The Rainbow Range is an eight-million-year-old (Miocene) massive
peralkaline shield volcano in the Anahim Volcanic Belt which
includes the lower but similar Itcha and Ilgachuz Ranges. The
shield has a diameter of 30 km (19 mi) is now heavily eroded by
glaciers carving into the volcanic rock and sands over millions of
years. The volcanism that created the shield is not well studied
and is poorly understood. It is thought to be the result of the
North American Plate passing over a hotspot, similar to the one
feeding the Hawaiian Islands, known as the Anahim hotspot. The only
real separate volcanic peak associated with the Rainbow Range is
Anahim Peak which sits on its northeast flank. Other peaks in the
range are other high eroded remnants of the shield, including Beef
Peak, TaiaTaeszi Peak, Mount MacKenzie and Tsitsutl Peak 2,495 m
(8,186 ft), which is the highest summit of the Rainbow Range.
The range gets its name from the intense and varied colours of
its terrains' volcanic lavas and sands from heavy mineralization,
like the Spectrum Range in the Spatsizi Plateau.
