The list of all of the must-see, incredible geological features near Squamish is a long one. The Coast Mountains and surrounding waterways make for some of the most picturesque scenery in the world (we might be biased, but probably not!). The geological history of the area is not only fascinating, but relatively young in the world of geology, resulting in dagger-like peaks, unique rock formations, tremendous glaciers, and stunning water features. We have the fortunate opportunity to fly over some of these spectacular formations and experience them from a fresh perspective up above. We put together 10 of our favourite must-see features near Squamish you can experience from our guided scenic flights. Enjoy the view!
The Table is part of the Garibaldi Lake volcanic field, and it’s proposed it formed when magma intruded into and melted a vertical tube in the overlying Cordilleran Ice Sheet. This iconic feature of the Sea to Sky is another piece of evidence of the incredible carving & shaping of the land throughout the ice ages.
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The Black Tusk near Squamish is considered to be the remnant of an extinct andesitic stratovolcano, formed between about 1.3 and 1.1 million years ago. Following glacial dissection, renewed volcanism produced the lava dome and flow forming its summit about 170,000 years ago.
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Perched on the edge of a giant granite cliff, Hanging Glacier is an awe-inspiring sight from the air. But, what exactly is a hanging glacier? And how did it come to be in this precarious situation? When a major valley glacier system retreats and thins, sometimes the tributary glaciers are left in smaller valleys high above the shrunken central glacier surface.
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Mount Garibaldi near Squamish is a young stratovolcano capped by a complex of lava domes. But, have you ever wondered why the slopes of Garibaldi look different from the surrounding mountains? Since volcanoes grow upward by successive volcanic eruptions and have never been buried, they’re a mix of layers of lava, loose ash and volcanic rubble. As a consequence, volcanoes erode much faster than other mountains, making landslides, debris flows and rock falls more frequent.
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The Stawamus Chief in Squamish really needs no introduction! The Chief is the second largest granite monolith of its kind in the world and attracts people from all over the world for climbing, sightseeing & hiking. It’s actually an outcrop of a much larger geological formation called the Coast Mountains Batholith which rose out of the ground between 170 and 50 million years ago.
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The Squamish River is a short, but large river, only 80 kilometres in length. Its drainage basin is 3,328 square kilometres in size. Measurements show that the Squamish River delta is advancing about four metres each year. Since the 1700s, the delta has advanced about a kilometre, transforming the ocean into new land.
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Lake Lovely Water is an alpine lake sitting in a large subalpine cirque at 3822ft in the rugged Tantalus Range in Tantalus Provincial Park. The mountains here are made of mostly granite topped with ancient sprawling glaciers, making for a stunning backdrop to the emerald green lake.
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Phantom Lake near Squamish is a dazzling, emerald green hanging lake. At one end water feeds into the lake from the nearby glaciers of Mt Jimmy Jimmy and Tzoonie Mountain, while at the other it escapes via a towering cascading waterfall.
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Did you know Garibaldi Lake lies in a deep subalpine basin, with its surface at nearly 1,500 m above sea level and a depth exceeding 250 m? It is almost entirely surrounded by mountains except at its northwestern tip, with volcanoes along the north, west, and south sides and non-volcanic peaks along the northeast and eastern shores.
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Mt Jimmy Jimmy is a vast glaciated mountain at the north end of Phantom Lake near Squamish. It was named for Chief Jimmy Jimmy (native name Swahsh), a leader of the Squamish Nation who had traplines in the foothills of the mountain.
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Want to experience these incredible geological wonders near Squamish from the air? You can take a look at our tours here. We can’t wait to show you the jaw-dropping features of Squamish from the air and give you a fresh perspective of the rugged and wild landscape.
