The Raspberry Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Miocene age in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.
| Raspberry Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation[1] |
| Unit of | Mount Edziza volcanic complex[2] |
| Underlies | Little Iskut Formation[1] Armadillo Formation[1] |
| Overlies | Stikinia[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Alkali basalt, hawaiite[1] |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 57°30′N 130°36′W / 57.5°N 130.6°W[2] |
| Region | British Columbia[1] |
| Country | Canada[1] |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Raspberry Pass[1] |
| Named by | Souther et al., 1984[3] |
Naming edit
The Raspberry Formation takes its name from Raspberry Pass, a mountain pass cutting through the central portion of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.[1][4]
Geology edit
The Raspberry Formation has a volume of 119 km3 (29 cu mi), making it the third most voluminous geological formation comprising the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.[1][2] It varies in elevation from less than 1,310 m (4,300 ft) along the Mess Creek Escarpment to 1,740 m (5,710 ft) near Armadillo Peak.[1]
The Raspberry Formation is overlain conformably by the Little Iskut Formation. An erosion surface separates the Raspberry Formation from the overlying Armadillo Formation and younger geological formations. Rocks of the Stikinia terrane underlie the Raspberry Formation.[1]
The Raspberry Formation consists of flat-lying alkali basalt and hawaiite flows. These flows are rusty brown and are interbedded with reddish-brown to yellow or orange scoria.[1] The Raspberry Formation represents three overlapping Miocene shield volcanoes.[2]
K–Ar dating has yielded ages of 11.4 ± 1.5 million years, 8.4 ± 0.4 million years and 6.4 ± 0.3 million years for Raspberry hawaiite and 6.1 ± 0.4 million years and 5.5 ± 0.1 million years for Raspberry alkali basalt.[1]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Souther, J. G. (1992). The Late Cenozoic Mount Edziza Volcanic Complex, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada. pp. 3, 32, 47, 61, 249, 267. doi:10.4095/133497. ISBN 0-660-14407-7.
- ^ a b c d Edwards, Benjamin Ralph (1997). Field, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies of magmatic assimilation in the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province, northwestern British Columbia (PhD thesis). University of British Columbia. p. 10. ISBN 0-612-25005-9.
- ^ "Raspberry Formation". Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. Government of Canada. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Raspberry Pass". BC Geographical Names. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2023-04-17.