Stop 2:
Gallagher's Canyon LayerCake Hill, Pinnacle Rock, Hike to Bottom of Canyon

(Map of Stops 2 and 3)
We will continue along K.L.O. road into East Kelowna along McCulloch Road until we reach Gallagher's Canyon Golf Course 6.2 km past stop 1.  We will continue for another 1.8 km past Pinnacle Golf Course until we reach the end of Pinnacle Way.  We will park here and spend the greatest portion of the day observing some of the most fascinating geologic features of the area.

We will be observing the unique layering of Layer Cake Hill, Pinnacle Rock, rock deformation and features created by meltwater erosion.

We will also observe a fault zone and try to correlate rocks from one side of the canyon to the other, and possibly try panning for gold.

This is also the site for our lunch break after a hike to the bottom of the canyon.

From our vantage point at the edge of the canyon we have a tremendous view of Layer Cake Hill and Pinnacle Rock.
This fascinating and puzzling feature is over 210 meters high and shows at least 32 "layers".  At first glance, one might assume that these are sedimentary layers, but upon closer inspection, one discovers that these are in fact andesitic igneous rocks.  Their origin is a question of debate amongst local geologists.  Some think that the layering represents several flows of lava, but others suggest that vertical cracks that cut across the layers indicate a single cooling unit.

Whatever the origin, it is known that this type of layering in this type of rock has never been recorded anywhere else in the world.

During the Eocene, compressional mountain building forces produced folding and faulting of the layers in Layer Cake Hill as shown in the photo below.

Pinnacle Rock is most likely an erosional remnant carved by meltwater from a tributary to Mission Creek after deglaciation.

    Folded Sandstone

From here we will hike to the bottom of Gallagher's Canyon to observe the features caused by the erosion by Mission Creek since the end of glaciation.

We will stop for lunch at this point as there are numerous places to explore and nice spots to eat creekside before taking the 20 minute hike back to the top of the canyon.  If time permits we will first hike to the lower reaches of the canyon and try our luck at panning for gold!
 
 

   Exposed Portion of Rutland Aquifer on North side of Mission Creek
  (probable source of most of the placer gold deposits downstream)

      Cross sectional view of Rutland Aquifer
 

The Rutland Aquifer is an extensive gravel bed about 100 meters thick that is sandwiched between layers of glacial till, silt, and clay and glacial drift.

This is thought to be a fairly large aquifer but water quality is not uniform throughout.  Some areas contain high concentrations of manganese and iron (which is the reason for the reddish appearance of the outcrop in the above photo).

This aquifer is the main source of residential water as well as an important source for agricultural irrigation in the area with an average monthly withdrawal of about 680 million litres during the summer.
 
 

DAY 1 OVERVIEW

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