The Satah Mountain volcanic field (SMVF) is an extensive north-south trending volcanic chain in the Central Interior of British Columbia that stretches south of the Itcha Range shield volcano to northeast of Nimpo Lake. The chain is located on the Chilcotin Plateau, a major subdivision of the Interior Plateau that includes other nearby volcanic features. It forms a segment of the east-west trending Anahim Volcanic Belt, whose volcanic activity ranges in age from Miocene-to-Holocene.
This volcanic chain is named after its highest volcano, Satah Mountain, northeast of Nimpo Lake.
Geology Volcanic features in the Satah Mountain field include lava domes, cinder cones and lava flows. Lava domes and flows are composed of trachyte and the cinder cones consist of basaltic and trachybasaltic lava. The most recently formed cone is well preserved and might have a similar age to the 7,200‑year‑old Nazko Cone at the easternmost end of the Anahim Volcanic Belt. However, argon-argon dating by Kuehn et al. (2015) found that the youngest SMVF feature was a 1.43 million year old plug of basaltic trachyandesite.
Volcanic features All features listed in this table were derived from Kuehn et al. (2015) except where noted.
Name Landform Rock type Age (Ma) Coordinates - Erosional remnant Phonolite - - Eroded cone Basaltic trachyandesite 1.94 - Eroded cone Trachyte - - Eroded cone Phonotephrite - - Eroded cone Trachyte 1.95 - Eroded cone - - - Eroded cone - - - Eroded cone Trachyte 1.66 - Eroded cone, lava flows Trachybasalt, trachyandesite,trachyte 1.77 - Cone Trachyte - - Plug Basaltic trachyandesite 1.43 Jorgensen Hill Eroded cone Trachybasalt 2.21 - Eroded dome? Trachyte - - Eroded dome? Trachyte - Mount Punkutlaenkut Polygenetic cone Trachyte 1.96 Satah Mountain Polygenetic, complex cone Basaltic trachyandesite,trachyandesite (benmoreite),trachyte 1.83–1.77 Sugarloaf Mountain Eroded cone Trachyte 2.18 - Eroded dome Trachyte 1.74 Turbo Lake Lava flow Trachybasalt - - Erosional remnant Phonolite - White Creek Cone - - Holte Creek Cone - -
See also List of volcanoes in Canada List of volcanic fields Geology of British Columbia Anahim hotspot
References