Be Amazed by Nature’s Colourful Canvases
Vibrant hues of red, yellow, orange, and purple streak across the mountains of the Spectrum Range in remote Mount Edziza Provincial Park and the adjoining Tenh Dẕetle Conservancy, the Ice Mountain Lands, in northwestern BC. Traditional Territory of the Tahltan Nation, these culturally significant landscapes were shaped by long ago volcanic eruptions which left behind obsidian, a volcanic glass used for the cutting blades and projectile points that the Tahltan People quarried and widely traded. Volcanism also created conditions where sulphurous mineral waters painted these rocky hillsides with otherworldly blazes of colour. There’s no vehicle access to this surreal landscape, so most hikers fly in, embarking on a journey that feels uniquely their own.
Farther north, and closer to the Yukon, the spectrum of blues found in Tā Ch’ilā Provincial Park (Boya Lake Provincial Park) evoke the tropical hues of the Maldives, an unexpected sight in the wildlife-rich wetlands northwest of Dease Lake. Created by retreating glaciers that left behind landforms known as esker and kettle deposits, the Kaska Dena people call this important area Tā Ch’ilā, “like a blanket full of holes,” describing how the boreal forest is broken up by small lakes dotted with islands and inlets. In summer, the gin-clear waters adjacent to the Tā Ch’ilā Park campsite are warm enough for swimming, and onsite canoe and kayak rentals make it easy to paddle to a hidden cove and immerse in a wash of colours that range from sapphire to cyan.
