Atwell Peak is a dramatic pyramid shaped volcanic peak located at the southern edge of

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 surroundi ...

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, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Atwell Peak was the source of many

pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of bu ...

s during Garibaldi's development. Frequent

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s on its west face drops steeply into the

Cheekye River The Cheekye River is a river in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It flows west into the Cheakamus River and north of Squamish, British Columbia, Squamish. References

Rivers of the Pacific Ranges Sea-to-Sky Corridor New Westminster La ...

. Atwell Peak is often mistakenly called Mount Garibaldi when viewed from Squamish, since the main peak is hidden. The peak is usually climbed during winter or early spring when the rock is frozen because it is very loose and rotten. Atwell Peak contains three ridges, the north, east, and south. The two most visible routes are the north and south ridges. Atwell Peak consists of three ridges, the north, east, and south. The east ridge connects with the north ridge about 100 horizontal metres north of the summit. All ridges, with the possible exception of the upper east ridge, are sharp and heavily corniced in winter and spring. The north ridge is the shortest climbing route. Several gullies on the southeast face offer moderate routes that eventually join one of the three ridges. The northeast face is the shortest of the peak's faces but has many bergschrunds. Atwell Peak is part of the Garibaldi Massif which is an eroded

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

formed during 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 gree ...

. The volcano is also part of the

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 ...

which is a segment of the

Canadian Cascade Arc The Canadian Cascade Arc, also called the Canadian Cascades, is the Canadian segment of the North American Cascade Volcanic Arc. Located entirely within the Canadian province of British Columbia, it extends from the Cascade Mountains in the south ...

, but it is not within the geographic boundary of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. It is located in the

Garibaldi Ranges The Garibaldi Ranges are the next-to-southwesternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains; only the North Shore Mountains are farther southwest. They lie between the valley formed by the pass between the Cheakamus River and ...

of the

Pacific Ranges , photo = Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Mount Garibaldi massif as seen from Squamish , map = , map_image = South BC-NW USA-relief PacificRanges.png , m ...

Glaciers and icefield

To the east of Atwell Peak lies the

Garibaldi Névé The Garibaldi Névé is a snowfield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on the north and east sides of Mount Garibaldi in New Westminster Land District. The névé along with its outlet g ...

ice field An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

, which is a popular objective with the ski touring crowd. Two pocket glaciers lie right below the east side of the peak, the Diamond Glacier to the southeast and the upper Bishop Glacier to the northeast. Straight north of Atwell toward Mount Garibaldi lies a small, high-elevation ice cap called the Cheekye Glacier.

References

* Image:Atwell Peak 2.jpg File:Atwell Peak1.jpg, Atwell from Garibaldi {{Garibaldi Volcanic Belt Volcanoes of British Columbia Two-thousanders of British Columbia Garibaldi Volcanic Belt Pleistocene lava domes New Westminster Land District

Glaciers and icefield

See also

References