page_title: Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
section_title: Central segment
hierarchical_section_title: Garibaldi Volcanic Belt / Geology / Central segment
caption_attribution_description: Volcanic cinder at the Mount Cayley volcanic complex, British Columbia, Canada.Volcanic Slag
context_page_description: The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is a northwest-southeast trending volcanic chain in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains that extends from Watts Point in the south to the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield in the north. This chain of volcanoes is located in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It forms the northernmost segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which includes Mount St. Helens and Mount Baker. Most volcanoes of the Garibaldi chain are dormant stratovolcanoes and subglacial volcanoes that have been eroded by glacial ice. Less common volcanic landforms include cinder cones, volcanic plugs, lava domes and calderas. These diverse formations were created by different styles of volcanic activity, including Peléan and Plinian eruptions.
  Eruptions along the length of the chain have created at least three major volcanic zones. The first began in the Powder Mountain Icefield 4.0 million years ago. The Mount Cayley massif began its formation during this period. Multiple eruptions from 2.2 million to 2,350 years ago created the Mount Meager massif, and eruptions 1.3 million to 9,300 years ago formed Mount Garibaldi and other volcanoes in the Garibaldi Lake area.
context_section_description: Immediately southeast of Mount Cayley lies Mount Fee, an extensively eroded volcano containing a north-south trending ridge. It is one of the older volcanic features in the central Garibaldi chain. Its volcanics are undated, but its large amount of dissection and evidence of glacai ice overriding the volcano indicates that it formed more than 75,000 years ago before the Wisconsinan Glaciation. Therefore, volcanism at Mount Fee does not display evidence of interaction with glacial ice. The remaining product from Fee's earliest volcanic activity is a minor portion of pyroclastic rock. This is evidence of explosive volcanism from Fee's eruptive history, as well as its first volcanic event. The second volcanic event produced a sequence of lavas and breccias on the eastern flank of the main ridge. These volcanics were likely placed when a sequence of lava flows and broken lava fragments erupted from a volcanic vent and moved down the flanks during the construction of a large volcano. Following extensive dissection, renewed volcanism produced a viscous series of lava flows forming its narrow, flat-topped, steep-sided northern limit and the northern end of the main ridge. The conduit for which these lava flows originated from was likely vertical in structure and intruded through older volcanics deposited during Fee's earlier volcanic events. This volcanic event was also followed by a period of erosion, and likely one or more glacial periods. Extensive erosion following the last volcanic event at Mount Fee has created the rugged north-south trending ridge that currently forms a prominent landmark.
  Ember Ridge, a volcanic mountain ridge between Tricouni Peak and Mount Fee, consists of at least eight lava domes composed of andesite.  They were likely formed between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago when lava erupted beneath glacial ice of the Fraser Glaciation. Their current structures are comparable to their original forms due to the minimal degree of erosion. As a result, the domes display the shaps and columnar joints typical of subglacial volcanoes. The random shaps of the Ember Ridge domes are the result of erupted lava taking advantage of former ice pockets, eruptions taking place on uneven surfaces, subsidence of the domes during volcanic activity to create rubble and separation of older columnar units during more recent eruptions. The northern dome, known as Ember Ridge North, covers the summit and eastern flank of a mountain ridge. It comprises at least one lava flow that reaches a thickness of 100 m (330 ft), as well as the thinnest columnar units in the Mount Cayley volcanic field. The small size of the columnar joints indicates that the erupted lava was cooled immediately and are mainly located on the dome's summit. Ember Ridge Northeast, the smallest subglacial dome of Ember Ridge, comprises one lava flow that has a thickness no more than 40 m (130 ft). Ember Ridge Northwest, the most roughly circular subglacial dome, comprises at least one lava flow. Ember Ridge Southeast is the most complex of the Ember Ridge domes, consisting of a series of lava flows with a thickness of 60 m (200 ft).  It is also the only Ember Ridge dome that contains large amounts of rubble. Ember Ridge Southwest comprises at least one lava flow that reaches a thickness of 80 m (260 ft). It is the only subglacial dome of Ember Ridge that contains hyaloclastite. Ember Ridge West comprises only one lava flow that reaches a thickness of 60 m (200 ft).
  To the northwest, the Mount Cayley massif constitutes the largest and most persistent volcano in the central Garibaldi Belt. It is a highly eroded stratovolcano composed of dacite and rhyodacite lava that was deposited during three phases of volcanic activity. The first eruptive phase started about four million years ago with the eruption of dacite lava flows and pyroclastic rock. This resulted in the creation of Mount Cayley itself. Subsequent volcanism during this volcanic phase constructed a significant lava dome. This acts like a volcanic plug and composes the lava spines that currently form pinnacles o
caption: Volcanic rubble in the Mount Cayley area. Its ridge-like structure provides easy travel to the north towards Mount Fee.
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