Kostal Cone
Encyclopedia
Kostal Cone, also called Kostal Volcano, is a young cinder cone
in Wells Gray Provincial Park
in east-central British Columbia
, Canada
. It rises from the northeast shore of Kostal Lake
in the Cariboo Mountains
. With an elevation of 1440 m (4,724 ft), Kostal Cone is one of the lowest volcanoes in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
.
There has been activity at this site as recently as 7,600 years ago, though more likely less than 1,000 years ago. Kostal Cone is too young for the commonly used potassium-argon dating
technique (usable on specimens over 100,000 years old), and no charred organic material for radiocarbon dating
has been found. However, the uneroded structure of the cone with the existence of trees on its flanks and summit have it an area for dendrochronology
studies, which reveals the growth of tree-ring patterns. Tree-growth data has revealed an age of 400 years for Kostal Cone, making it the youngest volcano in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and one of the youngest volcanoes in Canada.
Kostal Cone is made of fragmented and solidified lava called cinder
and its summit contains a bowl-shaped crater
. Kostal's cinders were ejected by lava fountain
eruptions and accumulated around the volcano's vent in the shape of a cone when they fell back around its surroundings. Lava flows from Kostal's 400 BP eruption are basalt
ic in composition and forms a lava bed. It is an example of volcanic activity that has occurred in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field since the last glacial period; others include the Dragon's Tongue lava flow from Dragon Cone
just north of Kostal Cone and the Flourmill Volcanoes
north of Mahood Lake
.
Cinder cone
According to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
in Wells Gray Provincial Park
Wells Gray Provincial Park
Wells Gray Provincial Park is a large wilderness park located in east-central British Columbia, Canada. The park protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains and covers 5,250 square kilometres...
in east-central British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It rises from the northeast shore of Kostal Lake
Kostal Lake
Kostal Lake is a lake located in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of Murtle Lake and east of Clearwater Lake.-Naming:...
in the Cariboo Mountains
Cariboo Mountains
The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane, Washington area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is...
. With an elevation of 1440 m (4,724 ft), Kostal Cone is one of the lowest volcanoes in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
The Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field, also called the Clearwater Cone Group, is a potentially active monogenetic volcanic field in east-central British Columbia, Canada, located approximately north of Kamloops. It is situated in the Cariboo Mountains of the Columbia Mountains and on the...
.
There has been activity at this site as recently as 7,600 years ago, though more likely less than 1,000 years ago. Kostal Cone is too young for the commonly used potassium-argon dating
Potassium-argon dating
Potassium–argon dating or K–Ar dating is a radiometric dating method used in geochronology and archeology. It is based on measurement of the product of the radioactive decay of an isotope of potassium into argon . Potassium is a common element found in many materials, such as micas, clay minerals,...
technique (usable on specimens over 100,000 years old), and no charred organic material for radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
has been found. However, the uneroded structure of the cone with the existence of trees on its flanks and summit have it an area for dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
studies, which reveals the growth of tree-ring patterns. Tree-growth data has revealed an age of 400 years for Kostal Cone, making it the youngest volcano in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and one of the youngest volcanoes in Canada.
Kostal Cone is made of fragmented and solidified lava called cinder
Cinder
A cinder is a pyroclastic material. Cinders are extrusive igneous rocks. Cinders are similar to pumice, which has so many cavities and is such low-density that it can float on water...
and its summit contains a bowl-shaped crater
Volcanic crater
A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
. Kostal's cinders were ejected by lava fountain
Lava fountain
A lava fountain is a volcanic phenomenon in which lava is forcefully but non-explosively ejected from a crater, vent, or fissure. Lava fountains may reach heights of up to . They may occur as a series of short pulses, or a continuous jet of lava. They are commonly seen in Hawaiian eruptions.-See...
eruptions and accumulated around the volcano's vent in the shape of a cone when they fell back around its surroundings. Lava flows from Kostal's 400 BP eruption are basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic in composition and forms a lava bed. It is an example of volcanic activity that has occurred in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field since the last glacial period; others include the Dragon's Tongue lava flow from Dragon Cone
Dragon Cone
Dragon Cone is a monogenetic cinder cone located in Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia. It is the source of a long lava flow, called Dragon's Tongue. This lava covered the floor of narrow Falls Creek Valley and terminated at the Clearwater River, damming it to a height of ...
just north of Kostal Cone and the Flourmill Volcanoes
Flourmill Volcanoes
The Flourmill Volcanoes, also known as The Flourmills, are a small volcano range near the west boundary of Wells Gray Provincial Park in east-central British Columbia, Canada...
north of Mahood Lake
Mahood Lake
Mahood Lake is a lake in the South Cariboo region of the Interior of British Columbia in Wells Gray Provincial Park. It is drained by the Mahood River, a tributary of the Clearwater River which has cut a deep canyon into Cambrian rocks and Pleistocene glacial moraines...
.
See also
- Volcanism of Western CanadaVolcanism of Western CanadaVolcanism of Western Canada produces lava flows, lava plateaus, lava domes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, calderas, diatremes and maars, along with examples of more less common volcanic forms such as tuyas and subglacial mounds.-Volcanic belts:*Anahim...
- List of volcanoes in Canada