The Canadian Cordillera is part of one of the
world's great mountain systems. Southern British Columbia exemplifies
elements of that system, including "accreted" terranes
(blocks of rocks not necessarily formed on or near the continent).
Its geological history extends from about 1500 million years
ago (Ma) to the present. This includes rifting and sedimentation
(until about 500 Ma); collisions bringing accretion of new
terranes (200 to 60 Ma), which generated the "great push" to
form the Rocky Mountains and an eventual easing from tectonic
compression to extension (55 to 40 Ma), allowing deep crustal
rocks to be brought to the surface. While the rest of B.C.
became tectonically quiescent, oceanic crust continues its
relentless push under Vancouver Island and Washington State
(subduction), thereby causing large earthquakes and formation
of the Garibaldi and Cascade volcanic belts.
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