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82-462: The Kitsu Plateau is volcanic in origin , consisting of lava flows that are interbedded with volcanic ejecta . These lava flows and the associated ejecta originated from several volcanoes of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex which has been the focus of volcanic activity over the last 7.5 million years. Alkali basalt , hawaiite and trachyte are among some of the volcanic rocks comprising

164-617: A broad transition zone from Labrador to northern Alaska. In Labrador, white spruce is not abundant and constitutes less than 5% of the forest, with a range that coincides very closely with that of black spruce but extending slightly further north. The range of white spruce extends westwards from Newfoundland and Labrador, and along the northern limit of trees to Hudson Bay, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and into northwestern Alaska. Across western Canada and Alaska, white spruce occurs further north than black spruce, and, while poplar ( Populus ), willow , and birch may occur along streams well into

246-496: A lava plateau may be part of a single volcano. An example is the massive Level Mountain shield volcano in northern British Columbia , Canada , which covers an area of 1,800 km (690 sq mi) and a volume of 860 km (210 cu mi). Perhaps the most extensive of all the subaerial basaltic plateaus existed during the Paleogene and possibly extended over 1,800,000 km (690,000 sq mi) of

328-929: A narrow belt of mixed Norway and white spruces over an extremely exposed hilltop crest at high elevation in northern England, the Norway spruce were "completely dwarfed" whereas the white spruce had reached heights of between 3 and 4.3 m. The age of the belt was not recorded, but adjoining 66-year-old stands may have been of the same vintage. White spruce has also been used as a minor plantation species in England and Scotland. In Scotland, at Corrour, Inverness-shire, Sir John Stirling Maxwell in 1907 began using white spruce in his pioneering plantations at high elevations on deep peat. However, plantations in Britain have generally been unsatisfactory, mainly because of damage by spring frosts after mild weather had induced flushing earlier in

410-558: A private aircraft requires a letter of authorization from the BC Parks Stikine Senior Park Ranger. Volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity . There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions through numerous vents without violent explosions (quiet eruptions). These eruptions are quiet because of

492-436: A smoothly rounded margin. They are green or reddish, maturing to pale brown 4 to 8 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 2 to 3 mm long, with a slender, 5 to 8 mm long pale brown wing. Seeds are small, 2.5 to 5 mm long, oblong, and acute at the base. Determinations of the average number of sound seeds per white spruce cone have ranged from 32 to 130. Common causes of empty seed are lack of pollination , abortion of

574-471: Is barren of vegetation but at lower elevations the surrounding valleys contain white spruce , lodgepole pine and trembling aspen forests. The Kitsu Plateau is dominated by the Mess Lake Lava Field which extends from Raspberry Creek in the north to Nagha Creek in the south. It covers an area of around 18 square kilometres (6.9 square miles) and contains three pyroclastic cones which were

656-559: Is characterized by warm summers and cold, snowy winters; temperatures are warmest in mid-summer during the day when they may hit the 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) range. However, temperatures can drop below freezing during summer nights, making snow or freezing rain a possibility at any time of the year. From near the Eastman Creek Rest Area south of Kinaskan Lake on the Stewart–Cassiar Highway ,

738-490: Is extremely hardy to low temperatures, provided the plant is in a state of winter dormancy . Throughout the greater part of its range, white spruce routinely survives and is undamaged by winter temperatures of −50 °C (−58 °F), and even lower temperatures occur in parts of the range. Boreal Picea are among the few extremely hardy conifers in which the bud primordia are able to survive temperatures down to −70 °C, −94 °F. Especially important in determining

820-701: Is not characteristic, except perhaps on shallow mesic organic soils in Saskatchewan and in association with black spruce on organic soils in central Yukon. Podzolized, brunisolic, luvisolic, gleysolic, and regosolic (immature) soils are typical of those supporting white spruce throughout the range of the species. Soils supporting white spruce are most commonly Alfisols or Inceptisols. In the podzol region of Wisconsin, white spruce occurs on loam podzols, podzolized gley loams, strongly podzolized clays, gley-podzol clays, stream-bottom soils, and wood peat. Moist sandy loams also support good growth. On sandy podzols, it

902-551: Is obviously a factor in determining distributions of northern flora . Halliday and Brown suggested that white spruce's northern limit corresponds "very closely" with the July mean monthly isotherm of 10 °C in Ungava, but that the northern limit west of Hudson Bay was south of that isotherm. Other climatic factors that have been suggested as affecting the northern limit of white spruce include: cumulative summer degree days, position of

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984-494: Is overlain by the 3.1-million-year-old Spectrum Formation which is exposed along the Mess Creek Escarpment on the western side of the plateau and at the southern and eastern ends of the plateau. This geological formation largely consists of comendite, pantellerite and pantelleritic trachyte which are in the form of lava domes and lava flows, as well as minor breccia and ash flow deposits. Spectrum trachyte flows on

1066-685: Is separated from Yagi Ridge by Nagha Creek valley. This roughly 10-kilometre-long (6.2-mile) and 6-kilometre-wide (3.7-mile) plateau lies at the southern end of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex which also includes the Big Raven Plateau to the north, as well as the Spectrum Range and the Arctic Lake Plateau to the south. This volcanic complex consists of a group of overlapping shield volcanoes , stratovolcanoes , lava domes and cinder cones that have formed over

1148-417: Is the forest/prairie interface through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the northern parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, central Michigan, northeastern New York, and Maine. Sargent and Harlow and Harrar also included Vermont and New Hampshire; and, while Dame and Brooks excluded New York and states further west, they included Massachusetts as far south as Amherst and Northampton, "probably the southern limit of

1230-744: Is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5 to 10 centimetres (2 to 4 in) across. The crown is narrow – conical in young trees, becoming cylindrical in older trees. The shoots are pale buff-brown, glabrous in the east of the range, but often pubescent in the west, and with prominent pulvini . The leaves are needle-like, 12 to 20 millimetres long, rhombic in cross-section, glaucous blue-green above (hence glauca ) with several thin lines of stomata , and blue-white below with two broad bands of stomata. The cones are pendulous, slender, cylindrical, 3 to 7 cm long and 1.5 cm wide when closed, opening to 2.5 cm broad. They have thin, flexible scales 15  mm long with

1312-567: Is tolerated by white spruce. Thrifty stands of white spruce in Manitoba have developed on soils of pH 7.6 at only 10 cm below the surface, and pH 8.4 at 43 cm below the surface; rooting depth in those soils was at least 81 cm. An abundant calcium supply is common to most white spruce locations in New York state. Chlorosis was observed in young white spruce in heavily limed nursery soils at about pH 8.3. Wilde gave 4.7 to 6.5 as

1394-557: Is too moist unless soil moisture is stagnant. Soil fertility holds the key not just to white spruce growth but to the distribution of the species. At least moderate fertility is needed for good growth, but white spruce occurs on many sites where nutrient deficiencies depress its growth more than that of black spruce, red spruce, Norway spruce, and the pines generally. Minimum soil-fertility standards recommended for white spruce sufficient to produce 126 to 157 m /ha of wood at 40 years are much higher than for pine species commonly planted in

1476-762: Is usually a minor species. Good development occurs on moist alluvium on the banks of streams and borders of swamps. White spruce makes good growth on well-drained lacustrine soils in Alberta Mixedwoods, on moderately-well-drained clay loams in Saskatchewan,, and on melanized loams and clays (with sparse litter and a dark-coloured organically-enriched mineral horizon) in the Algoma district of Ontario. White spruce becomes less accommodating of soil with increasing severity of climate. The distribution of white spruce in Labrador seems to depend almost entirely on

1558-514: The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming . It is also known as Canadian spruce , skunk spruce , cat spruce , Black Hills spruce , western white spruce , Alberta white spruce , and Porsild spruce . The white spruce is a large evergreen conifer which normally grows to 15 to 30 metres (50 to 100 ft) tall, but can grow up to 40 m (130 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in). The bark

1640-657: The Black Hills on the Wyoming–South Dakota boundary, on the Manitoba–North Dakota boundary, and at Shushan, New York. White spruce is the northernmost tree species in North America, reaching just north of 69°N latitude in the Mackenzie River delta. It grows between sea level and an elevation of 1,520 m (4,990 ft). Its northern distribution roughly correlates to the location of

1722-554: The Boreal , Subalpine, Montane, Columbia, Great Lakes –St. Lawrence, and Acadian Forest Regions, extending into every province and territory. On the west coast of Hudson Bay , it extends to Seal River , about 59°N, "from which the northward limit runs apparently almost directly north-west to near the mouth of the Mackenzie River , or about latitude 68°". Collins and Sumner reported finding white spruce within 13 km of

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1804-786: The Mess Lake Hot Springs 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) to the west in Mess Creek valley. As a part of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex, the Kitsu Plateau is underlain by the Stikinia terrane . This is a Paleozoic and Mesozoic suite of volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that accreted to the continental margin of North America during the Jurassic . The rocks of this terrane are exposed to

1886-599: The Nido and Spectrum formations which were deposited between 6 and 3 million years ago during the second magmatic cycle . The fifth oldest geological formation comprising the Kitsu Plateau is the Big Raven Formation which was deposited during the fifth magmatic cycle in the last 20,000 years. The Raspberry Formation is exposed on the lower northern, western and southwestern sides of the Kitsu Plateau. It has an elevation of less than 1,310 metres (4,300 feet) along

1968-727: The Shirasu-Daichi , which makes up almost all of southern Kyūshū , Japan , and the North Island Volcanic Plateau in New Zealand . Picea glauca Picea glauca (Moench) Voss., the White Spruce , is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in Canada and United States , North America. Picea glauca is native from central Alaska all through

2050-733: The Skeena Mountains in Cassiar Land District . Between the Boundary Ranges and the Kitsu Plateau is Mess Creek valley which extends more than 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the north where it separates the Zagoddetchino massif from the Big Raven Plateau in the east. The northern end of the plateau is bounded by Raspberry Pass which contains the east-flowing Bourgeaux Creek in the east and

2132-542: The early succession species. Wildfires typically occur every 60 to 200 years, although they have been known to occur as infrequently as every 300 years. White spruce will grow in USDA Growing Zones 3–7, but is not adapted to heat and humidity and will perform poorly in a hot climate. The tree attains its greatest longevity and growth potential in Zones 3–4. Wildlife such as deer, rabbits, and grouse browse

2214-416: The ovule , and insect damage. The average weight per individual seed varies from 1.1 mg to 3.2 mg. Each seed is clasped by a thin wing 2 to 4 times as long as the seed. Seed and wing are appressed to the cone scale. Embryo and megagametophyte are soft and translucent at first; later the endosperm becomes firm and milky white, while the embryo becomes cream-coloured or light yellow. At maturity,

2296-483: The tree line , which includes an isothermic value of 10 °C (50 °F) for mean temperature in July, as well as the position of the Arctic front ; cumulative summer degree days, mean net radiation, and the amount of light intensities also figure. White spruce is generally found in regions where the growing season exceeds 60 days annually. The southern edge of the zone in which white spruce forms 60% or more of

2378-942: The Arctic coast in the Firth Valley , Yukon, at about 69°30′ N, 139°30′ W. It reaches within 100 km of the Pacific Ocean in the Skeena Valley , overlapping with the range of Sitka spruce ( Picea sitchensis ), and almost reaching the Arctic Ocean at latitude 69° N in the District of Mackenzie , with white spruce up to 15 m high occurring on some of the islands in the Delta near Inuvik . The wide variety of ecological conditions in which 4 Quebec conifers, including white spruce, are able to establish themselves,

2460-472: The Arctic front in July, mean net radiation especially during the growing season, and low light intensities. Topography, soil conditions, and glaciation may also be important in controlling northern limits of spruce. The southern limit of distribution of white spruce is more complex. From east of the main range of coastal mountains in British Columbia, the southern continuous limit of white spruce

2542-552: The Kitsu Plateau are marked by steep cliffs forming the Mess Creek Escarpment , the southern side of Raspberry Creek valley and the northern side of Nagha Creek valley, respectively. At the Mess Creek Escarpment, the Kitsu Plateau rises more than 910 metres (3,000 feet) above Mess Lake in Mess Creek valley; Mess Lake has an elevation below 760 metres (2,500 feet) while the Mess Creek Escarpment reaches an elevation of more than 1,700 metres (5,500 feet). The plateau surface

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2624-544: The Kitsu Plateau are relatively thin compared to those forming the adjacent Spectrum Range but they are the most distal remnants of the main Spectrum Dome . These trachyte flows are overlain by alkali basalt of the Kitsu Member which is mainly exposed at the southern end of the Kitsu Plateau and along the western edge of the plateau. This alkali basalt is in the form of lava flows and likely originated from vents of

2706-595: The Kitsu Plateau which is subdivided into five geological formations , each being the product of a distinct period of volcanic activity. Volcanism on the plateau continued into the current Holocene epoch and created the Mess Lake Lava Field which contains small volcanic cones . The Kitsu Plateau is on the Tahltan Highland east of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains and west of

2788-626: The Kounugu lava flows comprising the Kitsu Plateau may have originated from Swarm Peak further to the east which issued lava that travelled westward; remains of the Swarm Peak eruptive centre are in the form of north-trending fissure swarms. Lava from the Swarm Peak eruptive centre is exposed along the Mess Creek Escarpment where it overlies till and glacial- fluvial gravel derived from the Armadillo Formation. The Kounugu Member

2870-547: The Lake States (Wilde 1966): 3.5% organic matter, 12.0 meq/100 g exchange capacity, 0.12% total N, 44.8 kg/ha available P, 145.7 kg/ha available K, 3.00 meq/100 g exchangeable Ca, and 0.70 meq/100 g exchangeable Mg. Forest floors under stands dominated by white spruce respond in ways that vary with site conditions, including the disturbance history of the site. Composition, biomass , and mineral soil physical and chemical properties are affected. In Alaska,

2952-507: The Mess Creek Escarpment and consists of flat-lying basaltic lava flows interbedded with scoria . More than 180 metres (590 feet) of Raspberry lava flows are exposed in the Mess Creek Escarpment, most of which were erupted from a shield volcano that formed on a Late Miocene erosion surface . These lava flows travelled westward into the ancestral valley of Mess Creek and originated from vents north of Raspberry Pass which were subsequently buried under younger volcanic deposits. A minimum age for

3034-487: The Mount Edziza volcanic complex; each cycle began with the effusion of alkali basalt and culminated with the eruption of lesser volumes of felsic magma. The two oldest geological formations comprising the Kitsu Plateau are the Raspberry and Armadillo formations which were deposited by volcanic eruptions during the first magmatic cycle between 7.5 and 6 million years ago. Overlying these two geological formations are

3116-529: The Spectrum Dome which have since been destroyed by erosion. The Big Raven Formation is the youngest and uppermost geological formation comprising the Kitsu Plateau, consisting of hawaiite and alkali basalt in the form of lava flows, lava bombs , agglutinate and air-fall tephra . These volcanic rocks were deposited by eruptions during the Holocene and mainly comprise the Mess Lake Lava Field, one of

3198-513: The Yukon Telegraph Trail are still passible, having been mostly overgrown since maintenance of the trail ended in 1936. The Kitsu Plateau can be accessed by float plane or helicopter, both of which are available for charter at the communities of Iskut and Dease Lake . Private aircraft are prohibited from landing on the Kitsu Plateau lava flows. Mess Lake is large enough to be used by float-equipped aircraft, but landing on it with

3280-502: The accumulation of organic layers (to greater thicknesses in mature stands of spruce than those in hardwood stands on similar sites) leads to decreased soil temperatures, in some cases leading to the development of permafrost. Acidity of the mineral soil sampled at an average depth of 17 cm in 13 white spruce stands on abandoned farmland in Ontario increased by 1.2 pH units over a period of 46 years. A considerable range of soil pH

3362-539: The approximate optimum range of pH for white spruce in Wisconsin, but optimum growth seems possible at pH levels up to 7.0 and perhaps higher. Alluvium on the floodplains of northern rivers shows pH levels from 5.0 to 8.2. High-lime ecotypes may exist, and in Canada Forest Section B8 the presence of balsam poplar and white spruce on some of the moulded moraines and clays seems to be correlated with

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3444-451: The character of the soil, and between the southwestern shores of Hudson Bay and the northeastern regions of Saskatchewan, white spruce is confined to very local physiographic features, characterized by well-drained or fertile soils. On dry, deep, outwash deposits in northern Ontario, both white spruce and aspen grow slowly. But, broadly, white spruce is able to tolerate considerable droughtiness of sites that are fertile, and no fertile site

3526-475: The closely related Engelmann spruce found further south in the Rocky Mountains. White spruce also hybridises readily with the closely related Sitka spruce where they meet in southern Alaska and northwestern British Columbia; this hybrid is known as Picea × lutzii . White spruce has a transcontinental range in North America. In Canada, its contiguous distribution encompasses virtually the whole of

3608-405: The considerable lime content of these materials, while calcareous soils are favourable sites for northern outliers of white spruce. Mature stands of white spruce in boreal regions often have well-developed moss layers dominated by feather mosses, e.g., Hylocomium splendens , Pleurozium schreberi , Ptlium crista-castrensis , and Dicranum , rather than Sphagnum . The thickness of

3690-474: The distribution is inhibited by white spruce's cold requirement. As an exotic, white spruce is widespread but uncommon. It was introduced into England and parts of continental Europe in or soon after the year 1700, into Denmark about 1790, and into Tasmania and Ceylon shortly before 1932. Nisbet noted that firmly-rooted white spruce served very well to stabilize windswept edges of woods in Germany. In

3772-544: The east, across western and southern/central Canada to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Quebec , Ontario and south to Montana , North Dakota , Minnesota , Wisconsin, Michigan, Upstate New York and Vermont, along with the mountainous and immediate coastal portions of New Hampshire and Maine, where temperatures are just barely cool and moist enough to support it. There is also an isolated population in

3854-474: The far north, the total depth of the moss and underlying humus is normally between 25 and 46 cm (10 and 18 in), although it tends to be shallower when hardwoods are present in the stand. White spruce grows in soils with pH values of 4.7–7.0, although they have been found in soils as acidic as 4.0 in subalpine fir forests in the Northwest Territories. A presence of calcium in

3936-506: The foliage during the winter. White spruce occurs on a wide variety of soils, including soils of glacial, lacustrine, marine, and alluvial origins; overlying basic dolomites, limestones and acidic Precambrian and Devonian granites and gneisses; and Silurian sedimentary schists, shales, slates, and conglomerates. The wide range of textures accommodated includes clays, even those that are massive when wet and columnar when dry, sand flats, and coarse soils. Its occurrence on some organic soils

4018-536: The historic Yukon Telegraph Trail extends about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) west to the Little Iskut River. From there, it enters Mount Edziza Provincial Park and continues another 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) west along Bourgeaux Creek through Raspberry Pass. The telegraph trail then continues to the northwest through Raspberry Creek valley along the northern edge of the Kitsu Plateau for about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) to Mess Creek valley. Only short segments of

4100-487: The largest provincial parks in British Columbia. Hunting, camping, fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing and nature studying are some of the activities available in Mount Edziza Provincial Park. Wildlife in the area includes moose , caribou , mountain goats , stone sheep , wolves , bears , squirrels , owls , ptarmigans , ravens , gyrfalcons , grouse and migratory songbirds . The climate

4182-474: The last 7.5 million years. It contains four central volcanoes along its north–south trending axis; from north to south they are Mount Edziza , Ice Peak , Armadillo Peak and the Spectrum Range. As a part of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex, the Kitsu Plateau is drained entirely by streams within the Stikine River watershed . The only named stream on the plateau is Kitsu Creek which originates on

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4264-527: The late summer or early fall of the year of formation. Cones open at moisture contents of 45% to 70% and specific gravities of 0.6 to 0.8. Weather affects both the initiation and pattern of seed dispersal, but cone opening and the pattern of seed dispersal can vary among trees in the same stand. Even after dispersal has begun, cold, damp weather will cause cone scales to close; they will reopen during dry weather. Most seed falls early rather than late, but dispersal may continue through fall and winter and even into

4346-500: The low viscosity of the lava and the small amount of trapped gases. The resulting sheet lava flows may be extruded from linear fissures or rifts or gigantic volcanic eruptions through multiple vents characteristic of the prehistoric era which produced giant flood basalts . Multiple successive and extensive lava flows cover the original landscape to eventually form a plateau, which may contain lava fields , cinder cones , shield volcanoes and other volcanic landforms . In some cases,

4428-645: The more than 4-kilometre-in diameter (2.5-mile) Armadillo Peak caldera northeast of the Kitsu Plateau. Overlying the Armadillo Formation is the Kounugu Member which is the only stratigraphic unit of the Nido Formation comprising the Kitsu Plateau. It consists of basaltic lava flows, flow breccia and agglutinate which were erupted 4.4 million years ago from at least four eruptive centres; these eruptive centres have since been deeply eroded and buried under younger volcanic deposits. At least some of

4510-408: The moss–organic layer commonly exceeds 25 cm in the far north and may approach twice that figure. The mosses compete for nutrients and have a major influence on soil temperatures in the rooting zone. Permafrost development in parts of Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories is facilitated by the insulative organic layer (Viereck 1970a, b, Gill 1975, Van Cleve and Yarie 1986). White spruce

4592-439: The nearest seed source. The root system of white spruce is highly variable and adaptable, responding to a variety of edaphic factors, especially soil moisture , soil fertility , and mechanical impedance. On soils that limit rooting depth, the root system is plate-like, but it is a common misconception to assume that white spruce is genetically constrained to develop plate-like root systems irrespective of soil conditions. In

4674-447: The next growing season. Seed dispersal occurs mainly in late summer or early fall. White spruce seed is initially dispersed through the air by wind. Both the initiation and pattern of seed dispersal depend on the weather, but these can vary among trees in the same stand. Small amounts of white spruce seed are normally dispersed beyond 100 m from the seed source, but exceptionally seeds have been found more than 300–400 m from

4756-836: The northern Atlantic Ocean region. This region, known as the Thulean Plateau , is generally believed to have been broken up by the foundering of the Earth's crust to form the present ocean basin . Earth features numerous subaerial and submarine volcanic plateaus, such as the Columbia River Plateau (subaerial) and the vast Ontong Java Plateau (submarine). Pyroclastic plateaus are produced by massive pyroclastic flows . They are underlain by pyroclastic rocks : agglomerates , tephra , volcanic ashes cemented into tuffs , mafic or felsic . Pyroclastic plateaus are also called ignimbrite plateaus. Examples include

4838-651: The northern edge of continuous forest in central Canada at Ennadai Lake, about 60°45′ N, 101°’W, just north of the northwest corner of Manitoba. Bryson et al. noted that the forest retained "the same general characteristics as when it was first described [by Tyrrell ] in 1896". Collins and Sumner reported finding white spruce within 13 km of the Arctic coast in the Firth valley, Yukon, at about 69°30′ N, 139°30′ W, and Sargent noted that white spruce in Alaska "reached Behring Strait in 66°44′ N". Climate, especially temperature,

4920-490: The northern flank of Kitsu Peak in the Spectrum Range and flows northwest then north into Mess Creek, a tributary of the Stikine River. Several small unnamed streams flow into Kitsu Creek and the neighbouring valleys of Mess Creek, Raspberry Creek and Nagha Creek; Raspberry Creek drains into Mess Creek while Nagha Creek drains into Kitsu Creek just northeast of Mess Lake . The western, northern and southern edges of

5002-658: The northwest-flowing Raspberry Creek in the west. Between the Kitsu Plateau and the Skeena Mountains is Artifact Ridge and the Little Iskut River , the latter of which flows north in a north–south trending valley and then flows southeast towards the Skeena Mountains into the Iskut River . In the southeast, the Kitsu Plateau is surrounded by the Spectrum Range while in the south the plateau

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5084-476: The numeronym ML-3, is the youngest and southernmost eruptive centre of the Mess Lake Lava Field. It lies on the steep southern slope of the Kitsu Plateau inside Nagha Creek valley and has been described as a pyroclastic cone or a conical explosion crater. The Kitsu Plateau is subdivided into at least five geological formations , each being the product of a distinct period of volcanic activity. These periods of volcanic activity occurred during three magmatic cycles of

5166-493: The nursery, or naturally in the forest, white spruce usually develops several long 'running' roots just below the ground surface. The structure of the tracheids in the long lateral roots of white spruce varies with soil nitrogen availability. White spruce can live for several hundred years, with an estimated average lifespan of 250 to 300 years. Slow-growing trees in rigorous climates are also capable of great longevity. White spruce 6 to 10 m (20 to 33 ft) high on

5248-828: The plateau was adopted 2 January 1980 on the National Topographic System map 104G/10 after being submitted to the BC Geographical Names office by the Geological Survey of Canada . It means northern lights in the Tahltan language and was likely chosen due to the plateau's association with Kitsu Creek and Kitsu Peak whose names were also adopted 2 January 1980 on the National Topographic System maps 104G/10 and 104G/7, respectively. The Kitsu Plateau lies at

5330-552: The range except the southernmost and southeasternmost parts. By itself, or with black spruce and tamarack ( Larix laricina ), white spruce forms the northern boundary of tree-form growth. White spruce up to 15 m in height occur at 69°N on islands in the Mackenzie Delta near Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Hustich (1966) depicted Picea spp. as forming the northernmost limit of tree growth in North America. The arctic or northern timberline in North America forms

5412-472: The response of white spruce to low temperatures is the physiological state of the various tissues, notably the degree of "hardening" or dormancy. A natural progression of hardening and dehardening occurs in concert with the seasons. While different tissues vary in ability to tolerate exposure to stressful temperatures, white spruce, as with woody plants in general, has necessarily developed sufficient winter hardiness in its various tissues to enable them to survive

5494-553: The season. However, the species is held in high regard in the Belgian peat region, where it grows better than do the other spruces. White spruce is a climax canopy tree in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. It generally occurs on well-drained soils in alluvial and riparian zones , although it also occurs in soils of glacial and lacustrine origin. The understory is dominated by feather mosses ( Hylocomium splendens , Pleurozium schreberi , Ptilium crista-castrensis ) and fork mosses , and occasionally peat moss . In

5576-509: The shore of Urquhart Lake, Northwest Territories, were found to be more than 300 years old. The bark of mature white spruce is scaly or flaky, grey-brown or ash-brown, but silvery when freshly exposed. Resin blisters are normally lacking, but the Porsild spruce Picea glauca var. porsildii Raup has been credited with having smooth resin-blistered bark. White spruce bark is mostly less than 8 mm and not more than 9.5 mm thick. Isorhapontin can be found in spruce species such as

5658-441: The soil is common to white spruce found in northern New York. White spruce most commonly grows in the soil orders of Alfisols and Inceptisols . Soil properties such as fertility, temperature, and structural stability are partial determinants of the ability of white spruce to grow in the extreme northern latitudes. In the northern limits of its range, white spruce is the climax species along with black spruce; birch and aspen are

5740-444: The source of lava flows that travelled westward towards the Mess Creek Escarpment. The oldest cone, sometimes referred to by the numeronym ML-1, is at the northern end of the lava field while the second oldest cone, ML-2, is at the southern end of the lava field. Both cones are covered by tundra vegetation and have been slightly rounded by erosion, although their craters are still recognizable. The Ash Pit , sometimes referred to by

5822-469: The south and southwest where they are largely buried under landslide and colluvium deposits, as well as stream gravel, outwash and braided channel deposits. Minor exposures of Cretaceous – Paleocene sedimentary rocks assigned to the Sustut Group are present in the mouth of Nagha Creek valley at the southwestern end of the Kitsu Plateau and are in the form of conglomerates , sandstones , arkoses , siltstones , shales or minor coal . The name of

5904-446: The southern end of Mount Edziza Provincial Park , a protected area founded in 1972 to showcase the volcanic landscape. This remote wilderness area of northwestern British Columbia is not accessible by motorized vehicles to help protect the very sensitive environment. Instead, access is mainly via aircraft or unmaintained hiking trails that cross creeks. Mount Edziza Provincial Park covers 266,180 hectares (657,700 acres), making it one of

5986-490: The species" in that area. Nisbet gave the range of white spruce as extending to "Carolina", but he did not recognize red spruce as a species and presumably included it with white spruce. Towards the southern parts of its range, white spruce encounters increasingly effective ecological competition from hardwoods , some of which may reinforce their growth-rate or sprouting competitiveness with allelopathic depredation of coniferous regeneration . Further southward extension of

6068-695: The testa darkens rapidly from light brown to dark brown or black. Mature seeds "snaps in two" when cut by a sharp knife on a firm surface. White spruce cones reach their maximum size after 800 GDD . Cone moisture content decreases gradually after about 1000 GDD. Cone colour also can be used to help determine the degree of maturation, but cones may be red, pink or green. Collection and storage dates and conditions influence germination requirements and early seedling growth. A bushel (35 L) of cones, which may contain 6500 to 8000 cones, yields 6 to 20 ounces (170 to 570 g) of clean seed. Seed dispersal begins after cone scales reflex with cone maturation in

6150-425: The three Big Raven lava fields of the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. Alkali basalt flows from the two oldest pyroclastic cones in the Mess Lake Lava Field, ML-1 and ML-2, most likely cascaded over the Mess Creek Escarpment into Mess Creek valley, but no evidence of this phenomenon has been found on or below the escarpment. The Ash Pit, which may be the youngest eruptive centre of the entire Mount Edziza volcanic complex,

6232-422: The time of their eruption as evidenced by their extreme persistence and relatively narrow thicknesses; individual basalt flows are normally less than 3 metres (9.8 feet) thick. The source of these flows was probably a cluster of vents further to the north called Sezill Volcano which may have been active prior to the onset of Armadillo volcanism. In contrast, the air-fall pumice and ash flows probably originated from

6314-549: The timing of Raspberry volcanism is 7.4–6.2 million years. Basaltic lava flows of the 6.3-million-year-old Armadillo Formation are exposed on the northern side of the plateau and along the Mess Creek Escarpment on the western side of the plateau where they overlie basaltic lava flows of the Raspberry Formation. Armadillo basalt flows are interbedded with air-fall pumice and ash flows of trachytic and comenditic compositions and were highly fluid and mobile at

6396-793: The total stand corresponds more or less to the July isotherm of 18 °C (64 °F) around the Great Lakes; in the Prairie Provinces its limit is north of this isotherm. During the summer solstice , day length values range from 17 hours at its southern limits to 24 hours above the Arctic Circle . One of the hardiest conifers, white spruce in parts of its range withstands mean daily January temperature of −6.7 °C (19.9 °F) and extreme minimum temperatures as low as −56.5 °C (−69.7 °F); minimum temperatures of −50 °C (−58 °F) are general throughout much of

6478-406: The tundra beyond the limits of spruce, the hardwoods are usually no more than scrub. Spruce characteristically occurs in fingers of tree-form forest, extending far down the northern rivers and as scattered clumps of dwarfed "bush" spruce on intervening lands. In Manitoba, Scoggan noted that the northernmost collection of white spruce was at latitude 59°48’N, but Bryson et al. found white spruce in

6560-773: The white spruce. P. glauca has three different genomes; a nuclear genome, a mitochondrial genome, and a plastid (i.e. chloroplast) genome. The large (20 Gbp) nuclear genome of P. glauca (genotype WS77111) was published in 2015, and the organellar (plastid and mitochondrial) genomes (genotype PG29) were published in SD Jackman et al. 2015. The plastid genome of P. glauca (genotype WS77111) has also been published. Several geographical varieties have been described, but are not accepted as distinct by all authors. These comprise, from east to west: The two western varieties are distinguished by pubescent shoots, and may be related to extensive hybridisation and intergradation with

6642-760: Was noted by Lafond, but white spruce was more exacting than black spruce . In the United States, the range of white spruce extends into Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Alaska, where it reaches the Bering Strait in 66°44′ N" at Norton Bay and the Gulf of Alaska at Cook Inlet. Southern outliers have been reported in southern Saskatchewan and the Cypress Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan and southeastern Alberta, northwestern Montana, south-central Montana, in

6724-415: Was the source of a 6.5-kilometre-long (4.0-mile) and 2.5-kilometre-wide (1.6-mile) hawaiitic air-fall tephra deposit that extends to the north-northeast on the Kitsu Plateau. The Ash Pit was also the source of a hawaiitic lava flow that travelled 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) to the northwest through Nagha Creek valley towards Mess Lake. Residual heat from The Ash Pit eruption may have resulted in the formation of

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