Garibaldi Park Whistler A to Z: Mt James TurnerColumnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide.  Generally found in large clusters packed together in a uniformly vertical array of columns that appear to be several metres long and usually more than 30 centimetres in diameter.  Surface erosion causes the columns to fracture and break apart, giving the appearance of an ancient, crumbling wall.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerAlexander Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyAncient Cedars  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerBlack Tusk  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerBlackcomb Mountain  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerBrandywine Falls  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrandywine Meadows  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyBrew Lake  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerCallaghan Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerCheakamus Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyCheakamus River  Whistler Hiking Trail HardCirque Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyFlank Trail  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerGaribaldi Park  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerHelm Creek  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyJane Lakes  Joffre Lakes Hike in Whistler in SeptemberJoffre Lakes  Moderate Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyKeyhole Hot Springs  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyLogger’s Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyMadeley Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyMeager Hot Springs Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerNairn Falls  Whistler Hiking Trail HardNewt Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerPanorama Ridge  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyParkhurst Ghost Town  Hiking Trail Hard Dog FriendlyRainbow Falls  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRainbow Lake  Moderate/Hard Hiking Trail Whistler Dog FriendlyRing Lake  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerRusset Lake  Whistler Hiking Trail EasySea to Sky Trail  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSkookumchuck Hot Springs  Easy Hiking Trail WhistlerSloquet Hot Springs  Sproatt East  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerSproatt West  Moderate Hiking Trail WhistlerTaylor Meadows  Whistler Hiking Trail EasyTrain Wreck  Hiking Trail Hard - Whistler TrailsWedgemount Lake  Pay Use Hiking Trail WhistlerWhistler Mountain

  Winter Hiking WhistlerJanuary  Winter Hiking WhistlerFebruary  Spring Hiking WhistlerMarch  Spring Hiking WhistlerApril  Spring Hiking WhistlerMay  Summer Hiking WhistlerJune  Summer Hiking WhistlerJuly  Summer Hiking WhistlerAugust  Fall Hiking WhistlerSeptember  Fall Hiking WhistlerOctober  Fall Hiking WhistlerNovember  Winter Hiking WhistlerDecember

The origin of these extraordinary rock formations is very interesting and leaves you imagining the not-too-distant past where volcanoes unleashed torrents of lava that met walls of ice hundreds of metres thick.  Though columnar jointing can occur in different types of rock, they are mainly formed from basalt.  Basalt is an igneous rock, formed from lava.  During periods of glaciation, such as the last Ice Age that covered much of North America with ice sheets two kilometres thick.  Columnar jointing is a formation that results from basaltic lava rapidly cooling from contact with a glacier.  Where the basaltic lava contacts the glacier it will cool and solidify rapidly compared to the lava further away from the glacier.  Cooling rock contracts and rapidly cooling rock tends to fracture in uniformly hexagonal columns.  Less evenly spaced fractures produce 5 sided or 7 sided columns and the length of the columns is determined by the depth of the lava flow.  A column several metres long will have formed from top to bottom as a series of shorter sections fracture all the way down.  When you encounter columnar jointing they appear to be solid columns several metres long that have broken off into smaller pieces.  With the top down cooling of the columns, they likely were not broken off, but were already fractured at the time they formed.  There are several great places in Whistler to see columnar jointing, though they are more specifically known as the Cheakamus Valley Basalts.  Along the highway south of Whistler you will see several great examples visible while you drive.  The new Jane Lakes West trail near Cheakamus Crossing in Whistler takes you past some excellent example of columnar jointing that you will actually trip over at times.  Nearby, the Whistler Train Wreck trail has an excellent viewpoint that looks across to an enormous wall of crumbling columns.  Brandywine Falls is possibly the most impressive place in Whistler to see columnar jointing and give you an idea of the enormity of the Cheakamus Valley Basalts.

Brandywine Falls - Columnar Jointing in Whistler

Brandywine Falls has a very interesting and visible geologic history and gives you great views of Cheakamus Valley Basalts columnar jointing.  Looking across from the viewing platform you will see several obvious rock layers in the crumbling canyon the falls pour into.  These layers were formed by repeated basaltic lava flows in the last 34000 years.  At least four of these basaltic lava flow layers have been identified.  The striking, rectangular columns of rock that make up the bands is the result of rapid cooling where lava and glacier ice met.  The layers in between the basaltic layers is comprised of glacial till.  This easily eroded, unconsolidated rock crumbles and erodes quickly.  When the glacier that filled the Cheakamus Valley receded 12000 years ago, it left the vertical wall of layered rock you see at Brandywine Falls today.  Thousands of years later water erosion from Brandywine Creek continues to erode the canyon.  One puzzling aspect about geology of Brandywine Falls is the enormous size of the gorge the relatively small Brandywine Creek has presumably gouged out.  Thousands of years of erosion by a creek of its size wouldn’t come close to creating such a chasm.  The answer, it is thought, resulted from one or several large floods that gouged out the wide chasm we see today.  Other evidence that points to large flooding is presence of large rounded boulders in the vicinity of the falls.  Glacier scoured rock differs considerably from water eroded rock.  Periodic, massive floods at the end of the last ice age are suspected to have resulted from ice dams holding back, then releasing enormous floods.

Brandywine Falls Provincial Park

Basaltic Columnar Jointing Brandywine Falls

Brandywine Falls Large Map v6

More Brandywine Falls Details..

Whistler Train Wreck - Columnar Jointing in Whistler

Whistler Hiking Trail RatingThe trail to Whistler Train Wreck is an easy, yet varied route through deep forest, across a great suspension bridge over Cheakamus River, to a stunning array of wrecked train cars. The trail from your car to the wrecks only takes about 15 minutes, however once you reach one wreck, you see another, then another. There are seven wrecks in total that are spread over an area about 400 metres long.  Along with the surreal train wrecks painted with stunning murals, you find yourself in a thick forest that runs along Cheakamus River. Cheakamus River is a beautiful, wild and crashing river that snakes past the train wrecks. Numerous side trails take you to some marvellous viewpoints, several metres above the rushing water below.  To find the columnar jointing viewpoint shown here you just have to find the trailhead/parking area just a couple hundred metres along the Cheakamus River FSR(previously Jane Lakes FSR).

Whistler Train Wreck Columnar Jointing

Whistler Train Wreck Columnar Jointing

Whistler Train Wreck Map Large v17

More Whistler Train Wreck Details..

Jane Lakes - Columnar Jointing in Whistler

Jane Lakes Hiking Trail RatingJane Lakes are a very remote feeling set of lakes in the beautiful wilderness near Cheakamus Crossing.  Consisting of three lakes, West Jane Lake, East Jane Lake and Little Jane Lake, they have a great network of hiking trails that link and circle them all.  The Jane Lakes West trail already has some great viewpoints and highlights.  Several areas along the trail, you emerge from the trees and get a great view down the valley.  The unmistakable, jagged peak of Mount Fee is nicely visible from several places.  The trail also cuts through large boulder fields from crumbling cliffs.  Further along you come to, and actually trip over a stunning remnant of a geologically recent phenomenon called the Cheakamus Valley Basalts.  During the end of the last ice age, basaltic lava flows pools against the retreating glacier that filled Cheakamus Valley.  The rapid cooling of the lava resulted in sets of intersecting, closely spaced fractures that formed regular arrays of angular, six sided columns of stunning symmetry.  At several places along the trail, you come to a cliff wall of these bewildering columns of rock known as columnar jointing.  These alien looking walls are in various stages of crumbling and breaking apart and the Jane Lakes West trail is possibly the best place around to touch and admire them.

Jane Lakes Columnar Jointing

Jane Lakes Columnar Jointing

Jane Lakes Trail Columnar Jointing

Jane Lakes Trail Map

More Jane Lakes West Details..

More Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking A to Z!

Green Lake is the marvellously vivid, green coloured lake just north of Whistler Village.  Driving north on the Sea to Sky Highway, Green Lake appears ...
Read more
Crevasse: is a split or crack in the glacier surface, often with near vertical walls.  Crevasses form out of the constant movement of a glacier over ...
Read more
Coast Douglas-fir trees are medium to extremely large trees that you will encounter in Whistler and Garibaldi Park. They are the second tallest conifer ...
Read more
Mills Winram was a very active mountaineer from Vancouver with some very notable ascents in the 1920's and 1930's.  He, along with Fred Parkes and Stan ...
Read more
The Coast Mountains run from the Yukon down to Vancouver along the west coast of British Columbia in a band that averages 300 kilometres wide(190 miles).  ...
Read more
Mount Garibaldi is the huge, potentially active volcano that Garibaldi Provincial Park is named after.  Mount Garibaldi also lends its name to the Garibaldi ...
Read more
Bench: a flat section in steep terrain.  Characteristically narrow, flat or gently sloping with steep or vertical slopes on either side.  A bench can be ...
Read more
Hoary Marmots are the cute, pudgy, twenty plus pound ground squirrels that have evolved to live quite happily in the hostile alpine areas around Whistler.  ...
Read more

Amazing Hiking Trails in Whistler

The Best Whistler & Garibaldi Park Hiking Trails!

Helm Creek is a cute, meandering creek that winds its way from beyond Black Tusk, down the valley to the wonderful campground that takes its name. From the Helm Creek campground, Helm Creek descends further ...
Read more
Panorama Ridge is easily one of the most amazing hikes in Garibaldi Provincial Park.  The 15 kilometre(9.3 mile) hike from the trailhead at Rubble Creek to Panorama Ridge takes you through beautiful and deep ...
Read more
Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village. From the Village ...
Read more
Wedgemount Lake itself is a magnificent destination for a day hike or spectacular overnight beneath the dazzling mountain peaks and stars above Garibaldi Provincial Park. Many sleep under the stars on one of ...
Read more

Whistler & Garibaldi Park Best Hiking by Month!

Hiking in Whistler in October is often unexpectedly stunning.  The days are much shorter and colder but the mountains are alive with colour from the fall ...
Read more
November in Whistler is when the temperatures plummet and the first heavy snow falls in the alpine and often in Whistler Village.  The hiking opportunities become ...
Read more
December hiking in Whistler is mainly done on snowshoes, though not always. If it hasn't snowed much recently then trails such as Whistler Train Wreck and ...
Read more
There are plenty of beautiful and free snowshoe trails in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  From the surreal paintings of Whistler Train Wreck to ...
Read more

Free Camping Gear Delivery to Garibaldi Park

Explore BC Hiking Destinations!

Whistler Hiking Trails

Hiking in Whistler is spectacular and wonderfully varied. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails that are unbelievably numerous. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous ...
Read more

Squamish Hiking Trails

Squamish is located in the midst of a staggering array of amazing hiking trails. Garibaldi Provincial Park sprawls alongside Squamish and up and beyond Whistler. Tantalus Provincial Park lays across the valley to the west and the wonderfully remote Callaghan Valley ...
Read more

Vancouver Hiking Trails

Vancouver is surrounded by seemingly endless hiking trails and mountains to explore.  Massive parks line up one after another.  Mount Seymour Provincial Park, Lynn Canyon Park, Grouse Mountain, Cypress Park and the enormous Garibaldi Park all contribute to Vancouver ...
Read more

Clayoquot Hiking Trails

Clayoquot Sound has a staggering array of hiking trails within it.  Between Tofino and Ucluelet, Pacific Rim Park has several wilderness and beach trails, each one radically different from the last.  The islands in the area are often Provincial parks on their own with ...
Read more

Victoria Hiking Trails

Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails.  Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness.  Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn in ...
Read more

The West Coast Trail

The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.  One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...
Read more