Buck Creek basin facts for kids
The Buck Creek basin is a large, bowl-shaped area of land in central British Columbia, Canada. It's located north of François Lake, between the towns of Houston and Burns Lake. Imagine a giant dip in the ground, like a huge bowl! This basin is a special type of structural basin, which means its shape was created by movements deep within the Earth.
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What is a Structural Basin?
A structural basin is like a big, sunken area of land. It forms when the Earth's crust bends downwards, creating a depression. Think of it as a giant bowl or a low-lying area surrounded by higher ground. The Buck Creek basin is a good example of this.
Where is the Buck Creek Basin?
This basin is found on the Nechako Plateau, a high, flat area in the central part of British Columbia. It's nestled between the towns of Houston and Burns Lake, making it a notable feature in that region.
How Big is This Basin?
The Buck Creek basin is quite large! It stretches about 60 km (37 mi) wide and 80 km (50 mi) long. The lowest part of the basin is much deeper than the surrounding hills. It lies about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) below the edges of the basin and the nearby hills. These hills are made of very old, changed rocks called metamorphic rocks.
How Did the Buck Creek Basin Form?
The formation of the Buck Creek basin is linked to something called a rift. A rift is a place where the Earth's crust is pulling apart. This basin was shaped by a series of long cracks in the Earth's crust called strike-slip faults. These faults run from the northwest to the southwest.
These faults are part of a time when the Nechako Plateau area was very active tectonically. This means the Earth's plates were moving a lot! This period of rifting happened a long, long time ago, during the Late Cretaceous, Eocene, and Early Oligocene periods. These are all different parts of Earth's geological history, millions of years ago.
What Rocks Are Inside the Basin?
Over millions of years, the Buck Creek basin filled up with different types of rocks. These include volcanic rocks, which are formed from cooled lava, and pyroclastic rocks, which are made from volcanic ash and fragments. There are also sedimentary rocks, which form from layers of mud, sand, and other materials that settle over time. These rocks inside the basin range in age from the Cretaceous period to the Paleogene period.
