The Fraser Plateau is an
intermontane plateau. It is one of the main subdivisions of the
Interior Plateau located in the
Central Interior of British Columbia
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
.
Geography
The region includes the
Cariboo Plateau and
Chilcotin Plateau, and the adjoining
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
,
Clear and
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 approximately 90 km at its maximum length ...
s on its southwestern edge.
It is defined as lying between the
Bonaparte River on its southeast, beyond which is the
Bonaparte or Kamloops Plateau, part of the
Thompson Plateau, and by a line formed by the
Dean and
West Road Rivers on its northwest (the
Nechako Plateau lies to the north of the West Road).
Also included in the Fraser Plateau are the
Itcha and
Ilgachuz Range
The Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct volcano, extinct shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been erosion, eroded for the past 5 mi ...
s and the adjoining
Rainbow Range, which adjoin the
Coast Mountains
The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...
.
Geology
The Fraser Plateau consists of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
ic lava of the
Chilcotin Group, a group of related volcanic rocks that is nearly parallel with the Fraser Plateau.
Chasm and Dog Creek lithofacies, Chilcotin Group basalt, Bonaparte Lake map area, British Columbia
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See also
* Fraser Plateau and Basin complex (WWF ecoregion)
Notes
References
*
*''Landforms of British Columbia'', S. Holland, BC Govt publication, 1976
Interior Plateau
Central Interior of British Columbia
Plateaus of British Columbia
Lava plateaus
Volcanism of British Columbia
Back-arc volcanism
Fraser River
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