Stratigraphy Along the West Side of Harrison Lake, southwestern British Columbia

We describe observations of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) made along the west side of central Hecate Strait, British Columbia, during the spring and summer of 1990–2018. From none in March, the frequency of sightings increased from early April to a peak in May, then fell in June with few in July. The frequency of sightings during the peak period (1 May–20 June) increased over the course of the study at a mean rate of 6% a year, similar to increases recorded elsewhere in British Columbian waters. The frequency of sightings was highest in years when the Oceanic Niño Index for January–March was low and peaked earlier in years when the Oceanic Niño Index was high. Both of these relationships suggest a connection between Humpback Whale sightings in western Hecate Strait and the larger oceanographic context, with sightings more frequent in years of lower water temperatures.

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Conservation Evaluation of the Small-flowered Tonella, Tonella tenella, in Canada

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v120i2.284 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 120 (2) ◽

pp. 179

Author(s):

George W. Douglas ◽

Jenifer L. Penny

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Private Property ◽

Columbia River ◽

The West ◽

Rock Outcrops ◽

West Side ◽

Central California ◽

Gulf Islands ◽

Talus Slopes ◽

Conservation Evaluation

In Canada, the Small-flowered Tonella, Tonella tenella, is restricted to the west side of Saltspring Island in the Gulf Islands of southwestern British Columbia. This population represents the northern limits of the species which is disjunct from its main range in southern Washington (Columbia River gorge), through Oregon to central California. In British Columbia, Tonella tenella is associated with rock outcrops and dry, steep, sparsely forested talus slopes at elevations of 50 to 300 m. The population on Saltspring Island is on private property and not directly imperilled at this time. There is, however, a potential for housing development in the future on this waterfront site, thus the authors consider the species endangered.

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Pleistocene glacial dispersal and history in Buttle valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia: a feasibility study for alpine drift prospecting

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e86-175 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 1867-1879 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stephen R. Hicock

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Clay Fraction ◽

Vancouver Island ◽

The West ◽

Main Trunk ◽

West Side ◽

Sulphide Ore ◽

Valley Side ◽

Glacier Ice ◽

Basal Till

Lodgment till exposures in the Myra and Buttle valleys of central Vancouver Island reveal a short (approximately 20 km) glacial dispersal train of Westmin massive sulphide ore in the clay fraction only (Cu, Zn, Pb). Ore dispersal was eastward down the tributary Myra valley, then northward along the west side of the trunk Buttle valley. This study suggests that in alpine drift-prospecting projects, anomalies should be traced upvalley into tributary valleys along the same valley side, using the geochemistry of the −0.002 mm fraction of the basal till matrix.Fraser glaciation in the valleys eroded and deformed underlying sediments and bedrock while removing evidence of previous glacial events. Glaciolacustrine silt and sand, lodgment till, deltaic recessional outwash, and colluvial fans were deposited during the last 25 000 radiocarbon years. Ice movement followed the classical alpine glaciation model. Tributary lobes advanced downvalley and merged (without mixing) to form a main trunk Buttle lobe, which advanced northward, truncating some of the tributary valleys. At the Fraser maximum, glacier ice had built up to cover all but the highest peaks; drumlinoids imply southwestward flow over the highest glaciated ridges. During deglaciation, the Buttle lobe probably retreated rapidly, depositing recessional outwash and glaciolacustrine diamictons.

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The Gang Ranch – Big Bar area, south-central British Columbia: stratigraphy, geochronology, and palynology of the Tertiary beds and their relationship to the Fraser Fault

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e84-118 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 1132-1144 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

W. H. Mathews ◽

G. E. Rouse

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Middle Eocene ◽

Lacustrine Sediments ◽

Fraser River ◽

Drainage Pattern ◽

The West ◽

West Side ◽

South Central ◽

Metavolcanic Rocks ◽

Fault Trace

Tertiary rocks in the Gang Ranch – Big Bar area, south-central British Columbia, consist of (1) Early or Middle Eocene (50 Ma) lavas, breccias, and tuffs capped by a mappable unit of conglomerate and clays, totalling 1600 m in thickness; (2) Early Miocene basalt and obsidian, only locally present on high summits; (3) Mid-Miocene gravels and tuffs estimated to be up to 300 m thick; and (4) Pliocene "plateau basalts" up to 130 m thick, locally underlain by fluvial and lacustrine sediments. A rich, probably subtropical, palynoassemblage supports the correlation of the first unit with the Kamloops Group of south-central British Columbia, and the palynomorphs from unit (3) indicate equivalence with the Fraser Bend Formation of the Quesnel area.The northwest-trending Fraser Fault transects the area. Eocene and underlying mid-Cretaceous beds are confined to the west side of the fault; Triassic metasediments and metavolcanic rocks form the east wall. The west side of the fault has been structurally lowered by at least 1.6 km in Eocene and(?) later time. Some 70 km of dextral displacement since mid-Cretaceous time is suggested but is not unequivocally demanded. Major movement has occurred since and possibly during deposition of the Eocene beds. Pliocene beds overlying the fault and Mid-Miocene beds adjacent to the fault trace are apparently undisturbed.Pliocene drainage appears to have been northward. Slight northerly tilting has occurred since, but notwithstanding this the southward-flowing Fraser River has become established here. Glacial diversion of an earlier drainage pattern is suspected.

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173 Ma U–Pb age of felsite sills (Kaslo River intrusives) west of Kootenay Lake, southeastern British Columbia

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e92-046 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 531-534 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Moira T. Smith ◽

George E. Gehrels ◽

David W. Klepacki

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Second Phase ◽

The West ◽

West Side ◽

Lower Paleozoic ◽

Upper Proterozoic ◽

Third Phase ◽

Phase Deformation ◽

Kootenay Lake ◽

Middle Proterozoic

U–Pb geochronological analyses of five zircon fractions from a lineated and foliated monzonite sill on the west side of Kootenay Lake are discordant and yield a lower intercept age of 173 ± 5 Ma, interpreted as the minimum crystallization age. An upper intercept of 1710 ± 180 Ma is interpreted as the average age of inherited components, and is consistent with contamination by Middle Proterozoic detritus in Upper Proterozoic to lower Paleozoic strata. The sills are interpreted as pre- to syn-kinematic with respect to regional second-phase or possibly third-phase deformation, thus further constraining the timing of Mesozoic orogeny in the Kootenay Arc, and may represent an early, foliated phase of the Nelson Batholith.

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First verified sighting of a Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) in British Columbia, Canada

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v134i3.2571 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 134 (3) ◽

pp. 210-212

Author(s):

Ron Farrell ◽

Gavin Hanke ◽

David Veljacic

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Baja California ◽

Puget Sound ◽

Washington State ◽

The West ◽

West Side ◽

Sceloporus Occidentalis ◽

North Central ◽

Western Fence Lizard

Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is known from Baja California, Mexico, north to north-central Washington State, including Puget Sound, where scattered populations extend from the Cherry Point area south to Tacoma and along the west side of Puget Sound to Port Townsend. On 6 June 2020, a single juvenile S. occidentalis was photographed in a Cloverdale area garden, Surrey, British Columbia, representing the first verified sighting of this species in Canada. No other S. occidentalis were sighted in the area, and we could not determine how the specimen entered the province.

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