Geologic History
Hemlock Valley Park is located in the Western Cordillera where there are many mountains that have been forming for many years. The reason there are so many mountains here in Hemlock Valley is because the Pacific Plate collided with the North American Plate, and sub-ducting under the North American Plate. This caused the North American plate to push up and cause the plethora of mountains in Hemlock Valley. This was thought to have begun 200-300 million years ago. The Coast Belt is mainly made up of granites and various metamorphosed sedimentary volcanic rocks. These were formed around 50- 200 million years ago. These rocks were perhaps thicker when they were originally formed due to the compression between the Insular Belt and the Intermontane Belt. |
Landform Region and Soil
Hemlock Valley is a part of the Western Cordillera Region. Approximately 3% of Hemlock Valley's soil is actually suitable for agricultural uses. This is due to the many mountains in Hemlock Valley. Only the soil in the narrow floodplains, terraces and deltas of the river valleys have soil where crops can grow. Along with this, it is not only the soil stopping from agricultural growth, but it is the shape of Hemlock Valley's land. It is extremely difficult to grow many crops on uneven and rocky lands. This is because it is hard and exhausting to be digging through rock, and sometimes maybe impossible. Also, unless you have a home on the mountain, it would be a long, tiring walk up and down the mountain each and every day. |
Glaciation
During the ice age, all of Hemlock Valley was under a thick sheet of ice. Some coastal areas and interior valleys became ice-free around 12,000-15,000 years ago. The rest of the ice began to melt away 7,000-13,000 years ago. The affects of the continental and alpine glaciation can be seen everywhere in the province. For example, the erosion from the glaciation turned river valleys into fjord's, which are basically long and narrow bay's. |