Mount Price (British Columbia) - Volcanic Hazards

Volcanic Hazards

At least 63 volcanic events have occurred in the Garibaldi Lake volcanic field in the past 1.3 million years. Since the early Holocene epoch, there has been no eruptive activity. Future eruptions of Mount Price will probably be similar in character to those that have occurred throughout its 1.2 million year eruptive history. The minimum annual probability of an eruption occurring in Canada is about one every 200 years; for an effusive eruption the probability is about one every 220 years and for a large explosive eruption the probability decreases to about one every 3,333 years. This indicates that an eruption in the foreseeable future is more likely to be characterized by fluid lava rather than major explosivity. However, the majority of these effusive eruptions occur in the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province of northwestern British Columbia and central Yukon, which is the most active volcanic zone in Canada. In the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt, eruptions occur less often, but it is the site of Canada's most explosive volcanism. The change in eruptive style between the two volcanic zones is caused by the different tectonic processes that formed them. Nevertheless, the possibility of passive lava eruptions occurring in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt cannot be ruled out.