The Fraser Plateau is an
intermontane plateau. It is one of the main subdivisions of the
Interior Plateau
The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of the Interior of British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west.''Landforms of British C ...
located in the
Central Interior of British Columbia.
Geography
The region includes the
Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau is the Bonaparte River alth ...
and
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 ...
, and the adjoining
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
,
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 and ...
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
The Thompson Plateau forms the southern portion of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, Canada, lying to the west of Okanagan Lake, south of the Thompson River and east of (although never adjoining it) the Fraser River. At its most southern p ...
, and by a line formed by the
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
and
West Road River
The West Road River or Blackwater River or Tiyakoh is an important tributary of the Fraser River, flowing generally north-eastward from the northern slopes of the Ilgachuz Range and across the Fraser Plateau in the Chilcotin region of central B ...
s on its northwest (the
Nechako Plateau
The Nechako Plateau is the northernmost subdivision of the Interior Plateau, one of the main geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It spans the basin of the Nechako River and its tributaries the Stuart River and Endako ...
lies to the north of the West Road).
Also included in the Fraser Plateau are the
Itcha and
Ilgachuz Ranges and the adjoining
Rainbow Range, which adjoin the
Coast Mountains.
Geology
The Fraser Plateau consists of
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 ...
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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