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The Table (British Columbia) facts for kids

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The Table
The Table1.jpg
The Table rises above the southwest side of Garibaldi Lake
Highest point
Elevation 2,021 m (6,631 ft)
Prominence 251 m (823 ft)
Geography
The Table is located in British Columbia
The Table
The Table
Location in British Columbia
The Table is located in Canada
The Table
The Table
Location in Canada
Parent range Garibaldi Ranges
Topo map NTC 92G/14 Cheakamus River
Geology
Age of rock Holocene
Mountain type Tuya
Volcanic arc/belt Canadian Cascade Arc
Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
Last eruption Holocene
Climbing
First ascent 1916 Tom Fyles

The Table, also known as Table Mountain, is a very unique mountain in British Columbia, Canada. It stands at 2,021 metres (6,631 ft) (about 6,631 feet) tall. This special mountain is located about 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of the beautiful Garibaldi Lake. It rises more than 530 metres (1,740 ft) (about 1,739 feet) above the lake's surface.

The Table is a type of volcano called a tuya. A tuya is a volcano that erupts under a thick ice sheet or glacier. Because of how it formed, The Table has very steep and unstable rock walls on all sides. This makes it almost impossible to climb safely.

How The Table Was Formed

The Table
The Table as seen from Black Tusk Meadows

The Table is part of a group of volcanoes called the Garibaldi Lake volcanic field. This area has nine smaller volcanoes that formed a long time ago, during a period called the Holocene (which is our current geological age).

These volcanoes are part of a bigger chain of volcanoes. This chain is known as the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt and the Cascade Volcanic Arc. This long line of volcanoes stretches from southwestern British Columbia all the way down to northern California.

So, how did The Table get its flat top? In 1951, a Canadian geologist named Bill Mathews suggested an idea. He thought that hot, melted rock (magma) pushed its way up into a huge ice sheet. This magma melted a vertical hole in the ice. As the magma cooled, it formed a large, solid block. Gravity then flattened its top surface, giving it the "table" shape we see today.

The fact that the ice sheet didn't wear away The Table much suggests it erupted when the ice was just starting to disappear. You can find similar flat-topped volcanoes in other parts of Canada, like the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field.

The Table in Movies

The Table has even made its way onto the big screen! It was featured in the movie Agent Cody Banks. It also appeared in Stargate: The Ark of Truth. In Stargate, The Table was shown as the secret location where a special item called the Ark was hidden. The movie's opening scenes even show The Table with a village digitally added on top of it. You can also see amazing aerial views of the nearby Mount Garibaldi and Tantalus Range areas in the film.

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