There are more than 100 volcanic centers in British Columbia and the Yukon. Many are monogenetic cones but there are also large shield and dome complexes. Eruptions began a few million years ago. The most recent eruption was about 200-250 years ago Stikine Volcanic Belt.
The volcanic rocks are divided into five groups with diverse types of volcanoes and tectonic settings. In southern British Columbia, the Pemberton and Garibaldi volcanic belts and the Chilcotin Group plateau are related to the subduction of the Juan de Fuca and Explorer plates beneath the North American continent. The Anahim Volcanic Belt trends easterly across central British Columbia and is probably related to a mantle hot spot. The Stikine Volcanic Belt forms a broad zone of volcanoes in northwestern British Columbia and the southern Yukon. These volcanoes are probably related to shear along the Queen Charolette transform fault to the west. The Wrangell Volcanic Belt is an arc of continental volcanoes associated with the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate. Volcanism has also occurred at the Clearwater-Quesnel and McConnell Creek area and at Alert Bay.
For a more complete description of each of these groups and the volcanoes in them see Volcanoes of North America by C. Wood and J. Kienle (1993, Cambridge University Press).
Chuck Wood and Steve Mattox
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