Decimal Degrees (DD)
50.086445, -123.036596
Degrees Decimal Minutes (DDM)
50° 5.1867' N 123° 2.1958' W
Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS)
50° 5' 11.202" N 123° 2' 11.7456" W
A forested area of Crown Land of just over 2,800 hectares straddling the east and west branches of the Cheakamus Lake Forest Service Road, the Whistler Interpretive Forest sits nestled between Garibaldi Provincial Park and Whistler’s Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood.
Once mostly an active logging area, the Interpretive Forest is now filled with biking and hiking trails (such as Train Wreck), with informative signs describing forestry-related topics (e.g., ecosystems, wildlife, and landscape history). A great place for day hikes, it also provides access to East Jane Lake Trail and the Cheakamus Lake Trail into Garibaldi Provincial Park.
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.
Access to much of the Interpretive Forest and a map can be found at the parking area at the junction of Hwy 99 north and Cheakamus Road.
50.086445, -123.036596
50° 5.1867' N 123° 2.1958' W
50° 5' 11.202" N 123° 2' 11.7456" 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.