Mount Cayley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mount Cayley
Mount Cayley as seen from its southeast slopes
Highest point
Elevation	2,377 m (7,799 ft)
Prominence	674 m (2,211 ft)
Listing	List of volcanoes in Canada List of Cascade volcanoes
Geography
Location	Squamish River, British Columbia, Canada
Parent range	Pacific Ranges
Topo map	NTS 92J/03
Geology
Age of rock	Pleistocene
Mountain type	Stratovolcano (potentially active)
Volcanic arc/belt	Canadian Cascade Arc Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
Last eruption	Pleistocene
Climbing
First ascent	1928 by E.C. Brooks, W.G. Wheatley, B.Clegg, R.E. Knight, and Tom Fyles
Easiest route	rock/ice climb

Mount Cayley is an eroded stratovolcano. It is 11 km southeast of Callaghan Lake and 24 west of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt which is a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

A scenario of an eruption of Mount Cayley shows how western Canada is vulnerable to an eruption. The scenario is based on past activity in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt and involves both effusive and explosive eruptions. The scenario impact is largely a result of the concentration of vulnerable infrastructure in valleys.

In 2003, Catherine Hickson, a scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, was one of the three scientists to report on the hypothetical eruption at Mount Cayley. The first signs of activity at the volcano would probably be enlarged seismic activity in and close to the mountain. Flooding would turn out to be a huge issue for the community of Squamish and could eventually overrun parts of Highway 99.

The Mount Cayley volcanic field is named after Mount Cayley.

Images for kids

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  Mount Cayley viewed from southeast showing light coloured breccia cut by a central spine of dacite which forms the summit ridge.

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  Panoramic view of the Mount Cayley volcano with Pyroclastic Peak on the left and Mount Cayley in the middle. View is westward 25 km (16 mi) from Whistler Mountain.

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  Mount Cayley as seen from the east

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  NASA World Wind imagery showing the Cheakamus valley on the right and the Squamish valley on the left upstream. The Mount Cayley is on the upper left slope of the mountain ridge between the two valleys. Squamish is in the bottom right corner of image.