Silvertip Mountain Explained

Silvertip Mountain
Elevation M:2596
Elevation Ref:[1]
Prominence M:1871
Range:Canadian Cascades
Parent Peak:Robinson Mountain
Map:Canada British Columbia#Canada
Map Size:260
Label Position:top
Country:Canada
Region Type:Province
Region:British Columbia
District:Yale Division Yale Land District
Coordinates:49.1631°N -121.2161°W
First Ascent:1908 Boundary Survey party
Easiest Route:West Ridge

Silvertip Mountain is a 2596abbr=onNaNabbr=on summit in the Canadian Cascades south of Hope, British Columbia. It lies on the northern boundary of Skagit Valley Provincial Park. With a prominence of 1871m (6,138feet), it is one of the fifty most prominent peaks in Canada.[1] The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on December 2, 1948, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[2] The peak was first climbed in 1908 by a Boundary Survey party.[3]

Geology

Silvertip Mountain is related to the Chilliwack batholith, which intruded the region 26 to 29 million years ago after the major orogenic episodes in the region. This is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt, an eroded volcanic belt that formed as a result of subduction of the Farallon Plate starting 29 million years ago.[4] [5] [6] During the Pleistocene period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.[7] The U-shaped cross section of the river valleys is a result of recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the North Cascades area.

The North Cascades features some of the most rugged topography in the Cascade Range with craggy peaks and ridges, deep glacial valleys, and granite spires. Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to various climate differences which lead to vegetation variety defining the ecoregions in this area.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Silvertip is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[8] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Cascade Range where they are forced upward by the range (Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Cascade Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for climbing Silvertip.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: British Columbia and Alberta: The Ultra-Prominence Page . Peaklist.org . 25 December 2012.
  2. JBKMI. Silvertip Mountain. 2019-11-23.
  3. 1247. Silvertip Mountain. 2019-11-23.
  4. https://www.sfu.ca/~dthorkel/linked/madsen%20et%20al.,%20plates%20and%20slab%20wind%20w%20nam%2006.pdf Cenozoic to Recent plate configurations in the Pacific Basin: Ridge subduction and slab window magmatism in western North America
  5. Web site: Miocene peralkaline volcanism in west-central British Columbia - Its temporal and plate-tectonics setting . 2019-11-23 . 2011-07-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110706185459/http://www.eps.mcgill.ca/~courses/c186-530/Nazko/info/bevier%20et%20al%201979,%20Anahim.pdf . dead .
  6. http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/volcano_e.php?id=gvb_fgl_006 Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes: Franklin Glacier
  7. Book: Kruckeberg, Arthur. The Natural History of Puget Sound Country. University of Washington Press. 1991.
  8. Peel, M. C. . Finlayson, B. L. . McMahon, T. A. . 2007 . Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification . Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. . 11 . 1027-5606.