The Flatiron is the name for an eroded

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 volcanic

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

 outcrop

Outcrop

An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

 in east-central British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, located in Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park

Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres...

.

The Flatiron is 90 m (295 ft) high, 500 m (1,640 ft) long and generally about 125 m (410 ft) wide. It is flanked by Hemp Creek to the west and Trout Creek to the east.

Geology

The Flatiron is probably the oldest of Wells Gray Park’s numerous volcanic formations, now estimated by geologists to be 1.4 million years old. The eruption filled an old valley here, long before Hemp Creek and Trout Creek created their canyons to the west and east respectively. The lava cooled very slowly and formed into columns, one of the park’s finest examples of columnar basalt. Most of the erosion that exposed the Flatiron occurred after the last Ice Age when huge quantities of meltwater flooded through this area. Since then, the columns that make up the Flatiron have been falling away regularly and piling up at the base, so the Flatiron keeps gets thinner.

Access

A one-hour hike from Clearwater Valley Road (also called Wells Gray Park Road) leads to a viewpoint of the Hemp Canyonlands with the Flatiron in the distance. After another 30 minutes hiking, it is necessary to leave the trail and bushwhack to the base of the Flatiron. As the cliffs almost surround the Flatiron, the only access to the top is a scramble from the west side above Hemp Creek.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Canada
• Volcanism of Canada
• Volcanism of Western Canada
  Volcanism of Western Canada
  Volcanism of Western Canada produces lava flows, lava plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes and maars, along with examples of more less common volcanic forms such as tuyas and subglacial mounds.-Volcanic belts:*Anahim...