Garibaldi, Canada

By ExploreNow Editor, on January 19th, 2012

Volcano Type:     Stratovolcano
Volcano Status:   Radiocarbon
Last Known Eruption:    8060 BC ± 500 years
Summit Elevation:    2678 m    8,786 feet
Latitude:    49.85°N    49°51’0″N
Longitude:    123.00°W    123°0’0″W

Mount Garibaldi at the head of Howe Sound north of Vancouver is a Pleistocene dacitic stratovolcano capped by a lava dome complex. An initial period of volcanism 0.51-0.22 million years ago was followed after a period of quiescence by construction of a conical plug dome and breccia pile at the south summit, Atwell Peak. Retreat of the ice cap left the west flank unsupported, and it collapsed in a series of landslides, exposing the core of the volcano. Lava flows from Dalton Dome north of Atwell Peak subsequently flowed down the scarp. Subglacial flank centers such as Eanastick (Enostuck) Meadow, Glacier Pike and Paul Ridge were also formed during the late Pleistocene. The final activity of Mount Garibaldi formed the Opal Cone on the SE flank and the lengthy Ring Creek lava flow, which filled a glaciated valley on the south flank during the early Holocene (Mathews, 1958; Brooks and Friele, 1992).

Mount Garibaldi (Wayne Weber)

Mt Garibaldi Volcano is located in SW British Columbia. It is at the head of Howe Sound, 66 km north of Vancouver. The volcano consists of lava cones, cinder cones, and a stratovolcano. The most recent eruptions occurred at Opal Cone on the SE flank, and produced Ring Creek lava flow.

Mount Garibaldi

Mt. Garibaldi, an eroded volcano, towers two and a half kilometers above downtown Squamish. Mt. Garibaldi was built by violent volcanic eruptions 15 to 20 thousand years ago when the Squamish Valley was filled with a large glacier. Volcanic debris that formed the western flank of the volcano spread across the surface of the glacier. When the glacier later melted, the western side of the volcano collapsed into the Squamish Valley.