Engineering geomorphological interpretation of the Mitchell Creek Landslide,British Columbia,Canada

The recent assessment of the Mitchell Creek Landslide (MCL) in northern British Columbia is a good case history of engineering geomorphological analysis of a large landslide. It was completed using historic aerial photographs, with approximately 20-year time intervals dating back to the mid-twentieth century and field investigations completed between 2008 and 2014. The large bedrock slide initiated between 1956 and 1972 and continues to experience ongoing annual movements. Significant glacial downwasting and retreat has been observed in the photographic record, and it is hypothesized that alpine glaciation has contributed to development of the MCL. This paper documents four aspects of the engineering geomorphological assessment completed at the MCL: (i) topographic evolution, (ii) slope morphology, (iii) deformation features, and (iv) displacement behavior. Four distinct geomorphic zones have been defined at the MCL based on these analyses, controlled by different failure mechanisms. The extents of these zones have changed little over the documented history of the landslide, and rates of movement estimated from aerial photography have been consistent over the last 60 years. Retreat of the Mitchell Valley Glacier appears to have played an important role in landslide initiation, as the ice mass receded the kinematic freedom of the slope increased. This study of the initiation and development of the MCL demonstrates the capabilities of a multi-faceted approach to engineering geomorphology. The combination of historical aerial photographs with digital photogrammetric modeling and point cloud analysis techniques, and geomorphological mapping, allows for development of a robust understanding of landslide behavior.     

Multiple paleosols of the late Albian Boulder Creek Formation, British Columbia, Canada

Fifteen lithified paleosols, closely spaced in vertical sequence, occur in the top 90 m of the late Albian Boulder Creek Formation in the foothills of northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The paleosols have well-developed profiles 0·5 to 1·5 m thick, including A, B and C horizons. The paleosols are characterized by their grey colour, cutans, vertical roots, peds, spherulitic siderite and absence of sedimentary structures. The paleosols formed during a period when one or more basin wide unconformities occurred as a result of either eustatic sea level fluctuations or local tectonic events. These unconformities represent the terrestrial record of a lowered base level which caused valley incision and decreased rates of sedimentation on the incised flood plain. The climate was humid to subhumid. Overall, the environment in which these soils developed was of low relief and subject to little erosion. The water table was high for part of the year but there is also evidence of periodic drying and oxidation of organic debris. Cumulatively, the paleosols in this interval may represent 150000 yr of non-deposition.     

The Todagin Creek landslide of October 3, 2006, Northwest British Columbia, Canada

The Todagin Creek landslide is located at 57.61° N 129.98° W in Northwest British Columbia. A seismic station 90 km north of the landslide recorded the event at 1643 hours coordinated universal time (UTC; 0943 hours Pacific daylight time (PDT)) on October 3, 2006. The signal verifies the discovery and relative time bounds provided by a hunting party in the valley. The landslide initiated as a translational rock slide on sedimentary rock dipping down slope at 34° and striking parallel to the valley. The landslide transformed into a debris avalanche and had a total volume estimated at 4 Mm³. An elevation drop of 771 m along a planar length of 1,885 m resulted in a travel angle (fahrb?schung) of 21.3°. The narrowest part of the landslide through the transport zone is 345 m. The widest part of the divergent toe of the landslide reaches a width of 1,010 m. Landslide debris impounded a lake of approximately 32 ha and destroyed an additional 67 ha of forest. The impoundment took 7 to 10 days to fill, with muddied waters observed downstream on October 13. No clear linkage exists with precipitation and temperature records preceding the landslide, but strong diurnal temperature cycles occurred in the days prior to the event. The Todagin Creek area appears to have an affinity for large landslides with the deposits of three other landslides >5 Mm³ observed in the valley.     

Municipal flood hazard mapping: the case of British Columbia,Canada

Historical responses to flood hazards have stimulated development in hazardous areas. Scholars recommend an alternative approach to reducing flood losses that combines flood hazard mapping with land use planning to identify and direct development away from flood-prone areas. Creating flood hazard maps to inform municipal land use planning is an expensive and complex process that can require resources not always available at the municipal government level. Senior levels of government in some countries have addressed deficiencies in municipal capacity by assuming an active role in producing municipal flood hazard maps. In other countries, however, senior governments do not contribute to municipal flood hazard mapping. Despite a large body of research on the importance of municipal land use planning for addressing flood hazards, little is known about the extent of flood hazard information that is available to municipalities that do not receive outside assistance from senior governments for flood hazard mapping. We assess the status of flood hazard maps in British Columbia, where municipalities do not receive outside assistance in creating the maps. Our analysis shows that these maps are generally outdated and/or lacking a variety of features that are critical for supporting effective land use planning. We recommend that senior levels of government play an active role in providing municipalities with (1) detailed and current information regarding flood hazards in their jurisdiction and (2) compelling incentives to utilize this information.     

Compositional variation in Hg-bearing sphalerite from the polymetallic Eskay Creek deposit, British Columbia, Canada

The Eskay Creek, British Columbia, Canada, is a polymetallic, gold- and silver-rich, volcanic-hosted, massive sulfide deposit. The ore in the deposit is divided into subzones distinguished by mineralogy, texture, grade and metallurgical characteristics. This study presents the results of a mineralogical examination of three composite field samples, with emphasis on the chemistry of sphalerite. Sphalerite is associated with variable amounts of Hg-tetrahedrite and cinnabar, and an array of sulfides, sulphosalts and non-opaque minerals. Electron micro probe analyses of sphalerite in the three composite samples reveal wide variations in compositions. The Hg content in sphalerite in the three samples varies between 0.08 and 16.35 wt%, whereas the Fe content ranges from 0.33 to 2.29 wt%. The chemical formula of the sphalerite shows the compositional range (Zn_0.89–0.98Hg_0.01–0.09.Fe_0.005–0.02)S. Sphalerite exhibits an almost perfect substitution of Hg and Zn, as shown by the negative covariance between them. Sphalerite with the highest Hg contents tends to have the lowest Fe concentrations. The highest Hg contents in sphalerite are recorded in the samples with the highest bulk Hg concentrations and with the highest cinnabar contents.

The compositional variations of sphalerite are important because they can be used in mapping ore forming fluids and indicate possible temporal variations. Second, determination of the compositional variation of the sphalerite in the mine has metallurgical implications because the mineral is an important Zn source. The mineralogical data indicate that non-physical processes (e.g. pyrometallurgy) must be used to separate Hg from Zn concentrates, with direct environmental implications, that is, release of metals, such as Hg, into the environment during mining and processing.     

A 36Cl age determination for Mystery Creek rock avalanche and its implications in the context of hazard assessment, British Columbia, Canada

The Sea to Sky Corridor has experienced hundreds of historic and prehistoric landslides. The most common types of historical landslides are rock falls and debris flows, which are relatively small in volume but can be damaging. These types of failures are more common in the southern part of the corridor, between Horseshoe Bay and Porteau, where infrastructure has been built in close proximity to steep slopes. Farther north, fewer landslides have been reported historically, but those that have been recorded are usually large and date to prehistoric time (e.g., Cheekye fan and Mystery Creek rock avalanche). As part of a Geological Survey of Canada surficial geology and landslide inventory mapping study, Mystery Creek rock avalanche, near Whistler, British Columbia, was sampled for ³⁶Cl dating. Samples were collected from three large flat boulders of quartz diorite in the rock avalanche deposit to test a correlation with the previously reported radiocarbon age of 800 ± 100 years BP on charcoal. One sample revealed a mean age of 2,400 years and the other two, 4,300 and 4,800 years, respectively. These new results point to four possible interpretations: (1) Mystery Creek landslide is about 800 years old; (2) Based on the overlapping 2σ uncertainties, the rock avalanche took place between 2,200 and 3,600 years ago; (3) The rock avalanche deposit is 2,400 years old and the other two blocks are too old; and (4) The rock avalanche is between 4,300 and 4,800 years old. Although there is strength in numbers and it is likely that the age varies between 4,300 and 4,800 years, we favor the second interpretation where the age range is broader and statistically significant for all three samples. Moreover, at this time, we favor discounting the radiocarbon age based on a greater number of samples analyzed for ³⁶Cl analysis and lack of detailed information on the charcoal sampling. The causes and triggers of the Mystery Creek rock avalanche remain unknown, but direct glacial debuttressing can be ruled out. Some of the causes are likely a combination of the regional tectonic setting which produced preferential planes of weakness reflected in the trend of major faults, headscarp, and reverse scarps. Yearly cycles of freezing and thawing are considered a plausible cause based on present-day climate records. Finally, a large earthquake still remains a possible trigger because of the active tectonic setting and the presence of potentially contemporaneous landslides in the same area. Mystery Creek rock avalanche and other historic and pre-historic landslides contributed to validation of a heuristic rock fall/rock slide/rock avalanche susceptibility mapping study, in which their headscarps correlated well with medium-high to high susceptibility zones. In terms of hazard assessment, Mystery Creek rock avalanche, although pre-historic in age, occurred in present-day climatic and geological conditions. This poses a threat to infrastructure such as the Sea to Sky Highway, railway, and power line.     

Gravelly flood deposits of Irvine Creek, Ontario, Canada

In May 1974 a powerful flood flushed the Grand River basin, Ontario. The effects on the bedload were drastic in a narrow (30 m) and deep (40 m) rock walled and floored gorge near Elora, Ontario. Along Irvine Creek, the tributary occupying the gorge, the gravel cover was reworked in several types of bars, predominantly transverse and point bars. The bars formed very rapidly in response to essentially steady, non-uniform flow that developed during a brief period of high flood. Superimposed on major bars are several minor sedimentary features such as coarse transverse ribs, chute channels and bars, longitudinal ribs, imbrication clusters, backsets with well developed imbrication, that were formed under very high stream discharge. Structures like imbrication clusters, transverse ribs and small riffle bars require a ‘live bed’ situation to form, and they develop when stones come to a stop either because they cluster during transport, or because keystone effects occur along shallow channels. In Irvine Creek, very few sedimentary features were formed during waning and low flood stages: only some shadow deposits and a few Ostler lenses. The few fines that were available were lost downstream or filled in lower parts of gravel beds. This study confirms that in streams that experience strong seasonal fluctuations in discharge, bedforms that develop during high floods have a high probability of preservation. In gravelly deposits, foreset structures and plane beds are most commonly preserved, although they may be difficult to recognize in old deposits, which may appear massive, particularly if the gravel has been infilled with finer pebbles and sand. In the case of Irvine Creek, all deposits are organized, and lateral and vertical variations in textures, particularly imbrication and packing, are very useful in the recognition of sedimentary structures.     

Example of a debris-flow risk analysis from Vancouver Island,British Columbia,Canada

In July 2005, a debris flow and a water flood occurred on two adjacent gullies in the White River area, on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The 16,000 m³ debris flow buried approximately 7.5 ha of second-growth trees, buried approximately 500 m of a forestry road, and reached two fish-bearing streams. The water flood eroded approximately 240 m of the same forestry road and plugged four culverts before overtopping and inundating the road. To better plan for future events, risk analyses of debris flows, debris floods, and water floods were carried out for the two gullies involved, plus a third adjacent gully. The elements at risk that were analyzed included, in order of priority: users of the forestry road, the fish-bearing streams, the forestry road itself, and a timber bridge. Using a series of qualitative, but defined, relative-risk matrices, the following components of specific risk were estimated for each of the three types of events on each of the three gullies for each of the four elements at risk: probability of occurrence, probability that the event will reach or otherwise affect the site of the element at risk, the probability that the element at risk will be at the site when the event occurs, and the probability of loss or damage resulting from the element being at the site when the event occurs.     

Distribution of major, minor and trace elements in Hat Creek Deposit No. 2, British Columbia, Canada

The major-, minor- and trace-element contents of coals from Hat Creek No. 2 deposit, British Columbia, are determined using INAA and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (boron only).

Al, Cr, Fe, Mn and Na were found to be inorganically bound in the coal while As, B and S are associated with the organic fraction of the coal. The rare-earth element concentrations in the coal are variable, however, the LREE/HREE ratio decreases from base to the top of the deposits. Many elements show little variation in concentration with depth; however, the gradual increase of As and S with depth appears to be rank related and indicative of progressive decrease in porosity with increasing rank.

Concentrations of B and Cr are sensitive to the environment of coal deposition, with coal deposited in a freshwater environment (Hat Creek No. 2 deposit), having low B and high Cr compared with more brackish coals.     

Tonsteins of Hat Creek,British Columbia: A preliminary study

The four superimposed coal zones A, B, C, D lie in the Hat Creek graben in folded and faulted Eocene strata.The tonsteins of Hat Creek although numerous, distinctive and matchable, have yet to be studied in detail. A composite log of DDH 106 (606 m long) was therefore constructed using 76 consecutive samples and earlier drill records, to show Coal Zones A, B, C, D; seam and interseam material; up to 72 tonsteins each 0.5 to 18 cm thick; and layers of petrified wood and siderite.Zone A contains 28 tonsteins, one every 6.4 m; Zone B 5, one every 16.4 m; Zone C 9, one every 8.2 m; Zone D 17, one every 6.4 m. Local overturning is indicated sedimentologically and possibly by the order petrified wood/tonstein/siderite, and the similar tonstein density of Zones A and D.Tonsteins from 329 m, 247 m, 229 m, 212 m — numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 — examined microscopically and by XRD, XRF, AA and Infra-red spectrophotometry, consist of crandallite (CaA1 phosphate), phytoclasts, kaolinite, ankerite, calcite, quartz, anatase/apatite, and siderite/allophane. Elemental values are variable: TiO₂ for Nos. 1 and 4 indicate a silicic magma, for No. 2 a mafic magma while No. 3 is neither. TiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios show No. 1 to be silicic whereas Nos. 2, 3, 4 are neither. SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios are inconclusive. An upward increase in K/Rb from 1 to 3 indicates either incrasing ‘mafic-ness’ or an increase in contaminant K. Rb/Sr values are low while Ba/Sr have more in common with mafic than silicic rock.Future work on the tonsteins should include optical and SEM analysis of the shards; quantitative trace element modelling to determine magma sources, and; elemental analysis of the associated coal to determine whether in addition to the volcanic explosions represented by the tonsteins, the original coal swamps were subjected to a continuous drizzle of volcanc dust. As it is, the TiO₂ and TiO₂/Al₂O for 64 samples of coal would, if these elements were of magmatic and not detrital origin, indicate silicic dust.     

Hazard and risk from large landslides from Mount Meager volcano,British Columbia,Canada

During the past 8000 years, large volcanic debris flows from Mount Meager, a Quaternary volcano in southwest British Columbia, have reached several tens of kilometres downstream in Lillooet River valley, with flow velocities of many metres per second and flow depths of several metres. These debris flows inundated areas that have become settled in the past 100 years and are now experiencing rapid urban growth. Notably, Pemberton, 65 km from Mount Meager, has doubled in size in the past five years. Approval of subdivision and building permits in Pemberton and adjacent areas requires assessment and mitigation of flood hazards, but large, rare debris flows from Mount Meager are not considered in the permitting process. Unlike floods, some volcanic debris flows occur without warning. We quantify the risk to residents in Lillooet River valley from non-eruption triggered volcanic debris flows based on Holocene landslide activity at Mount Meager. The calculated risk exceeds, by orders of magnitude, risk tolerance thresholds developed in Hong Kong, Australia, England, and in one jurisdiction in Canada. This finding poses a challenge for local governments responsible for public safety.     

Geostatistical investigation of the Kutcho Creek chrysotile deposit,Northern British Columbia

The Kutcho Creek asbestos deposit, owned by Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd., has been sampled by two major exploratory programs that have provided two sets of grade data—one from the horizontal direction (wall readings) and one from the vertical direction (diamond drill cores). These data (percentage chrysotile by volume) were divided into well-defined groups on the basis of location and sample continuity, and experimental variograms for percentage of fiber content were calculated for each group. Horizontal data were all oriented in directions roughly parallel to the trend of an elongate serpentinite zone containing local centers rich in chrysotile veinlets. Spherical variogram models fitted to horizontal and vertical data sets are as follows: Vertical: $$\begin{gathered} \gamma (h) = 0.27 m^2 + 0.44 m^2 [(3h/70) - (h^3 /85,750)] h \leqslant a \hfill \\ \gamma (h) = 0.71 m^2 h \geqslant a \hfill \\ \end{gathered}$$ Horizontal: $$\begin{gathered} \gamma (h) = 0.27 m^2 + 1.20 m^2 [(h/60) - (h^3 /729,000)] h \leqslant a \hfill \\ \gamma (h) = 1.47 m^2 h \geqslant a \hfill \\ \end{gathered}$$ Wherem is the mean value of data used in the construction of a variogram,h is a lag (sample spacing), anda is the range over which the grade is autocorrelated. These two one-dimensional models can be combined to a two-dimensional model with the form γ(h)=γ(r)+γ(x) where γ(r) is an isotropic component (equivalent to the vertical model above) and γ(x) is a zonal component in the horizontal direction (equivalent to the difference between the horizontal and vertical models above). This general model describes data throughout the entire serpentinite zone in a satisfactory manner but, of course, does not contain information in the third dimension, and, thus, cannot be used as a basis for grade and tonnage calculations and corresponding error estimates. Nevertheless, the analysis has illustrated the potential of variogram analysis for such tonnage and grade calculations. Furthermore, the study has provided limiting two-dimensional information on the geometry of chrysotile-rich zones within the serpentinite belt, information that can be used to advantage in planning future exploratory drilling.     

Paragenetic evolution in Peejay Field,British Columbia,Canada

Triassic sediments from the Halfway Formation of Peejay Field in British Columbia, Canada, are described here with special reference to the mineral alterations during diagenesis. These sediments were deposited along the irregular coastline during the middle Triassic transgression. The vertical lithologic succession is complex and considerably altered. The major lithologies concerned are silty sandstones, dolarenite, dololutite, sporadic coquinoid, and accumulated shell debris largely composed of pelecypods, which have been diagenetically altered to dolomite. Evaporites were either introduced through solution and precipitation or by replacement. In certain sandstone units, intense corrosion to complete replacement of clastic quartz as well as matrix by dolomite is observed. The introduction or removal of minerals in the sediments during diagenesis may result from physico-chemical changes in the equilibrium between sediments and the interstitial fluid caused by burial. Hence, the study of diagenetic minerals and paragenesis may be an important tool for interpreting the environment of deposition and the postdepositional history.

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Zusammenfassung Triassische Sedimente der Halfway-Formation des Peejay Fields in British-Columbia, Canada, werden unter Berücksichtigung der Mineralumwandlungen während der Diagenese beschrieben. Diese Sedimente wurden während der Mittel-Triassischen Transgression entlang der unregelmäßigen Küstenlinie abgelagert. Die lithologische Folge ist komplex und beträchtlich verändert. Die Hauptgesteinsfolge besteht aus tonigen Sandsteinen, Dolareniten, Dololutiten, sporadischen Koguinoiden und Schalentrümmern, die meistens von Pelecypoden stammen und diagenetisch in Dolomit umgewandelt worden sind. Evaporite entstanden entweder durch Lösungszufuhr und Ablagerung oder Verdrängung. In einigen Sandsteinhorizonten weisen sowohl klastische Quarzkörner als auch die Grundmasse intensive Korrosionserscheinungen auf, die bis zur vollständigen Verdrängung durch Dolomit führen können. Das Eindringen oder Verschwinden von Mineralien in den Sedimenten während der Diagenese kann durch physikochemische Änderungen des Gleichgewichts zwischen Sedimenten und der miteingeschlossenen Porenlösung durch Sedimentüberdeckung verursacht werden. Somit kann die Untersuchung diagenetischer Mineralien und ihrer Paragenese ein wichtiges Mittel zur Deutung des Ablagerungsmilieus und der Geschichte nach der Ablagerung sein.

     

Chloritoid-bearing pelitic rocks of the Horsethief Creek Group,Southeastern British Columbia

Aluminous pelitic rocks of the Late Precambrian Horsethief Creek Group of southeastern British Columbia contain the assemblage chloritoidmuscovite-paragonite-quartz-chlorite (biotite zone). Additional members of the assemblage may include graphite, Fe-Mg carbonate, rutile, ilmenite and pyrite. No albite was detected. Lower grade pelitic rocks (chlorite zone) contain muscovite-chlorite and rare paragonite.Chloritoids from carbonate-free assemblages show a narrow range of composition (85±5 mol % Fe-chtd) and most porphyroblasts are zoned with higher Mn in cores and higher Mg in rims. For eight chloritoid-chlorite pairs, K _D = (Mg/Fe chtd/Mg/Fe chl) = 0.188±0.0234.Correlation of these mineral assemblages with experimental and computed phase equilibria and oxygen isotope temperatures suggest a minimum pressure near 4.5 Kbar, a minimum temperature near 335 ° C and an upper limit on temperature near 460 ° C. Variation in X _{CO 2} content of fluids attending metamorphism is inferred from the alternate appearance of either Fe-Mg carbonate + rutile or ilmenite-bearing assemblages. The assemblage paragonite-chloritoid-quartz-Fe-Mg carbonate-rutile is inferred to be stable at a T near 360 ° C, an X _{CO 2} near 0.9 and P near 5 Kbar.     

Earthquake shaking probabilities for communities on Vancouver Island,British Columbia,Canada

Comprehensive risk assessments are fundamental to effective emergency management. These assessments need to identify the range of hazards (or perils) an entity is exposed to and quantify the specific threats associated with each of those hazards. While hazard identification is commonly, if not formally, conducted in most circumstances, specific threat analysis is often overlooked for a variety of reasons, one of which is poor communication with subject matter experts. This poor communication is often attributable to an adherence to scientific jargon and missed opportunities to simplify information. In Canada, for example, earthquake hazard calculations have been readily available to engineers and scientists for decades. This hazard information, however, is expressed in terms of peak ground accelerations (PGA) or spectral accelerations (SA) that are foreign concepts to most emergency managers, community decision-makers and the public-at-large. There is, therefore, a need to more clearly, simply and effectively express seismic hazard information to the non-scientific community. This paper provides crustal, sub-crustal and subduction interface earthquake shaking probabilities, expressed as simple percentages for each of 57 locations across Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Calculations present the likelihood of earthquake shaking on Vancouver Island as the probabilities of exceeding each of three shaking intensity thresholds (“widely felt”; onset of “non-structurally damaging” shaking; and onset of “structurally damaging” shaking) over four timeframes (10, 25, 50 and 100 years). Results are based on the latest Geological Survey of Canada hazard models used for the 2010 national building code and are presented in both tabular and graphic formats. This simplified earthquake hazard information is offered to aid local residents, organizations and governments in understanding and assessing their risk and to encourage and facilitate sound earthquake preparedness funding decisions.     

Metamorphism and Structure of Penfold Creek Area, near Quesnel Lake, British Columbia

The Quesnel Lake area lies within the Omineca Crystalline Belt,and is underlain by the northern extremity of the Shuswap MetamorphicComplex. Closely spaced and steeply dipping isograds mark themargins of the metamorphic belt. In the Penfold Creek area onlyone and one-half miles separate the biotite and sillimaniteisograds. Related to this sharp increase in metamorphic gradethere is a marked change in the fold style. In the chloritezone are similar folds, showing a strong axial-plane cleavage,and tight refolded isoclines dominate in the sillimanite zone.Three periods of deformation and two periods of prograde metamorphismhave been recognized, with the first metamorphic period beingassociated with Phase 2 deformation and the second being post-Phase2. Regression analysis of possible mineral reactions in these rocksshows that they formed under conditions of a gradient in temperatureand possibly H₂O activity, and that most of the assemblages,although containing many phases, have at least two degrees offreedom. Thermodynamic analysis of mineral equilibria indicatesthat equilibrium was closely approached between solid solutionsinvolving garnet, plagioclase, biotite, white mica, and staurolitein the presence of Al₂SiO₅, quartz, and H₂O. The conditionsof metamorphism of rocks containing Al₂SiO₅ are estimated tobe 7000 ± 1500 bars, 680 ± 30 °C, activityof H₂O = 0.80 (approx.). Partial melting did not occur becauseof the reduced activity of H₂O. ^*Present address: Overseas Division, Institute of Geological Sciences, 5 Princes Gate, London SW7, England.     

Geometry of a convergent zone, Central British Columbia, Canada

The Canadian Cordillera is separable into two major northerly trending tectonic units—the Pacific Orogen and the Columbian Orogen, with the latter further separated into the Omineca Crystalline Belt and the easterly Rocky Mountain Fold and Thrust Belt. Synkinematic metamorphism of Jurassic age within the Omineca Belt is thought to be associated with accretion of westerly terranes of the Pacific Orogen—more specifically the Quesnellia terrane—that was thrust easterly over the Omineca Belt towards the craton. Mylonitic rocks mark the margin between these two belts and this margin is well-exposed near Crooked Lake, central British Columbia.Structural analysis across the zone of convergence between these two terranes indicates that the cratonic basement and the accreted cover sequences have several phases of deformation and metamorphism in common. The initial common phase of deformation, wherein convergence is accomplished, is characterized by easterly verging folds that are superposed by a second common phase having westerly verging folds that deform the zone of convergence and control the present regional map pattern. A final common phase of deformation produced easterly verging folds.Change in vergence direction is interpreted as resulting from change in direction of transport related to subduction process: first obduction of Quesnellia onto the Omineca craton, followed later by easterly subduction of an oceanic Quesnellia below the craton.All evidence of transport direction(s) points to convergence occurring at very high angles to the zone of convergence. There appears to be no evidence of transport parallel with the strike of the zone. If transport has taken place parallel to the strike of the zone, then this transport occurred before convergence or evidence of this motion has been destroyed during the convergence.     

Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake,British Columbia,Canada

Tunnicliffe, J., Church, M. & Enkin, R. J. 2012 (January): Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 84–101. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00219.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Seismic records and evidence from sediment cores at Chilliwack Lake provide the basis for a long‐term (postglacial) sediment budget for a 324‐km² Cordilleran catchment. Chilliwack Lake (11.8 km² surface area), situated in the North Cascade Mountains, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, was formed behind a valley‐wide recessional moraine in the final phase of post‐Fraser alpine glaciation. Seismic surveys highlight the postglacial lacustrine record, which is underlain by a thick layer of sediments related to deglacial sedimentation. Sediment cores provide details of grain‐size fining from the delta to the distal lake basin. The cores also show a record of intermittent fire and debris flows. Magnetic measurements of lake sediments provide information on grain size, as well as a dating framework. The total postglacial lake‐floor deposit volume is estimated to be 397 ± 27 × 10⁶ m³. Including estimates of fan and delta deposition, the specific postglacial yield to the lake is calculated to be ～86 ± 13 Mg km² a^?1. The sediment volume in the uppermost (Holocene) lacustrine layer is 128 ± 9 × 10⁶ m³, representing ～41 ± 4 Mg km² a^?1 in the Holocene. Compared with other Cordilleran lakes of similar size, particularly those with glacial cover in the watershed, Chilliwack Lake has experienced relatively modest rates of sediment accumulation. This study provides an important contribution to a growing database of long‐term (postglacial) sediment yield data for major Cordilleran lakes, essential for advancing our understanding of the pace of landscape evolution in formerly glaciated mountainous regions.     

Organic petrology of Hat Creek coal deposit No. 1, British Columbia

Gell preserved monocotyledon and peeridophyta remains were found in natural bitumen frrm Iranian, tar pit and oil seeps, using reflected and fluorescence light microscopy. The plant tissue are impregnated or partially replaced by bitumens the extent of this replacement is noted.     

1,000-year record of landslide dams at Halden Creek, northeastern British Columbia

Large, rapid, low-gradient landslides are common in clay-rich glacial sediments in northeastern British Columbia. Many of the landslides create upstream impoundments that may persist for years in small watersheds in the region. We have documented such events in the Halden Creek watershed, 60 km southeast of Fort Nelson. The events are recorded geologically in two ways. First, trees are drowned in lakes dammed by the landslides and subsequently buried by deltaic sediments, where they are protected from decay. Bank erosion later exhumes the drowned trees. Second, landslide deposits with entrained wood are exposed along stream banks. We have reconstructed the recent history of landslide damming at Halden Creek by performing radiocarbon dating on exhumed trees and wood in and beneath landslide deposits at 13 sites in the watershed. Drowned trees range in age from 169±59 to 274±49 ¹⁴C year bp. Wood in and below landslide deposits yielded radiocarbon ages ranging from modern to 965±49 ¹⁴C year bp.