Insular Belt

The Insular Belt is a physio-geological region on the north western North American coast. It consist of three major island groups and many smaller islands and stretches from Southern British Columbia into Alaska and the Yukon. It represents the late Cretaceous to Eocene accretion of what is known as the "Insular Super Terrane" the North American continent.

The rocks that form the Insular Super-Terrane are allochthonous meaning they are not related to the North American continent. They consist of a series of volcanics, intrusions and sediments which range in Precambrian to Recent in age.

The major island groups that compose the Insular Super terrain are, from north to south, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Alexander Archipelago in Alaska.

The region is noteworthy as it has the greatest physiographic relief from the depths of Queen Charlotte sound to the heights of the Wrangell - St Elias Mountains. In general the region is extremely rugged with very little flat land except in certain regions (Eg the east coast of Vancouver Island.

The region is thickly forested, having a temperate year round climate, with many of the worlds largest trees.

ee also

*Intermontane Belt

References

External links

* [http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/frontier/physio/geology.htm Physiography of British Columbia]