This volcanic landscape in northern British Columbia is named after some of our favorite cold things. Pack some winter shoes and a few hot drinks and head out on a journey to the volcanoes of northwest Canada. The Snowshoe Lava Field, home to landmarks such as the Coffee Crater and Cocoa Crater, is part of the Edziza volcanic complex in British Columbia. The area's stratovolcanoes, cinder cones and lava domes were formed during a series of eruptive cycles over millions of years.

Satellite image of the Snowshoe Lava Field and surrounding volcanic terrain taken by the Land Imager 2 on Landsat 9 on October 26, 2023.

On October 26, 2023, Landsat9's OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2, Land Imager-2) captured this image of the snowshoe lava area and surrounding volcanic terrain. Mount Edziza is a plain volcano with an icy crater on the top of the mountain. It was formed about 1 million years ago. At 2,786 meters (9,140 feet) tall, Edziza volcano is one of the tallest volcanoes in Canada. Its slopes were the source of the region's obsidian trade as early as 10,000 years ago.

The Snowshoe Lava Field, which extends south and southwest from the ice peak, is one of the younger landforms in the Edziza volcanic complex; it formed during the most recent volcanic cycle within the past 20,000 years. The basalt landscape is home to several cinder cones, including Coffee Crater and Cocoa Crater, whose names reflect their rich brown color. In this autumn landscape, a sliver of white snow obscures the color of the rocks.

This lava field is a remote wilderness within Mount Edziza Provincial Park. No vehicles are allowed into the park, so explorers can only access via aeroplane or on foot. The land is home to wildlife such as moose, caribou and grizzly bears and is culturally important to the Tahltan Nation.

Geologists are also interested in the area's subglacial or paraglacial cooling lava flows. For example, by studying the characteristics of icy lava, they can better estimate past ice thickness in other volcanic regions on Earth. It might even help decipher the climate and geological history of Mars, where scientists have found evidence of lava interacting with water or ice.

NASA Earth Observatory image, taken by Michala Garrison using U.S. Geological Survey Landsat data.

Compiled source: ScitechDaily