The Tuya Range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

in the

Stikine Ranges The Stikine Ranges are a group of mountain ranges and mountainous plateaus in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. They are the northernmost subdivision of the Cassiar Mountains and among the least explored and most undeveloped parts of the pr ...

of the

Cassiar Mountains The Cassiar Mountains (french: Chaîne des Cassiars) are the most northerly group of the Northern Interior Mountains in the Canadian province of British Columbia and also extend slightly into the southernmost Yukon Territory. They lie north and ...

in the far north of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

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, for ...

, near its border with the

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and to the southwest of

Watson Lake, Yukon Watson Lake is a town in Yukon, Canada, located at mile 635 on the Alaska Highway close to the British Columbia border. It has a population of 790 in 2016. The town is named for Frank Watson, an American-born trapper and prospector, who settled in ...

, which is the nearest major settlement.

Boundaries and landforms

The northern and northwest side of the range is drained by tributaries of the Cottonwood River; the southern and southwestern flank is formed by

Tuya Lake Tuya Lake, located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, presumably derives its name from the presence of nearby steep-sided, flat-topped volcanoes, known as tuyas. The lake is situated just south of Tuya Butte at a latitude of about 59 d ...

and its tributary, Butte Creek, while the southeast flank is formed by the Cottonwood River and its tributaries (the Cottonwood is a tributary of the Dease River, the Tuya of the

Stikine The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and sout ...

). The range's northern boundary is formed by the upper

Jennings River The Jennings River is a river in far northern British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long. The river was named for William T. Jennings (1846-1906), a civil engineer who, in 1897, assessed various road and railroad routes from the Pacifi ...

, a tributary of the

Teslin River The Teslin River is a river in southern Yukon Territory and northwestern British Columbia, Canada, that flows from its source south of Teslin Lake to its confluence with the Yukon River. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896–99, the river b ...

system which is part of the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...

drainage. Thus, the triple divide between the

Mackenzie Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a S ...

, and

basins lies within the range. The

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...

transits the eastern side of the range, though does not touch on its highest summit, Ash Mountain, which is at the north end of the range and is within the basin of the Jennings. The range has an area of and, other than Ash Mountain, includes

Tuya Butte Tuya Butte is a tuya in the Tuya Range of north-central British Columbia, Canada. It is a bit less isolated from other ranges than neighbouring Mount Josephine. Some of the other volcanoes in the area include South Tuya, Ash Mountain, and M ...

, Mathews Tuya, Caribou Tuya, and South Tuya. All of these are part of the Tuya Volcanic Field, which includes other volcanic features north and west of the range Ash Mountain is the highest tuya in the range. The nearby Kawdy Plateau to the west, to the southwest of Kawdy Mountain, is near-entirely formed by the spectacular

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more vi ...

of Level Mountain.

was the first tuya analyzed in the geological literature, and its name has since become standard worldwide among

volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

s in referring to and writing about tuyas. The

Tuya Mountains Provincial Park Tuya Mountains Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, protecting the Tuya Range, a volcanic region at the head of the Tuya River. The park is located on the north side of Tuya Lake Tuya Lake, located in northweste ...

was recently established to protect this unusual landscape, which lies north of

and south of the

near the boundary with the Yukon Territory.

Black Spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Lab ...

is a dominant tree in this area; this species is near the western limit of its range.C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Black Spruce: Picea mariana'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg, November, 2008

References

*
Tuya Range entry, Canadian Mountain EncyclopediaAsh Mountain entry, Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
{{Interior Mountains Stikine Ranges Volcanoes of British Columbia Tuyas of Canada Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province Cassiar Country Pleistocene volcanism Great Divide of North America

Boundaries and landforms

See also

References