GEOTOUR GUIDE - City of Kamloops

(sTop 2) Cinnamon ridGe:
a Canyon WalK ThrouGh anCienT volCanoes
Figure 10. A view of Cinnamon Ridge from the City of Kamloops Compost Facility. Cinnamon Ridge protrudes into the Thompson River valley just west
of the airport. The weathering of volcanic rocks releases iron that has stained the rock a cinnamon brown colour, giving the ridge its name. The GeoTour hike
follows the canyon that cuts into the ridge on the right side of the photograph. The flat-lying volcanic layers are the eroded remains of an ancient volcano that
erupted 50 million years ago. (Photo by R. Turner)
Figure 11. (left) View looking south, down the canyon in Cinnamon Ridge. Pillars
of volcanic rock (hoodoos) have been eroded by the stream as it cut the canyon. In the
background are flat agricultural lands of the Thompson River delta, and the Thompson
River. (Photo by R. Turner)
9
Kamloops is volcano country! Or, to be more
accurate, it is ancient volcano country. The
Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5) from
Kamloops to Merritt cuts through green-grey
volcanic rocks that are about 200 million year
old. Dufferin Hill (Stop 1), Cinnamon Ridge
(this stop), and the plateau to the northwest
and west to Cache Creek, including the area
of the McAbee fossil beds, are all volcanic
rocks that erupted about 50 million years
ago. Wells Gray Provincial Park to the north
protects some remarkable volcanoes that
formed during the last several million years
and that may erupt again.
The most interesting place to look at volcanic
rocks in the immediate Kamloops area is just
west of the airport. A variety of interesting
volcanic features are exposed on the slopes
of Cinnamon Ridge and one of its canyons.
The narrow slot-like character of the canyon
and hoodoo spires that rise above the canyon
are fascinating features of the hike.