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77-713: Most of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is encompassed within a large wilderness park called Wells Gray Provincial Park . This 5,405 km (2,087 sq mi) park was established in 1939 to protect Helmcken Falls and the unique features of the Clearwater River drainage basin, including this volcanic field. Five roads enter the park and provide views of some of the field's volcanic features. Short hikes lead to several other volcanic features, but some areas are accessible only by aircraft. Based on radiocarbon and potassium-argon dating , volcanic activity in

154-898: A comprehensive development of the Murtle River was proposed by the British Columbia Power Commission. These proposals paled in comparison to the final report of the Fraser River Board, issued in 1963. Although dams were proposed elsewhere such as on the Cariboo and McGregor Rivers and at the Grand Canyon of the Fraser , the Clearwater River attracted most of the attention with seven dams and five reservoirs recommended. The dams would be located 4 km (2.5 mi) upstream from

231-530: A land surveyor working for the British Columbia government. He was so impressed with the waterfall that he wrote a letter from his remote camp to Sir Richard McBride , Premier of British Columbia, requesting that the falls be named "McBride Falls". Three weeks later, Lee received a reply from the Premier stating that the waterfall was instead to be called Helmcken Falls. This name honoured John Sebastian Helmcken ,

308-404: A level approaching that in other established countries with historically active volcanoes. Active or restless volcanoes are usually monitored using at least three seismographs all within approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi), and frequently within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), for better sensitivity of detection and reduced location errors, particularly for earthquake depth. Such monitoring detects

385-459: A lightning strike west of the Clearwater River, smouldered for several weeks, then was fanned by winds and moved rapidly north through the homesteads. The Ludtke family immersed themselves in Battle Creek for 8 hours, dampening some blankets to cover their heads, and their livestock and even wild animals joined them for protection. The Rupell cabin was the only one that did not burn. The fire crossed

462-553: A minor subdivision of the swarm events would be complex to clarify them with confidence as volcanic in nature, or even associate them with an individual volcanic edifice. Wells Gray Provincial Park Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia , Canada . The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,415 square kilometres (541,516 hectares or 1.3 million acres). It

539-522: A new Minister of Lands, Arthur Wellesley Gray , was interested in parks and recognized the growing need to preserve special places in British Columbia. In 1938, Gray and his Chief Forester, Ernest Manning, created Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the Coast Mountains near Bella Coola , and Hamber Provincial Park in the Rocky Mountains. In 1939, a forest ranger near Clearwater, Bill Noble, recommended

616-531: A northwest to southeast direction. On the northeast side, an unbreached wall of rock and ice rises between 400 m and 1,300 m from the Goodall Glacier. The first ascent was achieved on August 21, 2006, by Roger Wallis, Don Chiasson, and Jim Lundy. They established its height, only 16 m lower than Mount Lyons. As of 2022, only four of Goodall's 11 summits have been conquered. Mount Goodall is one of six peaks in this area named in 1966 in honor of Canadian soldiers from

693-433: A park and on November 28, 1939, an Order-in-Council was approved, creating a huge park around most of the drainage basin of the Clearwater River. The park was named for Gray (Wells was his nickname). In 1941, he and Manning were working on establishing a new park in British Columbia's Cascade Mountains when Manning was killed in a plane crash; that park ended up being named E.C. Manning Provincial Park . In 1940, just after

770-443: A park was suggested to preserve the waterfall. Eventually 1925 the B.C. Auto Club started a campaign to establish a park around the falls. The Minister of Lands, Duff Pattullo , was not interested and rebuffed the club, stating that there were no benefits to protecting waterfalls which "wouldn't go away". In the mid-1930s, there were more recommendations for a park at Helmcken Falls. Finally the government began to listen, mostly because

847-562: A physician with the Hudson's Bay Company who arrived in Victoria in 1850. He helped bring British Columbia into Canadian Confederation in 1871. Dr. Helmcken died in 1920 at the age of 95, but never actually saw the falls himself. The first homesteaders in what is now Wells Gray Park were John Ray in 1911 at The Horseshoe, who was given land by the Canim Lake Band, and Michael Majerus in 1912 on

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924-550: A quick and productive determination of priority areas for further efforts. The existing network of seismographs to monitor tectonic earthquakes has existed since 1975, although it remained small in population until 1985. Apart from a few short-term seismic monitoring experiments by the Geological Survey of Canada, no volcano monitoring has been accomplished at the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field or at other volcanoes in Canada at

1001-608: Is Helmcken Falls , the fourth highest waterfall in Canada, which plunges 141 m (463 ft) over the edge of one of these volcanic plateaus. The eight highest mountains in Wells Gray Park are: 1) Mount Lyons, 2946 m. The first recorded ascent was made by Bill McKenzie and Roger Wallis on August 18, 2005. It is named after Chess Lyons , Wells Gray Park surveyor in 1940, naturalist, author, photographer, and explorer. 2) Mount Goodall , 2930 m. The mountain consists of 11 distinct summits and extends for nearly 8 km in

1078-500: Is British Columbia's fifth largest provincial park, after Tweedsmuir , Tatshenshini , Spatsizi and Northern Rocky Mountains . The boundaries of Wells Gray Park encompass 60 percent of the drainage basin of the Clearwater River , and most water that originates in the park flows into this river. The northern two-thirds of the park is extremely rugged with relief ranging from Clearwater Lake at an elevation of 680 m (2,231 ft) to 2,946 m (9,665 ft) at Mount Lyons on

1155-551: Is about magnitude 1 to 1.5, and elsewhere it is magnitude 1.5 to 2. At carefully monitored volcanoes both the located and noticed events are recorded and surveyed immediately to improve the understanding of a future eruption. Undetected events are not recorded or surveyed in British Columbia immediately, nor in an easy-to-access process. In countries like Canada it is possible that small precursor earthquake swarms might go undetected, particularly if no events were observed; more significant events in larger swarms would be detected but only

1232-418: Is at least 15 m (49 ft) thick at the proximal end, but thins to 3 m (9.8 ft) at the distal end, damming the southern end of Clearwater Lake . Tree molds are maintained within the lava flow at the lower end. The latest volcanic eruption created a small tree-covered basaltic cinder cone at the east end of Kostal Lake called Kostal Cone perhaps as recently as 400 years ago, making it one of

1309-432: Is expected to be similar to its previous eruptions. But this would likely be abandoned in part because of the volcanic field's remoteness. While there is a likelihood of Canada being critically affected by local or close by volcanic eruptions argues that some kind of improvement program is required. Benefit-cost thoughts are critical to dealing with natural hazards. However, a benefit-cost examination needs correct data about

1386-515: Is fed by snowpack and glacier meltwater. This stream emerges 2 km east and flows into Ovis Creek. The disastrous Fraser River flood of 1948 nearly changed the Clearwater River and Wells Gray Park. In November 1947, prior to the flood, the Federal Minister of Public Works had proposed the creation of a joint federal-provincial committee to study the Fraser River's water resources. The flood in

1463-475: Is home to various birds as well as the mammalian species of grizzly bear , white-tailed deer , beaver , moose , mule deer , black bear and timber wolf . Winters in the Clearwater Valley are severe, with an average of 1 m (3.3 ft) of accumulated snow at lower elevations and much more higher up. Snow may linger along the low elevation roads until mid-April and never completely disappears from

1540-468: Is open year-round, but in winter the Clearwater Valley Road is plowed only as far as Helmcken Falls. Following are the park's major attractions: Wells Gray Park bears the nickname "Canada's Waterfalls Park" because 42 named waterfalls are found within its boundaries. There are actually many more if the numerous creeks that cascade down the mountainsides are included, but the following table lists

1617-633: Is possible lava eruptions could start large forest fires and some river valleys might be dammed. More violent eruptions are possible only in unique circumstances, such as an eruption into a lake. Any future eruption is most likely to affect only a limited area downslope from the volcano. Poisonous substances, such as volcanic gas , includes a variety of substances. These include gases trapped in cavities ( vesicles ) in volcanic rocks , dissolved or dislocated gases in magma and lava , or gases emanating directly from lava or indirectly through ground water heated by volcanic action . The volcanic gases that pose

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1694-540: Is too far away to provide a good indication of what is happening beneath the volcanic field. It may sense an increase in activity if the volcanic field becomes very restless, but this may only provide a warning for a large eruption. It might detect activity only after the volcanic field has started erupting. A possible way to detect an eruption is studying the volcanic field's geological history since every volcano has its own pattern of behaviour, in terms of its eruption style, magnitude and frequency, so that its future eruption

1771-567: The Explorer and Juan de Fuca plates , the subducted plate asthenosphere may possibly flow upward into the mantle wedge. Similarly, if the displacement had a section of extension, a horizontal slab window -like gap would have developed, again allowing a pathway for upwelling magma. In either case, the unsettled asthenosphere might have experienced low degrees of decompressional melting and interacted with North American lithosphere to yield within plate compositions. The composition of some lava flows in

1848-546: The Geological Survey of Canada have indicated that the subducted extension of the Nookta Fault may be the primary cause of the alkalic structure of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field. The volcanism might have been mostly generated by asthenospheric upwelling possibly by displacement along the transform fault . If the transform fault had a section of vertical tearing to contain potentially different dip angles between

1925-586: The Mount Meager massif and is likely to rise considerably with a temporary mapping and monitoring project. Knowledge at the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and other volcanic areas in British Columbia is not as established, but certain contributions are being done at least Mount Cayley . An intensive program classifying infrastructural exposure near all young Canadian volcanoes and quick hazard assessments at each individual volcanic edifice associated with recent seismic activity would be in advance and would produce

2002-514: The Murtle and Clearwater, and waterfalls such as Canim Falls , Moul Falls , Spahats Falls and the 141 m (463 ft) high Helmcken Falls . The faces of the basaltic lava flows and waterfalls remain vertical due to the nature of the basaltic lava flows. Basaltic lava shrinks as it cools and forms vertical columns of rock called columnar basalt . More recently, the southern end of the volcanic field has experienced continuous volcanic activity since

2079-523: The British Columbia government was preoccupied in the 1960s with planning and building (and paying for) the W.A.C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River and Mica Dam , Keenleyside Dam and Duncan Dam , all part of the Columbia River Treaty projects. In 1971, BC Hydro , the provincial power utility, revived the Fraser River Board's report and took a new look at the feasibility and costs of building

2156-470: The Clearwater River and its tributaries was not new to the Fraser River Board. In 1918, Helmcken Falls was studied as a source of power for Kamloops, but the needed transmission lines were prohibitively long. In the late 1940s, the Aluminum Company of Canada examined the power potential of Helmcken Falls, but chose Kitimat instead, thereby flooding northern Tweedsmuir Park instead of Wells Gray. In 1959,

2233-429: The Clearwater Valley are often in the mid-20s Celsius, but may reach 30 degrees, and vary considerably according to altitude. September through mid-October usually features clear warm days, cool nights and colourful fall foliage. There are five roads that provide access to Wells Gray Park. The park is popular from mid-May through mid-October. Campgrounds are open and serviced from late May to mid-September. The park

2310-529: The Clearwater Valley. The original park included the Pendleton Lakes in the west but not Trophy Mountain or the Flourmill Volcanoes. In 1986, the Pendleton Lakes were eliminated from the park while the later two areas were added to the park. In 2018 Sarlacc's Pit cave was discovered in the park. Notable for its size, the entrance pit measures some 100m x 60m, and a 61m waterfall on the pit wall

2387-918: The Clearwater was cancelled. Wells Gray Park is bordered on every side by different types of terrain and these merge within the boundaries to give the Park its splendid diversity. According to Tom Dickinson, Professor Emeritus at Thompson Rivers University, Wells Gray hosts about 1,050 species of trees, shrubs, and flowers; more than 1,000 species of lichens, several important for wildlife, especially mountain caribou; about 200 species of mushrooms; at least 275 species of mosses and liverworts; 15 species of fish; 56 species of mammals; 5 species of amphibians; 3 species of reptiles; over 275 species of birds with at least 75 being listed as rare or very rare; and several thousand species of invertebrates, including dragonflies, moths, butterflies, and of course mosquitoes. A variety of factors enrich

Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-649: The Earth's crust and mantle. The lavas and nodules they contain are similar to those erupted at Volcano Mountain in the Yukon . The nodules help volcanologists and other geoscientists to verify what the mantle beneath the volcanic field is like. Holocene lava flows are more alkalic than the Pleistocene lava flows and comprise several xenoliths of chromium - spinel lherzolite , spinel clinopyroxenite, and rare ferroan websterite and spinel wehrlite. Xenoliths do not exist in

2541-489: The Murtle River and burned part way up Kilpill Mountain. After its initial rampage, it burned slowly in the marshes of the Murtle Plateau until mid-August, when it was finally extinguished by a heavy rain. Over 125,000 acres (510 km ) of the Clearwater Valley were burned and most settlers lost almost everything they owned. However, there was not a single human fatality. Soon after Lee's 1913 discovery of Helmcken Falls,

2618-477: The Murtle River near Dawson Falls. Both cleared land, built cabins and established isolated lifestyles far from other people. Other settlers who arrived between 1918 and 1925 were the Ludtke family, Lewis Rupell, Pete McDougal, Jack Zellers, Dave Anderson, Alex Fage and Herman Ordschig. On July 16, 1926, the entire Clearwater Valley between First Canyon and the Murtle River was destroyed by a forest fire. It started from

2695-480: The North Thompson River were published. These had a scale of 1 inch to 500 feet, and a contour interval of 20 feet. As of 2023, these sheets are still the most detailed and accurate topographic maps available of the lower Clearwater, although they are out-of-date regarding human developments. The Fraser River committee proposed two dams, one just upstream from Clearwater and one at Sabre Tooth Rapids. In 1955,

2772-481: The North Thompson confluence, at the lower end of Granite Canyon, at Sabre Tooth Rapids, near Myanth Falls (upper and lower dams), at the outlet of Hobson Lake and on the low pass between Hobson and Quesnel Lakes. Together, these dams would turn the Clearwater River into a 160 km long (100-mile long) series of reservoirs extending nearly to its glacial source above Hobson Lake. Each dam would back water almost to

2849-518: The Park and these include the 1926 forest fire, the proximity of the Fraser Plateau westward, the Cariboo Mountains northeastward, the interior wet belt eastward, and the semi-desert zone to the south. Within the Park, micro-climates, altitude, soil type, and availability of water all have their effects and contribute to the existence of this amazing variety of plant and animal life. This park

2926-474: The Pleistocene epoch. This subaqueous volcano, known as White Horse Bluff , is thought to have formed in three phases. Its first phase of activity was involved with water, possibly dammed by glacial ice which filled the Clearwater River valley. The volcano heated glacial water then flooded down the volcano's vent, creating violent steam explosions and broken lava fragments. Once the steam explosions had subsided,

3003-479: The Quesnel area who were killed in action during World War II; it is named after Trooper Walter Henry Goodall, age 24. 3) Garnet Peak , 2876 m. This is a prominent landmark from many viewpoints in southern Wells Gray Park. It is located north of Azure Lake. The first ascent was by Hugh Neave, Tor Schmid and Barbara Hargreaves on August 29, 1974. It was long believed to be the park's highest mountain until expeditions to

3080-482: The Spanish Creek and Ray Lake areas. Lava flows from the two cinder cones lie on glaciated bedrock without an intervening paleosol , indicating an early Holocene age. Eruptions near Ray Lake built a cinder cone known as Dragon Cone and concluded with an approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long ʻaʻā lava flow that has been radiocarbon dated at about 7,600 years old. This lava flow, known as "Dragon's Tongue",

3157-412: The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field because the level of knowledge is insufficient due to its remoteness. A large volcanic hazard program has never existed within the Geological Survey of Canada. The majority of information has been collected in a lengthy, separate way from the support of several employees, such as volcanologists and other geologic scientists . Current knowledge is best established at

Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-424: The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field began in the early Pleistocene epoch , creating valley -filling and plateau -capping lava flows that have a total volume of approximately 25 km (6 cu mi). The emplacement of these lava flows spanned at least three periods of glaciation, evidence for which is preserved in the form of tuyas , ice-ponded valley deposits, and subglacial mounds . The few tuyas in

3311-399: The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field has a long history of producing quiet lava fountaining -style eruptions. Such eruptions consist of ejection of incandescent cinder , lapilli and lava bombs to altitudes of tens to hundreds of metres. They are small to medium in volume, with sporadic violence. Since the region is mostly forested and lava flows are likely to travel long distances, it

3388-432: The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is unusual because they include small, angular to rounded fragments of rock called nodules and crystals that come from the mantle . These green nodules are known as peridotites because they are mostly made of a magnesium iron silicate mineral called olivine . These lava flows also comprise large crystals of olivine, plagioclase , and pyroxene that crystallized deep within

3465-408: The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, the seismicity appears to be more dispersed. In a few cases earthquakes are clustered in time and space, suggestive of volcanic earthquake swarms. Because the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is in a remote location, danger from lava eruptions would be low to moderate. Magma with low levels of silica (as in basalt ) commonly extend tens of kilometers from

3542-544: The best route for the Canadian Pacific Railway between Yellowhead Pass in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast. Three survey parties visited what is now Wells Gray Park. In 1873, Marcus Smith, searching for the best route to Bute Inlet, visited Hobson Lake and Mahood Lake. In 1874, the railway dispatched a survey party to explore the headwaters of the Clearwater River, under the leadership of E.W. Jarvis, but

3619-552: The broken lava fragments settled back into the glacial water, creating the unvolcano-like form of White Horse Bluff which is mostly made of fragmental volcanic glass called hyaloclastite . The volcano ceased erupting soon after breaching the surface of the glacial water. Other volcanic events elsewhere interacted with groundwater and magma creating numerous pit craters . Many of these pit craters have been filled with water creating several crater lakes . In some places glacial till and fluvial sands and gravels are maintained under

3696-461: The east, but were forced to turn back by difficult terrain. It was named after Hugh Neave after his death in 1988. Two expeditions in the 1990s, two in 2015, and one in 2017 failed to reach the summit. The first successful ascent was on August 27, 2019, by JF Labranche and Travis Goodridge. 8) "Unnamed Peak, 2797 m, 3.1 km SE of Mount Beaman". Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Wells Gray area

3773-583: The easternmost expression of the Anahim Volcanic Belt . However, its relationship is unknown because the age-location trend does not reach into the Wells Gray-Clearwater area, and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is not along trend with the Anahim Volcanic Belt. The Wells Gray volcanics were thought to have formed by crustal thinning and the existence of crustal penetrating structures. More recent studies by volcanologists associated with

3850-416: The end of the last ice age. This volcanic activity occurred in three areas; Spanish Creek, Ray Lake and Kostal Lake which were followed by lava fountain eruptions creating cinder cones and lava flows. Volcanism in the Spanish Creek and Ray Lake areas were synglacial but continued after the glacial ice had melted away. Two cinder cones, known as Flourmill Cone and Pointed Stick Cone , were created in

3927-467: The federal and provincial governments replaced this committee with a smaller one with only four members, the Fraser River Board, and directed it to determine what development of the Fraser River's water resources would be feasible, particularly regarding flood control and hydro-electric power. The Board published two preliminary reports, one about flood control in 1956, and one about hydro-electric developments in 1958. The idea of developing hydro power from

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4004-519: The following spring made this project more urgent, and in late 1948 the Dominion-Provincial Board Fraser River Basin was established to report on power generation, fisheries, flood control, water supply and recreation. Between 1949 and 1954, the committee of ten collected data and filled in the gaps in other government studies. No report was produced, but in 1953, 12 detailed maps of the Clearwater River between Hemp Creek and

4081-514: The foot of the next one, similar to the Columbia River today which has little free-flowing water. The dam at Sabre Tooth Rapids would be the highest at 137 m (449 ft), flooding most of Helmcken Canyon, inundating Sylvia and Goodwin Falls, and submerging the bottom 10 m (33 ft) of Helmcken Falls. The plan for Baileys Chute envisaged two dams; the lower dam at Myanth Falls would divert

4158-516: The greatest potential hazard to people, animals, agriculture, and property are sulfur dioxide , carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride . Locally, sulfur dioxide gas can lead to acid rain and air pollution downwind from the volcano. Currently the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is not monitored closely enough by the Geological Survey of Canada to ascertain how active the volcanic field's magma system is. The existing network of seismographs has been established to monitor tectonic earthquakes and

4235-463: The hardiest of backpackers. The southern third of Wells Gray Park is traversed by the Clearwater Valley Road, although large areas are accessible only by trail. The dominant topography features volcanic plateaus, lava flows and deep canyons which are crowned by several peaks over 2,300 m (7,546 ft) high. The waterfalls, for which Wells Gray is famous, usually result from the interaction of volcanic eruptions and glacial activity. The best known

4312-399: The hazard types, magnitudes and occurrences. These do not exist for volcanoes in British Columbia or elsewhere in Canada in the detail required. Other volcanic techniques, such as hazard mapping, displays a volcano's eruptive history in detail and speculates an understanding of the hazardous activity that could possibly be expected in the future. At present no hazard maps have been created for

4389-522: The mouth of the Clearwater River, they noted its distinct clarity compared to the muddy North Thompson and named it Clear Water. In 1863, the first tourists, Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle , traveled through the North Thompson Valley and solidified the Clearwater River name by publishing it in their journal, The Northwest Passage by Land (London, 1865) . Between 1872 and 1881, about 20 survey parties fanned out across British Columbia trying to find

4466-588: The named waterfalls. Pointed Stick Cone Pointed Stick Cone is a cinder cone in east-central British Columbia , Canada , located in Wells Gray Provincial Park . This article related to a mountain, mountain range, or peak in British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in the Interior of British Columbia , Canada

4543-419: The network becomes not as accurate. However, at least one possible volcanic earthquake swarm has been noticed east of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field. The inaccurate earthquake locations in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field are a few kilometers, and in more isolated northern regions they are up to 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). The location magnitude level in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field

4620-451: The north boundary found the above two peaks were higher. 4) Black Cone, 2861 m. This is the second highest summit of the Goodall group and has been unofficially called "The Black Cone". Its first ascent was on July 30, 2012, by Paul Geddes, Norm Greene, and Bill McKenzie. 5) Mount Pierrway , 2854 m. It was first climbed in 1969 by Art Maki and Art Wilder. The second ascent was in 1987 and

4697-408: The north sides of the mountains. Early May and most of June are often rainy and, during the summer, storms occur about once a week. Average annual precipitation at Clearwater is 43 cm (17 in) and this increases as one travels north into the park and closer to the mountains. Clearwater Lake receives over 60 cm (24 in) and Azure Lake about 80 cm (31 in). Summer temperatures in

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4774-643: The northern park boundary, 4.9 km (3.0 mi) west of Mount Pierrway. These summits are part of the Cariboo Mountains, and most of the east boundary of the park follows the mountain divide between drainage into the North Thompson River and into the Clearwater River. Individual mountain groups dominate the topography of the northern park region and are separated by deep glacial valleys , several of which contain large lakes such as Clearwater, Azure and Hobson . The ruggedness of its features has ensured that northern Wells Gray remains little known except to

4851-645: The north–south trending Garibaldi Volcanic Belt and is along-strike from the Nootka Fault on the British Columbia Coast , which has been subducting under the North American plate at the Cascadia subduction zone . The Wells Gray volcanics are mostly alkali olivine basalt , with some lava flows comprising mantle xenoliths . Basalts of the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field have been considered to be

4928-403: The older lava flows. However, chemical evidence indicates that every lava flow was produced in a similar way by low degrees of piecemeal melting. The melts originally came from the upper mantle which, over time, was progressively depleted by every following melting event. The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field is one of the 10 volcanic areas in Canada associated with recent seismic activity ;

5005-580: The others are Castle Rock , Mount Edziza , Mount Cayley , Hoodoo Mountain , The Volcano , Crow Lagoon , Mount Meager massif , Mount Garibaldi and Nazko Cone . Seismic data suggests that these volcanoes still contain living magma plumbing systems, indicating possible future eruptive activity. Although the available data does not allow a clear conclusion, these observations are further indications that some of Canada's volcanoes are potentially active, and that their associated hazards may be significant. Beneath areas of monogenetic cinder cone activity, such as

5082-423: The park was created, Chess Lyons (namesake of Mount Lyons) and his assistant, Huntley Campbell (namesake of Mount Huntley/Huntley Col) thoroughly surveyed the park and produced a detailed report with photos. Lyons and Campbell are responsible for about a quarter of its current place names, all carefully researched to remember settlers, prospectors, explorers, forest rangers, and other people who had lived and worked in

5159-422: The region, such as Gage Hill , Hyalo Ridge , McLeod Hill and Mosquito Mound , were formed when magma intruded into and melted a vertical pipe in the overlying glacial ice. The partially molten mass cooled as a large block, with gravity flattening its upper surface. The glacial erosion of the tuyas suggests they erupted during the early Pleistocene epoch. At least one explosive subaqueous volcano formed during

5236-422: The risk of an eruption, offering a forecasting capability which is important to mitigating volcanic risk. Currently the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field does not have a seismograph closer than 59 kilometres (37 mi). With increasing distance and declining numbers of seismographs used to indicate seismic activity, the prediction capability is reduced because earthquake location accuracy and depth decreases, and

5313-456: The river into a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) power canal ending at Baileys Chute. Collectively, the proposal (including the other rivers) was called System E and the cost of construction was estimated at $ 398,503,500. There was little reaction to the Fraser River Board's report. The public was not too concerned about losing remote preserves such as Wells Gray Park, when British Columbia had so much wilderness land. The park may have been saved because

5390-431: The route was described as "clearly impracticable for a railway line." When the more southern Kicking Horse Pass was chosen instead in 1881, all the meticulously examined routes in what is now Wells Gray Park were abandoned. Only three place names in the park recognize those 10 years of surveys: Murtle River & Lake , Mahood River & Lake , and Marcus Falls. Helmcken Falls was discovered in 1913 by Robert Lee,

5467-510: The seven dams on the Clearwater River. In just a decade, the environmental movement had gained power and credibility in the province , and BC Hydro's interest in the Clearwater quickly caught the attention of the Shuswap-Thompson River Research and Development Association (STRRADA) and the newly formed Yellowhead Ecological Association based in Clearwater, BC. One of the undertakings was to offer bus tours of Wells Gray Park during

5544-485: The several lava flows that form the volcanic field. Paleosols are found, but are rare. Glaciation has left a thick blanket of till over nearly all of the volcanic deposits and therefore outcrop is largely limited to cliffforming exposures in several valleys. At the end of the last ice age approximately 10,000 years ago, massive floods from the melting glacial ice carved deep canyons into the underlying plateau-capping lava flows. Most of these canyons contain rivers such as

5621-400: The summer of 1972. The tours stopped at viewpoints where the volunteer guides urged passengers to imagine how the valley would look when flooded by the dams. The strategy was effective and succeeded in creating an uproar of protest about the dams. Within a year, the plan to dam the Clearwater River was quietly shelved, but BC Hydro retained its water rights until 1987 when the flooding reserve on

5698-533: The third in 2005. This honors another World War II casualty, Private Alfred Pierrway, age 22. 6) "Unnamed Peak, 2847 m, 3.7 km WSW of Mount Pierrway". It is located on the north park boundary near Mount Lyons. As of 2022, there is no record of this peak being climbed, therefore it is Wells Gray Park's highest unclimbed mountain. 7) Mount Hugh Neave , 2829 m. Located east of Hobson Lake and north of Garnet Peak. Hugh Neave, first to summit Garnet Peak, and Peter Cowan attempted to climb it in 1972 via Hobson Glacier to

5775-439: The volcano's vent. The leading edges of basalt flows can travel as fast as 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph) on steep slopes but they typically advance less than 1 kilometre per hour (0.62 mph) on gentle slopes. But when basalt lava flows are confined within a channel or lava tube on a steep slope, the main body of the flow can reach velocities more than 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph). Based on past volcanic activity,

5852-406: The youngest volcanoes in Canada based on tree-growth data. The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field began forming approximately 3,500,000 years ago and has grown steadily since then. The tectonic causes of the volcanism that have produced the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field are not yet clear and are therefore a matter of ongoing research. It is approximately 250 km (160 mi) inland from

5929-475: Was a valued hunting ground to the Secwepemc (Shuswap) , Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) and Canim Lake Indigenous People. This resulted in a conflict around 1875 over access to caribou herds. Geographic names like " Battle Mountain ", "Fight Lake", "Battle Creek" and "Indian Valley" recall this period. The Overlanders expedition to the Cariboo goldfields rafted down the North Thompson River in 1862. When they arrived at

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