Desolation Lava Field

The Desolation Lava Field (DLF) is a volcanic field at Mount Edziza in British Columbia, Canada. It reaches an elevation of 2,165 metres (7,103 feet) on the Big Raven Plateau, but decreases to 820 m (2,690 ft) at Buckley Lake and 670 m (2,200 ft) in the Klastline River valley. The lava field covers more than 150 square kilometres (58 square miles) and contains 10 volcanic cones that range in elevation from nearly 2,135 to 1,430 m (7,005 to 4,692 ft). It is in Mount Edziza Provincial Park and is part of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex, the latter of which consists of several other volcanic landforms such as shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, lava domes and cinder cones. The DLF is the northern of two lava fields on the Big Raven Plateau, the other being the smaller Snowshoe Lava Field at the southern end of the plateau. Accessibility is only by aircraft or by a network of horse trails from surrounding roads.

Volcanism in the DLF began during the Holocene with the eruptions of the Sleet and Storm cones, both of which issued lava flows. The Triplex Cones were formed by subsequent eruptions and issued lava flows more than 12 km (7.5 mi) long. Renewed volcanism created the Sidas and Twin cones, both of which differ from other cones in the DLF in that they are structurally complex. Subsequent volcanism created Moraine Cone, which was the source of a roughly 14 km (8.7 mi) long lava flow that temporarily dammed the Klastline River and Kakiddi Creek. The Eve and Williams cones were produced by the latest eruptions in the DLF, the latter of which issued a 13 km (8.1 mi) long lava flow that temporarily dammed the Klastline River. Radiocarbon dating of charred alpine willow twigs preserved in ejecta from Williams Cone suggests the latest eruption in the DLF occurred in the last 2,000 years.