Rainbow Range (Chilcotin Plateau)
Once called Tsitsutl, meaning "rainbow mountains" in the Ulkatcho dialect of the Carrier language, that name is now the name of the range's highest peak.
Geology
The Rainbow Range is an eight-million-year-old (Miocene) massive peralkaline shield volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt which includes the lower but similar Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges. The shield has a diameter of 30 km (19 mi) is now heavily eroded by glaciers carving into the volcanic rock and sands over millions of years. The volcanism that created the shield is not well studied and is poorly understood. It is thought to be the result of the North American Plate passing over a hotspot, similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands, known as the Anahim hotspot. The only real separate volcanic peak associated with the Rainbow Range is Anahim Peak which sits on its northeast flank. Other peaks in the range are other high eroded remnants of the shield, including Beef Peak, TaiaTaeszi Peak, Mount MacKenzie and Tsitsutl Peak 2,495 m (8,186 ft), which is the highest summit of the Rainbow Range.
The range gets its name from the intense and varied colours of its terrains' volcanic lavas and sands from heavy mineralization, like the Spectrum Range in the Spatsizi Plateau.
Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park
The Rainbow Range lies partly in the Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park, while to its east the Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges form the core of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park.
See also
- List of volcanoes in Canada
- Volcanism of Western Canada
- Rainbow Range (Rocky Mountains)
- Spectrum Range
References
- ^ "Tsitsutl Peak". Bivouac.com. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- ^ "Tsitsutl Peak". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- ^ "Rainbow Range". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- ^ "Tweedsmuir Park: Nature and culture". BC Parks. Retrieved 2023-06-28.