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 a large, old stratovolcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) southeast of Callaghan Lake. This mountain is also 24 kilometers (15 miles) west of Whistler, British Columbia. Mount Cayley is part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt. This belt is a section of the larger Cascade Volcanic Arc.
Contents
What is Mount Cayley?
Mount Cayley is an "eroded" stratovolcano. This means it is a volcano that has been worn down over a very long time. It was formed by many layers of lava, ash, and rocks building up. Even though it looks like a regular mountain now, it is still considered a volcano. Scientists believe it could become active again.
What if Mount Cayley Erupts?
Scientists have studied what might happen if Mount Cayley erupted. This study is called an "eruption scenario." It helps people understand the possible dangers. The scenario looks at how past eruptions in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt happened. It includes both slow lava flows and big explosions.
The biggest problem in an eruption would be for towns in the valleys nearby. Many important buildings and roads are located there. This makes these areas "vulnerable" or easily harmed.
How Scientists Study Eruptions
In 2003, a scientist named Catherine Hickson helped create the eruption scenario. She works for the Geological Survey of Canada. This group studies the Earth's geology in Canada.
Scientists believe the first sign of an eruption would be more earthquakes near the mountain. These small shakes would get bigger and happen more often. If an eruption happened, flooding could be a huge problem. The town of Squamish might be affected by floods. Parts of Highway 99, a major road, could also be covered by water.
Mount Cayley Volcanic Field
Mount Cayley is so important that a whole area is named after it. This area is called the Mount Cayley volcanic field. It includes Mount Cayley and other smaller volcanoes nearby.
Images for kids
-
Mount Cayley viewed from southeast showing light coloured breccia cut by a central spine of dacite which forms the summit ridge.
-
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.
-
Mount Cayley as seen from the east
-
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.
