Rainbow Range (Coast Mountains)

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Rainbow Range
Elevation	2,478 metres (8,130 feet)
Location	Anahim Volcanic Belt, British Columbia, Canada
Range	Chilcotin Plateau
Coordinates	52°07′N 125°08′W
Type	Shield volcano

The Rainbow Range is one of the three remote, eroded, major shield volcanoes in the Anahim Volcanic Belt in British Columbia, Canada. It is located 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Anahim Lake and is on the western edge of the Chilcotin Plateau, adjoining the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains to the south, and the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains to the north. In some classification systems it is considered part of the Coast Mountains and has been assigned here in Wikipedia to the Pacific Ranges although it is not formally part of that range-complex. Adjoining it on the east are the lower but similar Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges, which are also part of the Anahim Volcanic Belt.

It lies north of the Bella Coola and Atnarko Rivers and south and west of the Dean River, which curves around its nort flank, and is relatively drier in climate and easier of terrain than more mountainous areas immediately west. Its main summit is the volcanic cone of Tsitsutl Peak 2495 m (8186 ft).

The Rainbow Range formed when the North American Plate moved over a hotspot, similar to the one feeding the Hawaiian Islands, known as the Anahim hotspot. Like most volcanoes in British Columbia, it is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, that includes over 160 active volcanoes.

The range gets its name from the intense and varied colours of its terrains' volcanic lavas and sands, like the Spectrum Range in the Spatsizi Plateau.

[edit] Wweedsmuir South Provincial Park

The Rainbow Range lies partly in the Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park, while to its west the Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges form the core of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park.