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Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a stunning volcanic wilderness, unmatched anywhere
in Canada. Although Mount Edziza last erupted over 4 million years ago,
volcanic activity as recently as 1300 years ago has created 30
perfectly symmetrical cones in a beautiful array of colors, from browns and
magentas, to bone white.
The park is bordered on the south by the Spectrum mountain range.
North of the park lies the
impressive Grand Canyon of the Stikine. The 300 m (1000 ft) deep, 100 km(60 mi)
long canyon is an extremely scenic stretch of the Stikine River.
The area's name means "cinders" in the native Tahltan language, and refers to fine pumice dust found on
the Mount Edziza plateau.
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Mount Edziza Park is located 340 km (210 mi) north of Prince Rupert, west
of the Iskut River and south of the Stikine River in the Tahltan Highlands
of northwestern BC. This is remote wilderness; there is no vehicle
access into the park. The nearby community of Telegraph Creek is the most common starting
point for both horse packers and hikers. Access to the park is also offered by float planes,
which carry visitors to one of the five lakes in the park. Telegraph Creek can be reached by car by
taking Highway 37 north to
Dease Lake and then driving another 118 km (71 mi) southwest.
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Click
on the map to see the enlargement
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Most visitors choose to fly into one of the beautiful lakes found near the park's
volcanic craters. Several air operators provide point-to-point multiday
hikes, in which visitors are dropped by float plane at one location and picked up a few days
later at another. Overland treks provide opportunities to see black and
grizzly bears, Stone sheep, Osborne caribou, moose, mountain goats,
and wolves. Guides are available for spectacular hiking and
horseback excursions into the park. |
"Mount Edziza Provincial Park is a stunning volcanic wilderness, unmatched anywhere
in Canada."
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 As
far back as
nine thousand years ago, the Tahltan Indians quarried obsidian in
this region. Obsidian is a form of rapidly cooled lava, crystallized
into black volcanic glass. As sharp as surgical instruments
when honed, obsidian was a valuable tool making substance. Edziza obsidian
was traded with
other tribes
from the Queen Charlottes to Alaska.
Recent human use of the area is witnessed by
remnants of the
Yukon Telegraph line,
used during the
Klondike Gold Rush. This unique wilderness area was designated a provincial
park in 1972, after the BC Minister of Recreation
and Conservation flew over the stunning volcanic cones and was astounded
by what he saw. It was one of the very few parks created by the WAC
Bennett government.
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