, 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 , map_caption = Pacific Ranges as defined in S. Holland ''Landforms of British Columbia'' , map_relief = , map_size = 280px , highest =

Mount Waddington Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although it is lower than Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the United States border between Ala ...

, area_km2 = 108237 , elevation_m = 4019 , elevation_ref = , prominence_m = , prominence_ref = , isolation_km = , isolation_ref = , coordinates = , coordinates_ref = , location = British Columbia,

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 to ...

, parent = Coast Mountains , type = , age = , geology = , volcanic_arc = , volcanic_belt = , volcanic_field = , volcanic_arc/belt = , last_eruption = , embedded = The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola and Burke Channel, north of which are the

Kitimat Ranges , photo = Lax Kw'alaams.jpg , photo_size = 280px , photo_caption = Lax Kw'alaams backdropped by Mount McNeil , map = , map_image = BC-relief_Kitimatranges.png , map_caption = Kitimat Range ...

. The Coast Mountains lie between the Interior Plateau and the

Coast of British Columbia , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

. The Pacific Ranges include four of the five major coastal icecaps in the southern Coast Mountains. These are the largest temperate-latitude icecaps in the world and fuel a number of very major rivers (by volume, not length). One of these contains

, the highest summit entirely within British Columbia. Also within this region is Hunlen Falls, among the highest in

, located in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park. Other than logging and various hydroelectric developments, and a large ski resort at Whistler, most of the land in the range is completely undeveloped. Historically, in the southern part of the range, mining was important at various times in the Lillooet, Bridge River and Squamish areas, and large pulp and paper mills at Powell River, Port Mellon and Woodfibre. The largest hydroelectric development in the Pacific Ranges is the Bridge River Power Project, though smaller hydro plants are on the Stave River-Alouette Lake system in Mission and Maple Ridge, the Daisy Lake-Squamish River division of the Cheakamus Powerhouse, and another power dam and power plant at Clowhom. Although the range was extensively surveyed for possible rail routes, only that of the Pacific Great Eastern (now part of CN) was eventually built; the Homathko River-Bute Inlet route, however, was one of the two main choices in the deliberations of the CPR's routing.

Geology

The Pacific Ranges are part of the southern portion of the Coast Plutonic Complex and has been characterized by rapid rates of uplift over the past 4 million years, which has led to relatively high rates of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

. The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is within the Pacific Ranges, which is a volcanic belt formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate (a remnant of the much larger Farallon Plate) under the North American Plate along the Cascadia subduction zone. The belt is the northern extension of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(which includes the volcanoes Mount St. Helens and Mount Baker) and contains the most explosive young volcanoes in Canada. The eruption styles in the belt range from

effusive In physics and chemistry, effusion is the process in which a gas escapes from a container through a hole of diameter considerably smaller than the mean free path of the molecules. Such a hole is often described as a ''pinhole'' and the escape ...

to explosive, with compositions from basalt to rhyolite. Morphologically, centers include calderas, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes and small isolated lava masses. Due to repeated continental and alpine glaciations, many of the volcanic deposits in the belt reflect complex interactions between

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...

composition, topography, and changing ice configurations. The most recent major catastrophic eruption in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt was from the Mount Meager massif 2,350 BP, which is Canada's most recent major catastrophic eruption. The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt contains 2 extra volcanic fields, the Franklin Glacier Complex and the Silverthrone Caldera, which lie 140 and 190 km northwest of the main volcanic belt. The Cascadia subduction zone is a 680 mi (1,094 km) long fault, running 50 mi (80 km) off the west-coast of the Pacific Northwest from northern California to Vancouver Island. The plates move at a relative rate of over 0.4 inches (10 mm) per year at a somewhat oblique angle to the subduction zone. Unlike most subduction zones worldwide, there is no oceanic trench present along the

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

in Cascadia. Instead, terranes and the accretionary wedge have been uplifted to form a series of coast ranges and exotic mountains. A high rate of sedimentation from the outflow of the three major rivers ( Fraser River, Columbia River, and

Klamath River The Klamath River ( Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second la ...

) which cross the Cascade Range contributes to further obscuring the presence of a trench. However, in common with most other subduction zones, the outer margin is slowly being compressed, similar to a giant

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

. When the stored energy is suddenly released by slippage across the fault at irregular intervals, the Cascadia subduction zone can create very large earthquakes, such as the 8.7–9.2 Cascadia earthquake of 1700.

Major Named Subranges

Niut Range The Niut Range is 3600 km2 (c. 1390 sq mi) in area. It is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, although in some classifications it is considered part of the Chilcotin Ranges (which in some classificatio ...

* Pantheon Range * Waddington Range * Whitemantle Range * Chilcotin Ranges ** Shulaps Range ** Dickson Range **

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 ...

* Bendor Range * Lillooet Ranges ** Cayoosh Range ** Cantilever Range *

Douglas Ranges The Douglas Ranges are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia, about east of downtown Vancouver, north of the Fraser River and between the valleys of Stave and Harrison Lakes. They ...

* Garibaldi Ranges * North Shore Mountains (Front Ranges) * Tantalus Range * Clendinning Range **the

running north along the west bank of the Fraser from Lillooet is sometimes considered to be part of the Chilcotin Ranges, but in other definitions is part of the Interior Plateau ''Many smaller ranges and subranges are not listed at present.''

Major Icefields

''(Other than the Waddington Range these are also considered to be " ranges" but are listed separately here because of their unique character).'' *

Monarch Icefield The Monarch Icefield is the northernmost of a series of large continental icecaps studding the heights of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost ...

* Ha-Iltzuk Icefield (Silverthrone Glacier) * Waddington Range * Homathko Icefield *

Lillooet Icecap The Lillooet Icecap, also called the Lillooet Icefield or the Lillooet Crown, is a large icefield in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is about northwest of the towns of Pemberton and Whis ...

(Lillooet Crown) * Pemberton Icecap

Major Peaks

* Monarch Mountain *

Mount Tiedemann Mount Tiedemann 3838m (12592 feet), prominence 848m, is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges subdivision of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. It is located northeast of Mount Waddington in the Waddington Range massif betwee ...

* Mount Munday *

Mount Queen Bess Mount Queen Bess is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. It stands west of Chilko Lake and to the south of Tatlayoko Lake, and crowns a peak-studded ridge to the north of the ...

Mount Good Hope Officially Good Hope Mountain but commonly known as Mount Good Hope is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It stands immediately west of Chilko Lake, with the highest pe ...

Mount Raleigh Mount Raleigh, elevation , is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia in Canada. It is located just southeast of the confluence of the Southgate and Bishop Rivers, northeast of the h ...

Monmouth Mountain Monmouth Mountain, commonly known as Mount Monmouth is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. At , it is the highest summit of the Chilcotin Ranges. It stands just north of the Lil ...

Mount Tatlow Tŝ’ilʔoŝ, also known as Mount Tatlow, is one of the principal summits of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of southern British Columbia. Standing on an isolated ridge between the lower end of Ch ...

Taseko Mountain Taseko Mountain, also known as Mount Taseko (pronounced ''Ta-SEE-ko'') 3063 m (10049 ft), prominence: 1277 m, is one of the principal summits of the Chilcotin Ranges, part of the Pacific Ranges subdivision of the Coast Mountains of south ...

* Mount Silverthrone * Mount Meager massif *

Mount Cayley Mount Cayley is an eroded but potentially active stratovolcano in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located north of Squamish and west of Whistler, the volcano resides on the edge of the Powder Mountain Icefield. ...

* Mount Garibaldi *

Wedge Mountain Wedge Mountain, prominence: , often locally referred to as The Wedge or simply "Wedge", is the highest summit in the Garibaldi Ranges and therefore also Garibaldi Provincial Park, and is among the nearest of the many peaks visible from the W ...

* Mount Bute

Provincial Parks

* Garibaldi Provincial Park * Golden Ears Provincial Park *

Cypress Provincial Park Cypress Provincial Park is a provincial park on the North Shore of Metro Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia. The park has two sections: a southern section which is accessible by road, and a northern section which is only accessibl ...

Mount Seymour Provincial Park Mount Seymour Provincial Park is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia's North Shore Mountains. With an area of 35 square kilometres, it is located approximately 15 kilometres north of Downtown Vancouver. The park, named after Frederick Se ...

Sasquatch Provincial Park Sasquatch Provincial Park is a provincial park in Kent, British Columbia, Canada. History The park was established 1968, in its present condition. It actually began in 1959 as a 20 hectare inland fjord called Green Point Park, which was expande ...

* Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park * Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park *

Big Creek Provincial Park Big Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is adjoined on the south by the Spruce Lake Protected Area (a.k.a. the South Chilcotin or Southern Chilcotins, though in the Bridge River Country) and on the west ...

Spruce Lake Protected Area The Spruce Lake Protected Area, formerly known variously as the Southern Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, Southern Chilcotins, and also as South Chilcotin Provincial Park, is a 71,347-hectare Protected Area in the British Columbia provincial ...

Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Tsʼilʔos ( ;BC Geographical Names Information System roughly in Chilcotin) is the official BC Parks designation for this provincial park, though sometimes it is wri ...

* Tweedsmuir North Provincial Park and Protected Area * Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park ''List is incomplete'' ''Some Protected areas, recreation areas and other non-park preservation areas are not listed.''

Major Rivers

* Fraser River *

Chilcotin River The Chilcotin River /tʃɪlˈkoʊtɪn/ located in Southern British Columbia, Canada is a long tributary of the Fraser River. The name Chilcotin comes from Tŝilhqot’in, meaning "ochre river people," where ochre refers to the mineral used by ...

* Bridge River * Lillooet River * Squamish River * Homathko River *

Klinaklini River The Klinaklini River ( Kwak'wala name T̓linat̓łina also spelled ƛ̓inaƛ̓ina) is one of the major rivers of the Pacific Ranges section of the Coast Mountains in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Pantheon Range ...

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community ...

''Many relatively unknown rivers of considerable size along the coastal flank of the range are not listed, partly because they are largely unknown and also very difficult to access. For a full listing of rivers in the Pacific Ranges, see

List of rivers of the Pacific Ranges This is a list of rivers originating in or transiting the Pacific Ranges, which are the southernmost of the three major subdivisions of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. *Alfred Creek *Alouette River *Ashlu Creek *Atnarko River * ...

.''

References

Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia article on the Pacific Ranges

External links

{{Coast Mountains Mountain ranges of British Columbia Coast Mountains Coast of British Columbia