Garibaldi Ranges

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Garibaldi Ranges
Mount Garibaldi (50997016501).jpg
Mount Garibaldi seen from the south
Highest point
PeakWedge Mountain
Elevation 2,892 m (9,488 ft)
Coordinates 50°07′59″N122°47′36″W / 50.13306°N 122.79333°W / 50.13306; -122.79333
Dimensions
Area4,337 km2 (1,675 sq mi)
Geography
Vancouver Island-relief GaribaldiRanges.png
Location map of Garibaldi Ranges
CountryCanada
State British Columbia
Settlement Squamish
Parent range Pacific Ranges
Borders on North Shore Mountains, Lillooet Ranges and Douglas Ranges

The Garibaldi Ranges are the next-to-southwesternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains; only the North Shore Mountains are farther southwest. They lie between the valley formed by the pass between the Cheakamus River and Green River on the west (the location of the Resort Municipality of Whistler) and the valley of the Lillooet River on the east, and extend south into Maple Ridge, an eastern suburb of Vancouver, and the northern District of Mission. To their south are the North Shore Mountains overlooking Vancouver while to their southeast are the Douglas Ranges.

Contents

They take their name indirectly from Mount Garibaldi on the western side of the range, which is the namesake of Garibaldi Provincial Park. Their southern end between the upper Stave River and Pitt Lake is north of the municipality of Maple Ridge, and forms Golden Ears Provincial Park (which was originally part of Garibaldi Park).

Their most famous mountain, The Black Tusk, is not among the highest in the range; it is a volcanic plug on the meadow-ridge between Garibaldi and Cheakamus Lakes, just south of the resort of Whistler, British Columbia. The highest peak in the range is just north of the resort, Wedge Mountain 2892 m (9498 ft) a.k.a. Wedgemont and "The Wedge". [1]

The northern part of the range, consisting mostly of Garibaldi Provincial Park, is extremely alpine in character, with large icefields and a sea of high peaks. The southern part of the range, north of Stave Lake and between the upper Pitt River and the lower Lillooet River, has no major icefields because of the precipitous character of the network of plunging U-shaped valleys - many well over 5000' deep, with individual peaks with near-vertical flanks up to 7000'. At the core of this set of ridges decorated with sharp, spiny peaks, is the highest - Mount Judge Howay 2262 m (7421 ft). The southernmost major peaks of the Garibaldi Ranges are in Golden Ears Provincial Park just north of Haney (downtown Maple Ridge), whose cluster of sugarloafs resemble a donkey's ears and, on the day of naming, were gleaming in the sunset; the highest of these is Golden Ears at 1716 m (5630 ft).

Sub-ranges

Related Research Articles

Whistler is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately 125 km (78 mi) north of Vancouver and 36 km (22 mi) south of Pemberton. It has a permanent population of approximately 13,982 (2021), as well as a larger but rotating population of seasonal workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Garibaldi</span> Stratovolcano in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Garibaldi is a dormant stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has a maximum elevation of 2,678 metres and rises above the surrounding landscape on the east side of the Cheakamus River in New Westminster Land District. In addition to the main peak, Mount Garibaldi has two named sub-peaks. Atwell Peak is a sharp, conical peak slightly higher than the more rounded peak of Dalton Dome. Both were volcanically active at different times throughout Mount Garibaldi's eruptive history. The northern and eastern flanks of Mount Garibaldi are obscured by the Garibaldi Névé, a large snowfield containing several radiating glaciers. Flowing from the steep western face of Mount Garibaldi is the Cheekye River, a tributary of the Cheakamus River. Opal Cone on the southeastern flank is a small volcanic cone from which a lengthy lava flow descends. The western face is a landslide feature that formed in a series of collapses between 12,800 and 11,500 years ago. These collapses resulted in the formation of a large debris flow deposit that fans out into the Squamish Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garibaldi Provincial Park</span> Wilderness park in British Columbia, Canada

Garibaldi Provincial Park, also called Garibaldi Park, is a wilderness park located on the coastal mainland of British Columbia, Canada, 70 kilometres (43.5 mi) north of Vancouver. It was established in 1920 and named a Class A Provincial Park of British Columbia in 1927. The park is a popular destination for outdoor recreation, with over 30,000 overnight campers and over 106,000 day users in the 2017/2018 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Ranges</span> Subrange of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada

The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains portion of the Pacific Cordillera. Located entirely within British Columbia, Canada, they run northwest from the lower stretches of the Fraser River to Bella Coola and Burke Channel, north of which are the Kitimat Ranges. The Coast Mountains lie between the Interior Plateau and the Coast of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitt River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Pitt River in British Columbia, Canada is a large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it a few miles upstream from New Westminster and about 25 km ESE of Downtown Vancouver. The river, which begins in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains, is in two sections above and below Pitt Lake and flows on a generally southernly course. Pitt Lake and the lower Pitt River are tidal in nature as the Fraser's mouth is only a few miles downstream from their confluence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Ranges</span> Subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada

The Douglas Ranges are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia, about 70 km (43 mi) east of downtown Vancouver, north of the Fraser River and between the valleys of Stave and Harrison Lakes. They are approximately 4,900 km2 (1,900 sq mi) in area. Their highest peak is Mount Robertson 2,252 m (7,388 ft), at the northwest limit of the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tantalus Range</span>

The Tantalus Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia, Canada. The range is easily viewed from the "Sea to Sky Highway" that travels from Vancouver to Squamish and Whistler. To Squamish people, the local indigenous people of the area, the name of the Tantalus Range is Tsewílx’.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Falls Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located adjacent to BC Highway 99 between Garibaldi and Whistler, British Columbia. It is managed by Sea to Sky Parks for BC Parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Ears Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Golden Ears Provincial Park is a 555.9 square kilometres (214.6 sq mi) provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is named after the prominent twin peaks, which are commonly referred to as Golden Ears. The park was originally part of Garibaldi Provincial Park but was split off as a separate park in 1967. The area was logged extensively in the 1920s by the Lougheed and Abernathy Logging Company. Many recreational attractions are found within the park. Golden Ears Provincial Park is a protected area that contains many endangered species of flora and fauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Price (British Columbia)</span> Stratovolcano in British Columbia, Canada

Mount Price is a small stratovolcano in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Pacific Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It has an elevation of 2,049 metres and rises above the surrounding landscape on the western side of Garibaldi Lake in New Westminster Land District. The mountain contains a number of subfeatures, including Clinker Peak on its western flank, which was the source of two thick lava flows between 15,000 and 8,000 years ago that ponded against glacial ice. These lava flows are structurally unstable, having produced large landslides as recently as the 1850s. A large provincial park surrounds Mount Price and other volcanoes in its vicinity. It lies within an ecological region that surrounds much of the Pacific Ranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea-to-Sky Corridor</span> Subregion of British Columbia in Canada

The Sea-to-Sky Corridor, often referred to as the Corridor or the Sea to Sky Country, is a region in British Columbia spreading from Horseshoe Bay through Whistler to the Pemberton Valley and sometimes beyond to include Birken and D'Arcy. From Whistler on up, the region overlaps with the older and more historic Lillooet Country, of which Squamish, at the region's centre, was once the southward extension in the days when it was the rail-port terminus from the Interior, via Lillooet, and accessible from the Lower Mainland only by sea. Most of the region is in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, although south of Britannia Beach a small part of the region is in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistler Mountain</span> Mountain in British Columbia, Canada

Whistler Mountain is a mountain in the Fitzsimmons Range of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, located on the northwestern edge of Garibaldi Provincial Park. It is the location of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort and the town of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, and played host to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge Mountain</span> Mountain in British Columbia, Canada

Wedge Mountain, 2,895 m (9,498 ft) prominence: 2,249 m (7,379 ft), often locally referred to as The Wedge or simply "Wedge", is the highest summit in the Garibaldi Ranges and therefore also Garibaldi Provincial Park, and is among the nearest of the many peaks visible from the Whistler Blackcomb Ski Area, lying north across the valley of Billygoat Pass from the Spearhead Range, which includes one of that resort's two flagship mountains, Blackcomb. It was named for its distinctive wedge shape by the Garibaldi Park Board in 1932 in preference to Mount Vancouver, which had been submitted earlier. It is part of an unnamed range forming the most northerly group of peaks in the Garibaldi Ranges, the other two most notable being Mount Weart, known as the Armchair because of its shape, and Mount Currie, which overlooks the First Nations Reserve of the same name and the neighbouring town of Pemberton. Wedge's very high prominence is defined by the divide between the Green and Cheakamus Rivers at a locality at the south end of Alta Lake known as Tokum Corners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Ears (peaks)</span>

Golden Ears is the name of the double summit that lies north of Maple Ridge, British Columbia and is visible from most of the western Lower Mainland. The mountain is in Golden Ears Provincial Park, and was originally referred to as Golden Eyries, possibly for golden eagles that were observed near the summit. There is confusion about the name, because of the twin summits the peak exhibits. Many people believe that the mountain is named because it looks like ears which become golden in the sunset light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powder Mountain Icefield</span> Ice field in British Columbia, Canada

The Powder Mountain Icefield, also called the Powder Mountain Icecap and the Cayley Icefield, is a glacial field in the Pacific Ranges of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Whistler and about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of Vancouver. On the west side of the icefield is the valley of the Squamish River, while on its east is the Callaghan Valley, which is the setting for the Nordic facilities for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemberton Icefield</span>

The Pemberton Icefield or Pemberton Icecap, is the southernmost of the series of very large icefields studding the Pacific Ranges of the southern Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alouette Lake</span> Lake and reservoir in Maple Ridge, Canada

Alouette Lake, originally Lillooet Lake and not to be confused with the lake of that name farther north, is a lake and reservoir in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the southeast foot of the mountain group known as the Golden Ears and is about 16 km in length on a northeast–southwest axis. It and the Alouette River, formerly the Lillooet River, were renamed in 1914 to avoid confusion with the larger river and lake farther north, with "Alouette", the French word for "lark", being chosen as being melodious and reminiscent of the original name in tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Robie Reid</span>

Mount Robie Reid 2,095 m (6,873 ft) is a mountain in the eastern part of Golden Ears Provincial Park in the southern end of the Garibaldi Ranges overlooking the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It lies to the north of Mission, British Columbia and on the west side of the upper end of Stave Lake, and to the northeast of the group of summits known as the Golden Ears. Mount Judge Howay is to the north. Robie Reid has a prominence of 1,245 m (4,085 ft) relative to the lowest col between the valleys of Tingle and Osprey Creeks.

The Fitzsimmons Range is a small mountain range on the northwestern edge of the Garibaldi Ranges in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located between the valleys of Cheakamus Lake (SW) and Fitzsimmons Creek (NE). Its most famous summit is Whistler Mountain, which overlooks the resort town of Whistler and is one of the two mountains forming the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort. Most of the range is within Garibaldi Provincial Park, while its northeastern extremity is part of the resort municipality, and of the lands associated with the ski resort operation. Other summits in the range include Oboe Summit, Piccolo Summit and Flute Summit, which are hillocks along the ridge running southeast from Whistler Mountain and were named in association with the renaming of Whistler. Beyond them is Singing Pass and Mount Fitzsimmons 2603 m (8540 ft) which is at the opposite end of the range from Whistler Mountain and the location of Fitzsimmons Glacier, which is the source of Fitzsimmons Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Cayley volcanic field</span> Remote volcanic zone in Canada

The Mount Cayley volcanic field (MCVF) is a remote volcanic zone on the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, stretching 31 km (19 mi) from the Pemberton Icefield to the Squamish River. It forms a segment of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, the Canadian portion of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which extends from Northern California to southwestern British Columbia. Most of the MCVF volcanoes were formed during periods of volcanism under sheets of glacial ice throughout the last glacial period. These subglacial eruptions formed steep, flat-topped volcanoes and subglacial lava domes, most of which have been entirely exposed by deglaciation. However, at least two volcanoes predate the last glacial period and both are highly eroded. The field gets its name from Mount Cayley, a volcanic peak located at the southern end of the Powder Mountain Icefield. This icefield covers much of the central portion of the volcanic field and is one of the several glacial fields in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains.

References

  1. "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-01.