Mount Silverthrone

This article is about the mountain in British Columbia. For the mountain in Alaska, see Mount Silverthrone (Alaska).

Mount Silverthrone, officially named Silverthrone Mountain, is a mountain in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, located over 320 km (200 mi) northwest of the city of Vancouver and about 50 km (30 mi) west of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest peak in the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield, which is the largest icefield in the Coast Mountains south of the Alaska Panhandle.

Mount Silverthrone
Silverthrone Mountain
Northeast face of Mount Silverthrone John Scurlock, Jagged Ridge Imaging, 2007
Highest point
Elevation	2,864 m (9,396 ft)
Prominence	975 m (3,199 ft)
Listing	Mountains of British Columbia Canada highest major peak 80th List of volcanoes in Canada List of Cascade volcanoes
Coordinates	51°31′04″N 126°06′48″W
Geography
Mount Silverthrone Location in British Columbia
Interactive map of Mount Silverthrone
Location	British Columbia, Canada
District	Range 2 Coast Land District
Parent range	Pacific Ranges
Topo map	NTS 92M9 Machmell River
Geology
Mountain type	Lava dome
Volcanic arc/belt	Canadian Cascade Arc Pemberton/Garibaldi Belt
Climbing
First ascent	14 August 1936 Don Munday, Phyllis Munday, Henry Hall, Hans Fuhrer

Geology

Mount Silverthrone is an eroded lava dome on the northeast edge of a large caldera complex called the Silverthrone Caldera. It lies within the Coast Plutonic Complex, which is the single largest contiguous granite outcropping in the world. The plutonic and metamorphic rocks extend approximately 1,800 kilometers on the coast of British Columbia, southwestern Yukon and southeastern Alaska. In addition, Garibaldi, Meager, Cayley and Silverthrone areas are of recent volcanic origin. The volcanic terrain in the Silverthrone area is very similar to the Mount Meager massif further south. However, there is much more ice.

Mount Silverthrone is perhaps one of the most heavily is perhaps one of the most heavily glaciated volcanic peaks in southwestern British Columbia. It has a topographic prominence of approximately 975 m (3,200 ft), greater than any other volcano in southwestern British Columbia. The extensive icefields around Mount Silverthrone are receding and are small compared to their former extent, but they are an impressive indication of how much of British Columbia looked 10,000 years or more ago. Silverthrone contains one of the few calderas buried beneath the ice caps of western Canada, another example being Mount Edziza in far northwestern British Columbia.

Skiing and recreation

The first mountaineering visit at Mount Silverthrone was in 1936 by the famous pioneering climbing couple Don and Phyllis Munday, accompanied by Henry Hall, by walking up the Klinaklini Glacier from the head of Knight Inlet. Because Silverthrone is heavily glaciated, Don Munday called the mountain "home of the snows".

Skiing on Mount Silverthrone includes skiing on the largest ice field in the southern Coast Mountains, the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield. It is skiable over 1,500 m (5,000 ft), possibly over 2,700 m (9,000 ft) down to the Pacific Ocean. The easiest access to Mount Silverthrone is by air travel, starting from the rural community of Tatla Lake, landing on the major part of the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield. Air travels can also be made into logging camps at Owikeno Lake to the west or at the start of Knight Inlet to the southwest, followed by long hiking and skiing methods.

See also

• Cascade Volcanoes
• Garibaldi Volcanic Belt
• Pemberton Volcanic Belt
• Cascade Range
• Ha-Iltzuk Icefield
• Volcanism of Canada
• Volcanism of Western Canada

External links

• Volcanoes of Canada Garibaldi Volcanic Belt (Silverthrone area)
• Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes - Silverthrone Caldera
• "Silverthrone Mountain". BC Geographical Names.