Decimal Degrees (DD)
50.043483, -123.072683
Degrees Decimal Minutes (DDM)
50° 2.6090' N 123° 4.3610' W
Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS)
50° 2' 36.54" N 123° 4' 21.66" W
Scenic and remote-seeming, East, West and Little Jane Lakes sit between 950 and 1,100 metres in elevation along a line from Whistler’s Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood to the imposing Black Tusk of Garibaldi Provincial Park. Because of this mid-altitude setting, they offer great views to the tusk in one direction, and the Mt. Fee volcanic complex in the other.
Captured in small basins between bedrock and as-yet-undated subaerial lava flows that resulted in perfect columnar-jointed andesite (lava with a slightly higher silica content than basalt), the precise origin of these lakes remains an open question—as do the related volcanic phenomena passed on many of the hikes in and around them.
Though logging occurred in the Jane Lakes area in the past, there remain many untouched pockets of mossy old growth. The exact role of glaciation in the area also remains enigmatic, but one current idea is that the largest lake may have been created when a lava flow dammed drainage from a retreating glacier.
The Jane Lakes trio area can be accessed in various ways from the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood, 8 km south of Whistler Village. To reach Cheakamus Crossing, turn onto Cheakamus Lake Rd. from Hwy 99. Consult hiking guidebooks, websites or apps for detailed directions and hiking options.
Protection and guardianship are at the heart of the Geopark philosophy. We ask that you treat the land with the same reverence as its original inhabitants, and not remove anything from a site but what you’ve brought to help preserve it for future generations.
50.043483, -123.072683
50° 2.6090' N 123° 4.3610' W
50° 2' 36.54" N 123° 4' 21.66" W
Geosites of the Aspiring Geopark lie wholly within the unceded traditional territories of the Líl̓wat Nation and the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Nation. The nations have lived in—and shared parts of—these territories since time immemorial, with many landscape features and geological events woven into their cultural and oral histories. We are grateful for, and committed to, the opportunity to learn and share these perspectives of the land alongside its original stewards.
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The Fire & Ice Aspiring Geopark comprises four main geological pillars referenced in all interpretive material: (M)ountain Building, (G)laciation, (V)olcanism and (C)ollapse.
Mountain building can involve several processes that contribute to the formation of mountains, such as the collision of tectonic plates that result in folding, faulting, metamorphism and the creation of subduction zones associated with volcanic activity and igneous intrusion.
Glaciation refers to landform phenomena associated with the formation, movement and recession of glaciers and ice sheets. In temperate latitudes such as British Columbia, montane glaciation at higher altitudes is the norm while continental glaciation occurred during Ice Ages like the recent Pleistocene.
Volcanism is the eruption of subterranean molten rock (magma) and gasses onto the surface of the planet and includes the production of volcanic landforms and the effects of eruptions and flowing lava on pre-existing surface formations.
Collapse is a term that refers broadly to both slow processes of destabilization and erosion by wind, water and ice, as well as rapid processes like rockfall and landslides.
Whether acting as primary or secondary forces, one or more of these processes figure in the creation of each geosite.