Nazko Cone
| Nazko Cone | |
|---|---|
Nazko Cone, the easternmost and youngest volcano overlying the Anahim hotspot
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,230 m (4,040 ft) |
| Listing | List of volcanoes in Canada |
| Coordinates | 52°55′38″N 123°44′2″W / 52.92722°N 123.73389°WCoordinates: 52°55′38″N 123°44′2″W / 52.92722°N 123.73389°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | British Columbia, Canada |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | |
| Mountain type | Cinder cone |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Anahim Volcanic Belt |
| Last eruption | 5220 BCE ± 100 years |
Nazko Cone is a small potentially active basaltic cinder cone in central British Columbia, Canada, located 75 km west of Quesnel and 150 kilometers southwest of Prince George. It is considered the easternmost volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt. The small tree-covered cone rises 120 m above the Chilcotin-Nechako Plateau and rests on glacial till. It was formed in three episodes of activity, the first of which took place during the interglacial stage about 340,000 years ago. The second stage produced a large hyaloclastite scoria mound erupted beneath the Cordilleran Ice Sheet during the Pleistocene. Its last eruption produced two small lava flows that traveled 1 km to the west, along with a blanket of volcanic ash that extends several km to the north and east of the cone.
Nazko Cone probably began erupting about 340,000 years ago and has grown steadily since then. Like all of the Anahim volcanoes, Nazko Cone has its origins in the Anahim hotspot—a plume of magma rising from deep in the Earth's mantle. The hotspot remains in a fixed position, while the North American Plate drifts over it at a rate of 2 to 3.3 centimetres per year. The upwelling of the hot magma creates volcanoes, and each individual volcano erupts for a few million years before the movement of the plate carries it away from the rising magma.
The hotspot has existed for at least 13 million years, and the Anahim Volcanic Belt stretches almost 600 kilometres (400 mi) away from the hotspot. Currently, the hotspot lies under Nazko Cone, which is the youngest volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt.
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Wikipedia