The Atlin Volcanic Field, also called the Llangorse Volcanic Field and the Surprise Lake Volcanic Field, is a group of late-
Pleistocene
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 ...
to
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 ...
cinder cone
A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill
A conical hill (also cone or conical mountain) is a landform with a distinctly conical shape. It is usually isolated or rises above other surrounding foothills, and is often of volcanic ...
s that lies on the
Teslin Plateau east of
Atlin Lake
Atlin Lake ( Lingít: ''Áa Tlein'') is the largest natural lake in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The northern tip of the lake is in Yukon, as is Little Atlin Lake. However, most of the lake lies within the Atlin District of British C ...
, Canada. The largest volcanic feature is the 1880-m-high
Ruby Mountain
Ruby Mountain, locally known as Old Volcano, is a cinder cone in Stikine Region, British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Atlin and south of Mount Barham. A recent collapse on the volcano's eastern side created a large landslide which ...
which has been partially dissected by Pleistocene and post-Wisconsin glaciation. Two
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% of a ...
ic cinder cones at the heads of
Cracker Creek and
Volcanic Creek lie within glacially dissected U-shaped valleys and may be of postglacial age.
November 8, 1898, eruption
A Yukon newspaper reported in 1898 that an eruption was occurring near Atlin about 80 km south of
Gladys Lake.
Miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting ...
s working in the area reportedly were able to work during the dark nights, due to the glow of the eruption. The article also reported that a group of people were going down from the Yukon to investigate the eruption, but no further reports were apparently made. Several recent studies, including a summary by Edwards et al. (2003) published by the Geological Survey of Canada, have determined that Ruby Mountain was definitely not the site of a historic eruption, nor were the Cracker Creek or Volcanic Creek cones.
One possible explanation for the story is that placer miners found gold-bearing gravels beneath an ancient lava flow at the base of Ruby Mountain, and were actively tunneling under the old lava flow to mine the gravels. As its name suggests, Ruby Mountain is ruby-colored due to the scoriaceous tephra that covers much of its summit and the summer sun shining off of the ruby-red flanks of the volcano may have started the rumour. There have been no evidence of the eruption found in the region and the 19th-century report is considered uncertain.
Volcanoes
Volcanoes within the field include:
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Volcanic Creek Cone
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Cracker Creek Cone
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Ruby Mountain
Ruby Mountain, locally known as Old Volcano, is a cinder cone in Stikine Region, British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of Atlin and south of Mount Barham. A recent collapse on the volcano's eastern side created a large landslide which ...
*
Llangorse Mountain
See also
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Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province
The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province (NCVP), formerly known as the Stikine Volcanic Belt, is a geologic province defined by the occurrence of Miocene to Holocene volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest of North America. This belt of volcanoes e ...
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List of volcanoes in Canada
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Volcanism of Canada
Volcanism, Volcanic activity is a major part of the geology of Canada and is characterized by many types of volcanic landform, including lava flows, volcanic plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcano ...
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Volcanism 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 volcani ...
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Volcanic history of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province
References
{{Northern Cordilleran volcanoes
Volcanic fields of Canada
Cinder cones of Canada
Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province
Atlin District
Quaternary British Columbia
Cenozoic British Columbia