The Malamute

The Malamute

The Malamute is a smaller granodiorite monolith located in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park directly across Hwy 99 from the eponymous face that has become famous in climbing circles. Similarly popular with the rock-scaling crowd, this water- and ice-scoured exposure features prominent glacial polishing and striations on the same batholithic basement rock as the Stawamus Chief, which formed ~100 million years ago some 15-30 kilometres below the Earth’s surface.

The dark-coloured intrusive mafic dyke (mainly ferromagnesian minerals) that runs vertically down the face of The Chief and figures in a popular First Nations legend, also continues across the highway to the Malamute.

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.

  • smaller granitic monolith
  • glacial-polished rock
  • views to Squamish and The Chief

GEOLOGIC CONTEXT:

A water- and ice-scoured granite monolith formed of the same ~100 million-year-old batholithic basement rock as the Stawamus Chief.

HOW TO SEE IT:

VISITOR INFORMATION

The Malamute is located in Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and easily accessed from either the northbound or southbound lanes of Hwy 99 ~2 km south of Squamish.

Services:

Parking, washrooms

Hazards:

Slippery rock during rainy periods; stay on marked trails.
MAP & LOCATION

Decimal Degrees (DD)

49.683820, -123.155300

Degrees Decimal Minutes (DDM)

49° 41.0292' N   123° 9.318' W

Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS)

49° 41' 1.752" N  123° 9' 19.08" W

What Are Pillars?

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

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

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

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

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.