The Mount Skukum Volcanic Complex is an early
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
complex, located 43 km west of
Carcross
Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, () is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation.
It is south-southeast by the Alaska Highway and the Klondike High ...
and 32 km northeast of
Mount Porsild in the
Yukon Territory
Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...
, Canada. The complex composes the
Skukum Group. It is a northeast-trending complex of subaerial volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks covering 140 km
2.
The Mount Skukum Volcanic Complex was formed when the ancient
Kula Plate was
subducting
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second pla ...
under
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
during the early
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
period.
See also
*
Volcanism of Northern Canada
Volcanism in Northern Canada has produced hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations across Northern Canada. The region's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic eruptions, ra ...
*
Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex
The Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex (BLVC) is a huge 50-million-year-old extinct caldera complex that spans across the British Columbia-Yukon border in Canada. It is located near the western end of the West Arm of Bennett Lake. The caldera complex ...
*
List of volcanoes of Canada
References
External links
Mount Skukumin the Canadian Mountain encyclopedia.
Subduction volcanoes
Calderas of Yukon
Complex volcanoes
Eocene calderas
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