The Spectrum Range, formerly called the Spectrum Mountains and the Rainbow Mountains, is a subrange of the

Tahltan Highland The Tahltan Highland is an upland area of plateau and relatively lower mountain ranges in British Columbia, Canada, lying east of the Boundary Ranges and south of the Inklin River (the east fork of the Taku River). Its eastern boundary is formed b ...

in the Stikine Country of northwestern

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, ...

, 20 km west of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, south of

Mount Edziza Mount Edziza is a stratovolcano in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The volcano and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. It consists of multiple peaks and ridges, with several gla ...

and north of the Arctic Lake Plateau. The Spectrum Range falls within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. The range is lightly glaciated, as compared to the other ranges to the west. It is accessible only by foot or via helicopter; there are no roads to the range.

Geology

Like the

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and Itcha– Ilgachuz Ranges at the western end of the

Chilcotin Plateau The Chilcotin Plateau is part of the Fraser Plateau, a major subdivision of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. The Chilcotin Plateau is physically near-identical with the region of the same name, i.e. "the Chilcotin", which lies between t ...

farther south, the range's name derives from the brilliant colours that are symptomatic from heavy mineralization comprising the material forming the range. The Spectrum Range is one of four large stratovolcanoes that make up the

Mount Edziza volcanic complex The Mount Edziza volcanic complex is a large and potentially active north-south trending complex volcano in Stikine Country, northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek. It occupies the sou ...

. A predominantly lava dome overlies a basal shield volcano. The range is

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological 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 finally confirmed in ...

subglacial and subaerial cones and its northwest and southwest sides contain

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 ...

pyroclastic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

s and

lava flows 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 un ...

. The youngest feature in the

volcanic complex A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or in ...

could be The Ash Pit.

Mountains

*Artifact Ridge *Kitsu Peak *Kounugu Mountain *Kuno Peak * Little Iskut *

Obsidian Ridge Obsidian Ridge is a volcanic mountain ridge in the Spectrum Range of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the south side of Artifact Creek at the southeast end of Mount Edziza Provincial Park. It was named on January 2, 1980 by the G ...

* Spectrum Dome *Yagi Ridge * Yeda Peak

References

External links

Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
* Image:Spectrum Range colours.JPG, Spectrum Range colours from heavy mineralization {{Interior Mountains Mount Edziza volcanic complex Stratovolcanoes of Canada Lava domes Pliocene volcanoes Polygenetic volcanoes Tahltan Highland Mountain ranges of British Columbia

Geology

Mountains

See also

References

External links