Mount Downton
Encyclopedia
Mount Downton is the highest summit of the 10 km (6 mi) diameter Itcha Range
, located 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Anahim Lake
and 33 km (21 mi) east of Far Mountain
in the Chilcotin District
of the Central Interior
of British Columbia
, Canada
. It lies within Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park
.
, the reservoir behind Lajoie Dam
in the Bridge River Power Project
is also named. Downton is credited with first noting the hydroelectric potential inherent in the elevation differential between the Bridge River
and Seton Lake
on opposing sides of Mission Pass
during a visit to the Bridge River Mining District in 1912.
, a west-east trending line of volcanoes formed when the North American Plate
moved over a hotspot
, similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands
, called the Anahim hotspot
. The Anahim Volcanic Belt includes other immediately nearby ranges, the Rainbow
and Ilgachuz Range
s.
Itcha Range
The Itcha Range is a mountain range on the Chilcotin Plateau of the West-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The range is located 25 miles northeast of Anahim Lake...
, located 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Anahim Lake
Anahim Lake, British Columbia
Anahim Lake is a small community in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its name, and the name of the associated lake, in the Tsilhqot'in language, is Tl'etinqox. The village and surrounding areas have a population of approximately 1500. The Ulkatcho First Nation has 729 living on nearby...
and 33 km (21 mi) east of Far Mountain
Far Mountain
Far Mountain is the highest of the 13 peaks of the Ilgachuz Range in the Anahim Volcanic Belt in British Columbia, Canada. The Ilgachuz Range is one of the three major shield volcanoes that formed the Anahim Volcanic Belt when the North American Plate moved over a hotspot . This is similar to the...
in the Chilcotin District
Chilcotin District
The Chilcotin District of British Columbia is usually known simply as "the Chilcotin", and also in speech commonly as "the Chilcotin Country" or simply Chilcotin. It is a plateau and mountain region in British Columbia on the inland lea of the Coast Mountains on the west side of the Fraser River....
of the Central Interior
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
of 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...
. It lies within Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park
Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park
Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Chilcotin Country of British Columbia, Canada. The park is 111,977 hectares in size and contains Far Mountain and Mount Downton, its two most prominent peaks.-History and conservation:...
.
Name origin
Mount Downton was named for Geoffrey M. Downton, British Columbia Land Surveyor, for whom Downton LakeDownton Lake
Downton Lake, originally Downton Reservoir, and also known as Downton Lake Reservoir, is a reservoir in the Bridge River Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, formed by Lajoie Dam, the uppermost of the series of dams and diversions of the Bridge River Power Project.It was named for...
, the reservoir behind Lajoie Dam
Lajoie Dam
Lajoie Dam is the uppermost of the storage dams of the Bridge River Power Project, which is located in the southwestern Interior of British Columbia. It is located just west of the small semi-ghost town of Gold Bridge. An earthfill structure, it is 87 m and impounds c. of water in Downton Lake...
in the Bridge River Power Project
Bridge River Power Project
The Bridge River Power Project is a hydroelectric power development in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the Lillooet Country between Whistler and Lillooet...
is also named. Downton is credited with first noting the hydroelectric potential inherent in the elevation differential between the Bridge River
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
and Seton Lake
Seton Lake
Seton Lake is a freshwater fjord draining east via the Seton River into the Fraser River at the town of Lillooet, British Columbia, about 22 km long and 243 m in elevation and 26.2 square kilometres in area...
on opposing sides of Mission Pass
Mission Pass
Mission Pass is an historic mountain pass in the Bridge River-Lillooet Country of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, around west of Lillooet, towards the west end of Seton Lake....
during a visit to the Bridge River Mining District in 1912.
Geology
Mount Downton is part of the Anahim Volcanic BeltAnahim Volcanic Belt
The Anahim Volcanic Belt is a long volcanic belt, stretching from just north of Vancouver Island to near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. The Anahim Volcanic Belt has had three main magmatic episodes: 15–13 Ma, 9–6 Ma, and 3–1 Ma. The volcanoes generally become younger eastward at a rate of to ...
, a west-east trending line of volcanoes formed when the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
moved over a hotspot
Hotspot (geology)
The places known as hotspots or hot spots in geology are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the mantle elsewhere. They may be on, near to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. There are two hypotheses to explain them...
, similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, called the Anahim hotspot
Anahim hotspot
The Anahim hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in central British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the Interior Plateau, a large region that lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains to the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range to the west...
. The Anahim Volcanic Belt includes other immediately nearby ranges, the Rainbow
Rainbow Range (Coast Mountains)
The Rainbow Range, formerly known as the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Anahim Lake...
and Ilgachuz Range
Ilgachuz Range
The Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been eroded for the past 5 million years. It lies on the Chilcotin Plateau, located some north-northwest...
s.
See also
- Itcha RangeItcha RangeThe Itcha Range is a mountain range on the Chilcotin Plateau of the West-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The range is located 25 miles northeast of Anahim Lake...
- Ilgachuz RangeIlgachuz RangeThe Ilgachuz Range is a name given to an extinct shield volcano in British Columbia, Canada. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single volcano that has been eroded for the past 5 million years. It lies on the Chilcotin Plateau, located some north-northwest...
- Rainbow RangeRainbow Range (Coast Mountains)The Rainbow Range, formerly known as the Rainbow Mountains, is a mountain range in British Columbia, Canada, located northwest of Anahim Lake...
- Anahim Volcanic BeltAnahim Volcanic BeltThe Anahim Volcanic Belt is a long volcanic belt, stretching from just north of Vancouver Island to near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. The Anahim Volcanic Belt has had three main magmatic episodes: 15–13 Ma, 9–6 Ma, and 3–1 Ma. The volcanoes generally become younger eastward at a rate of to ...
- Anahim hotspotAnahim hotspotThe Anahim hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in central British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the Interior Plateau, a large region that lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains to the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range to the west...
- List of volcanoes in Canada
- Volcanism of Canada
- Volcanism of Western CanadaVolcanism of Western CanadaVolcanism 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...
External links
- Peakbagger.com: Mount Downton, British Columbia (Retrieved on October 14, 2008)