Smithers Regional Geotour

Skeena Arch

 

Location ID: 20-NBC-GT2

 

 

Bulkley Valley Geology

The mountain ranges surrounding the valley are mainly volcanic rocks of Jurassic & late Cretaceous age while the valley floor is mainly early Cretaceous & Eocene sedimentary rocks. The mountain ranges surrounding the valley are mainly volcanic rocks of Jurassic & late Cretaceous age while the valley floor is mainly early Cretaceous & Eocene sedimentary rocks. The Bulkley Valley is a graben that started to formed around 50 m.y. ago during a time of crustal extension. Many of the current features of the valley are a result of the last glacial period of the current ice age.

 

Gigapan Images

Feldspar phyric dacites and andesites that are locally flow banded (Stop 1)

Asitka Group limestone cut by feldspar porphyry dikes (Stop 3)

Well-bedded chert that is tightly folded and cut by post kinematic feldspar porphyry dikes (Stop 4A)

Well-bedded chert that is tightly folded and cut by post kinematic feldspar porphyry dikes (Stop 4B)

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(Stop 6)

 (Stop 6b)

Lapilli tuff that is typical of the lower Telkwa Formation of the Hazelton Group (Stop 10A)

Weathering maroon crystal-lithic tuff (Stop 11)

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Light brown weathering, thick bedded sandstones (Stop 15)

Maroon to red weathering tuffs (Stop 16)

Volcanic breccia or agglomerate with subrounded to flattened medium grey quartz-feldspar phyric dacite clasts (Stop 17)

Red weathering hematitic lapilli tuff with angular rhyolitic clasts (Stop 18)

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Predominately pyritic, hornfelsed, sedimentary rocks (Stop 21b)

Predominately pyritic, hornfelsed, sedimentary rocks (Stop 21c)

Predominately pyritic, hornfelsed, sedimentary rocks (Stop 21d)

Predominately pyritic, hornfelsed, sedimentary rocks (Stop 21e)

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White to grey weathering fine-grained rhyolite (Stop 23)

Moricetown volcanics – various lithologies (Stop 24a)

Porphyritic andesites, lahars and thin bedded tuffaceous volcanic sediments (Stop 25)

Porphyritic andesites, lahars and thin bedded tuffaceous volcanic sediments (Stop 25-2)

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Dark greenish-grey weathering feldspar-augite phyric basaltic andesite flows  (Stop 26)

Thick bedded quartzo-feldspathic sandstone, siltstone and granule conglomerate (Stop 27)

Dipping beds of pebble conglomerates interbedded with siltstone, sandstone and mudstone (Stop 28)

Deltaic sedimentary rocks (Stop 29)

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Cream coloured, thin bedded shales, siltstones and mudstones (Stop 32)

Medium to dark grey well bedded siltstone and sandstone (Stop 33)

 Widzin Kwah Canyon House Museum

 ‘Ksan Historical Village and Museum

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GO TO GIGAPAN
GO TO MUSEUM SITE
GO TO MUSEUM SITE

 Virtual Field School

 

This guide is based off of work by geologist Don MacIntyre and the Smithers Exploration Group, and covers the geology of the Smithers-Babine Lake-Hazelton area of west central British Columbia. This geotour examines the older component of Stikine Terrane in the region including the Upper Permian limestone to Upper Triassic island arc volcanic assemblages near Granisle on Babine Lake. In the Smithers and Hazelton areas the focus is on Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene overlap assemblages and post accretion structures related to crustal thickening and thinning events.

Map Tips:

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Note: Some layers are only visible when zoomed to a particular level. If a layer does not show, try zooming in or out. For example, localized mineral showings require the map to be zoomed in, whilst regional terranes require a wider view.

 

Resources

 

Use the links below to access more information for class exercises, data and other useful information.

Sample Images

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Rock Chips

Images of rock chips from locations mentioned on interactive map, with magnifying function

Document Library

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GeoTour Guide

Road trip guide authored by Don MacIntyre PGeo. PEng.

Open
Geological History

Presentation about Bulkley Valley geology by Don MacIntyre PGeo. PEng.

Open
Road Trip!

Page dedicated to the original roadtrip designed by geologist Don MacIntyre

First Nation Resources

Open
Pre-Historic Mining

A look at prehistory of First Nations peoples and the uses of natural products in everyday life.

Open
Colonialism

The process and impacts of colonialism on First Nations peoples

Open
Intro to UNDRIP

Slides providing a simple explanation of the United Nations Directive on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Open
Mining Evolution

Taking a look at the evolution of mining in BC and the role of Indigenous Peoples as it changed over time.

Laws & Regulations

Open
BC Regulations

Regulations pertaining to the collection of materials within British Columbia