since every volcano has its own pattern of behaviour, in terms of its eruption style, magnitude and frequency, so that its future eruption is expected to be similar to its previous eruptions.
But this would likely be abandoned in part because of the volcanic field's remoteness.
While there is a likelihood of Canada being critically affected by local or close by volcanic eruptions argues that some kind of improvement program is required.
Benefit-cost thoughts are critical to dealing with natural hazards.
However, a benefit-cost examination needs correct data about the hazard types, magnitudes and occurrences. These do not exist for volcanoes in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada in the detail required.
Other volcanic techniques, such as hazard mapping, displays a volcano's eruptive history in detail and speculates an understanding of the hazardous activity that could possibly be expected in the future.
At present no hazard maps have been created for the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field because the level of knowledge is insufficient due to its remoteness.
A large volcanic hazard program has never existed within the Geological Survey of Canada.
The majority of information has been collected in a lengthy, separate way from the support of several employees, such as
volcanologist
A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...
s and other geologic
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...
s. Current knowledge is best established at the
Mount Meager massif and is likely to rise considerably with a temporary mapping and monitoring project.
Knowledge at the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and other volcanic areas in British Columbia is not as established, but certain contributions are being done at least
Mount Cayley
Mount Cayley is an eroded but potentially active stratovolcano in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located north of Squamish and west of Whistler, the volcano resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield. ...
.
An intensive program classifying infrastructural exposure near all young Canadian volcanoes and quick hazard assessments at each individual volcanic edifice associated with recent seismic activity would be in advance and would produce a quick and productive determination of priority areas for further efforts.
The existing network of seismographs to monitor tectonic earthquakes has existed since 1975, although it remained small in population until 1985.
Apart from a few short-term seismic monitoring experiments by the Geological Survey of Canada, no volcano monitoring has been accomplished at the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field or at other volcanoes in Canada at a level approaching that in other established countries with historically active volcanoes.
Active or restless volcanoes are usually monitored using at least three seismographs all within approximately , and frequently within , for better sensitivity of detection and reduced location errors, particularly for earthquake depth.
Such monitoring detects the risk of an eruption, offering a forecasting capability which is important to mitigating volcanic risk.
Currently the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field does not have a seismograph closer than .
With increasing distance and declining numbers of seismographs used to indicate seismic activity, the prediction capability is reduced because earthquake location accuracy and depth decreases, and the network becomes not as accurate.
However, at least one possible volcanic
earthquake swarm has been noticed east of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.
The inaccurate earthquake locations in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field are a few kilometers, and in more isolated northern regions they are up to .
The location magnitude level in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is about magnitude 1 to 1.5, and elsewhere it is magnitude 1.5 to 2.
At carefully monitored volcanoes both the located and noticed events are recorded and surveyed immediately to improve the understanding of a future eruption.
Undetected events are not recorded or surveyed in British Columbia immediately, nor in an easy-to-access process.
In countries like Canada it is possible that small precursor earthquake swarms might go undetected, particularly if no events were observed; more significant events in larger swarms would be detected but only a minor subdivision of the swarm events would be complex to clarify them with confidence as volcanic in nature, or even associate them with an individual volcanic edifice.
Notable vents
See also
*
Anahim Volcanic Belt
The Anahim Volcanic Belt (AVB) is a west–east trending chain of volcanoes and related magmatic features in British Columbia, Canada. It extends from Athlone Island on the Central Coast, running eastward through the strongly uplifted and deeply ...
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Chilcotin Group
The Chilcotin Group, also called the Chilcotin Plateau Basalts, is a large area of basaltic lava that forms a volcanic plateau running parallel with the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in south-central British Columbia, Canada.
Predominantly, during Mio ...
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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 ...
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Geology of the Pacific Northwest
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List of volcanoes in Canada
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Maar
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Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province
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Volcanology of Canada
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Volcanology of Western Canada
Volcanism of Western Canada has produced lava flows, lava plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, greenstone belts, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes and maars, along with examples of more less common volcanic ...
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells Gray-Clearwater Volcanic Field
Volcanoes of British Columbia
Volcanic fields of Canada
Pliocene volcanoes
Pleistocene volcanoes
Holocene volcanoes
Wells Gray-Clearwater
Columbia Mountains
Monogenetic volcanic fields