Ground Water Resources of British Columbia
Chapter 10 — Ground Water Resources of the Plateaus and Highlands Ground Water Regions
10.1.6 QUESNEL HIGHLAND
by
R.A. Dakin
PHYSIOGRAPHY
The Quesnel Highland lies on the western side of the Cariboo Mountains and east of the Fraser Plateau and extends from Bowron Lake on the north to Mahood Lake on the south (see Figure 10.7) It has a length of 160 km and a width of about 48 km. Two isolated remnants of the highland lie north of Two Sisters Mountain in the vicinity of Narrow Lake.
Figure 10.7 Physiographic map of Quesnel and Shuswap Highlands
In the Quesnel Highland there are upland areas which are remnants of a highly dissected plateau of moderate relief. These remnants rise gradually from about 1,500 m on the western side to over 2,000 m on the eastern side and become progressively more dissected in that direction. Two of the highest points are Mount Watt (2,520 m) and Mount Perseus (2,548 m). The Snowshoe Plateau east of Barkerville is a large remnant of the uplifted and dissected erosion surface of late Tertiary age.
GEOLOGY
The area in large part is underlain by closely folded schistose sedimentary rocks of Proterozoic and Lower Cambrian age containing infolds of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous and Permain age. There is a distinct relationship between topography and the type of underlying bedrock; notably, where limestone and quartzite formations form many of the high peaks.
Pleistocene ice covered most of the high areas and consequently, most summits are rounded, but cirques which developed on the northern sides during the late stage of glaciation have sharpened the profiles of the highest peaks. Valley glaciers truncated spurs and deposited glacial material over much of the area.
At the southern end of the Quesnel Highland and in the immediately adjoining areas, there are four or more volcanic vents within a 30 km radius of the south end of Clearwater Lake. All these volcanic features are of such recent age that subsequent erosion has hardly modified their original forms.
GROUND WATER RESOURCES
As with the Shuswap Highlands, yields from bedrock are generally low and in the major valleys where clean outwash sediments or alluvium is present, potential well yields are high, especially where there is a large river nearby. For example, the Quesnel River Salmon Hatchery, which has a 500 L/s well field, is located on a river terrace about 3 km downstream from Quesnel Lake (Piteau Associates, 1985). Hydraulic and water temperatures analyses have shown that this well field draws in relatively warm ground water that has entered the aquifer from beneath the lake.
In the mountainous region located east of Clearwater Lake, there are permeable, karstic, limestone formations and basalt interflows which have potential for yielding significant ground water. However, as this region is in a provincial park, it may never be utilized.
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