Mess Creek Escarpment | |
|---|---|
 False colour image of the Kitsu Plateau; the cliff forming the western edge of the plateau is the southern portion of the Mess Creek Escarpment | |
  Mess Creek Escarpment Location in British Columbia | |
| Coordinates: 57°34′35″N 130°47′58″W / 57.57639°N 130.79944°W[1] | |
| Location | Cassiar Land District, British Columbia, Canada[2] |
| Range | Tahltan Highland[2] |
| Part of | East-central side of Mess Creek valley and west-central side of the Mount Edziza complex[2][3] |
| Defining authority | BC Geographic Names office in Victoria, British Columbia[1][4] |
| Elevation | Above 1,700 m (5,500 ft)[2] |
| Topo map | NTS 104G10 Mount Edziza[1] |
| Designation | Mount Edziza Provincial Park[2] |
| Formations | Oldest to youngest: Raspberry Formation, Armadillo Formation, Nido Formation, Spectrum Formation, Ice Peak Formation, Big Raven Formation[5] |
| Rocks | Comendite, trachyte, hawaiite, alkali basalt[5] |
 Location in Mount Edziza Provincial Park | |
The Mess Creek Escarpment is a long, discontinuous cliff along Mess Creek in Cassiar Land District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It forms the east-central side of Mess Creek valley and consists of two segments separated about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) by Walkout Creek valley. The northern segment extends about 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) southeast along the southwestern side of the Big Raven Plateau while the southern segment extends generally south along the northwestern, western and southwestern edges of the Kitsu Plateau for about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). With an elevation of more than 1,700 metres (5,500 feet), the Mess Creek Escarpment rises more than 910 metres (3,000 feet) above the floor of Mess Creek valley. The escarpment lies within the boundaries of Mount Edziza Provincial Park.
The Mess Creek Escarpment forms the west-central side of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex and consists of at least six geological formations, each being the product of a distinct period of volcanic activity over the last 7.5 million years. With the exception of the Armadillo and Spectrum formations which consist of basalt, trachyte and comendite, volcanic rocks of the Raspberry, Nido, Ice Peak and Big Raven formations exposed along the escarpment are mainly basaltic in composition. Underlying these geological formations are much older Paleozoic–Mesozoic rocks of the Stikinia terrane and Cretaceous–Paleocene rocks of the Sustut Group.
- ^ a b c "Mess Creek Escarpment". BC Geographical Names. Archived from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
- ^ a b c d e Telegraph Creek, Cassiar Land District, British Columbia (Topographic map) (3 ed.). 1:250,000. A502 (in English and French). Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. 1989. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
- ^ Souther 1992, p. 32.
- ^ "Geographical Names Board of Canada". Government of Canada. 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
- ^ a b Souther, J. G. (1988). "1623A" (Geologic map). Geology, Mount Edziza Volcanic Complex, British Columbia. 1:50,000. Cartography by M. Sigouin, Geological Survey of Canada. Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. doi:10.4095/133498.