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The south-central Intermontane belt of British Columbia has a complex architecture comprising late Paleozoic to Mesozoic volcanic and plutonic arc magmatic suites, marine and nonmarine clastic basins, high-grade metamorphic complexes, and accretionary rocks. Jurassic and Cretaceous clastic basins within this framework contain stratigraphy with hydrocarbon potential. The geology is complicated by Cretaceous to Eocene deformation, dismemberment, and dislocation. The Eocene to Neogene history of the southern Intermontane belt is dominated by non-arc volcanism, followed by Pleistocene to Recent glaciation. The volcanic and glacial cover makes this a difficult region to explore for resources. Much recent work has involved re-evaluating the challenges that the overlying volcanic cover has historically presented to geophysical imaging of the sedimentary rocks in this region in light of technological advances in geophysical data collection and analysis. This paper summarizes the lithological and stratigraphic framework of the region, with emphasis on description of the sedimentary units that have been the targets of hydrocarbon exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the decay of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet 10 000 – 13 000 BP, glacial lakes developed within valleys that dissect the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. In this paper, we (1) illustrate a procedure for assessing paleo water planes that has general application, (2) document lake paleogeography and evolution in the Thompson Valley, (3) provide new data on the glacio-isostatic response of the central Cordillera, and (4) present new evidence of its late-glacial environment. We employ geomorphology and sedimentology, digital elevation models, and new technologies (differential global positioning systems, ground penetrating radar, and geographic information systems) to refine paleogeographic reconstructions of glacial lakes. Glacial Lake Thompson and Glacial Lake Deadman were ribbon-shaped (width to length ratio ≈ 3:100), deep (>>140 to ~50 m) lakes that contained significant water volumes (84–24 km3). They lengthened to the west and their water level lowered as ice decayed. Final ice dam failure resulted in an ~20 km3 jökulhlaup that eroded bedforms and deposited flood eddy bars within the lake basin, travelled ~250 km along the Fraser River system, and may have deposited exotic mud offshore between 10 190 and 11 940 BP. Glacio-isostatic tilts of water planes are among the highest in the world (1.7–1.8 m km–1). Their orientations suggest that ice sheet loads were greater or longer- lived to the north-northwest of the study area, lending support to the notion of an ice divide centred on the Fraser Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New bedrock mapping completed as part of the Nechako NATMAP Project indicates that the area between Babine and Takla lakes in central British Columbia is underlain by rocks of the Early Permian Asitka, Late Triassic Takla, and Early to Middle Jurassic Hazelton volcanic-arc assemblages of the Stikine Terrane. These are cut by large composite stocks of quartz diorite, granodiorite, and quartz monzonite previously mapped as the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Topley intrusions. New U/Pb (n = 6) and laser [sup 40] Ar/[sup 39] Ar (n = 10) isotopic age dates reported in this paper suggest there are two distinct ages of plutons: the Topley intrusive suite with isotopic ages between 218 and 193 Ma; and, east of Babine Lake, the new Spike Peak intrusive suite with isotopic ages ranging from 179 to 166 Ma. West of the main plutonic belt is a thick volcanic succession of subaerial, porphyritic andesite flows, volcanic breccias, and rhyolitic ash-flow tuffs that have isotopic ages between 185 and 174 Ma. These rocks are assigned to the Saddle Hill Formation of the Hazelton Group. The plutonic roots of this proximal arc assemblage are most likely the coeval and compositionally similar plutons of the Spike Peak intrusive suite that have been unroofed in the area east of the Takla Fault. Major oxide and trace element data support the interpretation that the Topley and Spike Peak granitic rocks formed in a juvenile volcanic-arc environment and that magmatism is related to melts generated above a long-lived subduction zone of unknown orientation.Une nouvelle cartographie effectuée dans le cadre du projet NATMAP Nechako indique que la région entre les lacs Babine et Takla au centre de la Colombie-Britannique est recouverte de roches des assemblages d'arcs volcaniques du terrane de Stikine, soit Asitka du Permien précoce, Takla du Trias tardif et Hazelton du Jurassique précoce à moyen. Ces assemblages sont recoupés par des petits massifs intrusifs composites de diorite quartzique, de granodiorite et de monzonite quartzique qui avaient auparavant été cartographiés en tant que les intrusions Topley, du Trias tardif au Jurassique précoce. De nouvelles datations U-Pb (n = 6) et isotopes laser [sup 40] Ar/[sup 39] Ar (n = 10) présentées dans cet article suggèrent deux âges distincts de plutons, soit la suite intrusive de Topley avec des âges isotopiques entre 218 et 193 Ma et, à l'est du lac Babine, la nouvelle suite intrusive de Spike Peak dont les âges isotopiques varient de 179 à 166 Ma. À l'ouest de la ceinture plutonique principale se trouve une séquence volcanique épaisse d'écoulements subaériens d'andésite porphyrique, des brèches volcanique et des tufs d'écoulement de cendre rhyolitique dont les âges isotopiques varient entre 185 et 174 Ma. Ces roches sont assignées à la Formation de Saddle Hill du Groupe Hazelton. Les racines plutoniques de cet assemblage d'arc proximal sont fort probablement les plutons contemporains et à composition similaire de la suite intrusive de Spike Peak qui ont été décapés dans la région à l'est de la faille de Takla. Les données sur les principaux oxydes et les éléments traces corroborent l'interprétation que les roches granitiques de Topley et de Spike Peak se sont formées dans un environnement d'arc volcanique juvénile et que le magmatisme est relié aux fusions qui se sont produites au-dessus d'une ligne de subduction de longue durée mais dont l'orientation est inconnue.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]