lava

How many times have you been driving in British Columbia and the words "Boom. Lava" have come out of your mouth?  Don't over think it.  The answer is probably never unless you've been to the Anhuluut’ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga’Asanskwhl Nisga’a (a.k.a. Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park).

They were the exact words that came out of my mouth as we drove in from the north on the Cranberry Connector.  The site is pretty surreal, to be honest.  You're cruising along, enjoying typical northern BC forested landscape and then, well, boom, lava.  Lots of it.  The park is the site of BC's latest volcanic eruption, 250 years ago.  The lava that swept down, burning everything in it's path, also destroyed two villages, and sadly killed 2000 people.

What's left now is a landscape that looks lunar. The black lava is now covered in a fuzzy layer of lichens.  Few larger plants have yet to take hold of the minimal soil available, but there are brilliant spots of bright green saxifrage.  It's beautiful and a bit haunting.

In stark contrast to the black lava and ghostly lichens, the nearby Tseax River is an amazing turquoise.  Just before we left the area, we stopped in a section of park where the lava bordered some old growth forest and walked down to admire the incredible green-ness.

During the summer months, guided tours run from the Nisga'a visitors centre to the cone, something I'd really like to do when we visit again.  The park encompasses 179 ha of land north of Terrace, close to New Aiyansh. While this first visit was the final stop of our Easter weekend road trip to Stewart and Hyder, it would be a do-able day trip from Prince Rupert.

See here and here for more information on the park, tours and the history of the area.