Editing Coast Mountains (section)

==Geography==
The Coast Mountains consists of three subdivisions known as the [[Pacific Ranges]], the [[Kitimat Ranges]], and the [[Boundary Ranges]]. The Pacific Ranges are the southernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains, extending from the lower stretches of the [[Fraser River]] to [[Bella Coola, British Columbia|Bella Coola]]. Included in this subdivision is four of the five major coastal icecaps in the southern Coast Mountains. These are the largest temperate-latitude icecaps in the world and fuel a number of major [[river]]s. Other than logging and a large ski resort at the [[resort town]] of [[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]], most of the land in the range is completely undeveloped. [[Mount Waddington]], the highest mountain of the Coast Mountains, lies in the [[Waddington Range]] of the Pacific Ranges.

Just north of the Pacific Ranges lies the central subdivision known as the Kitimat Ranges. This subdivision extends from the [[Bella Coola River]] and [[Burke Channel]] in the south to the [[Nass River]] in the north.

[[File:A040, Coast Mountains, Alaska Panhandle, USA, 2002.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kakuhan Range]] between Juneau and Haines, Alaska]]
The third and northernmost subdivision of the Coast Mountains is the [[Boundary Ranges]], extending from the Nass River in the south to the [[Kelsall River]] in the north. It is also the largest subdivision of the Coast Mountains, spanning the British Columbia-Alaska border and northwards into [[Yukon]] flanking the west side of the [[Yukon River]] drainage as far as [[Champagne Pass]], north of which being the [[Yukon Ranges]]. The Boundary Ranges include several large icefields, including the [[Juneau Icefield]] between [[Juneau, Alaska]] and [[Atlin Lake]] in British Columbia, and the [[Stikine Icecap]], which lies between the lower [[Stikine River]] and the [[Whiting River]].

Because the Coast Mountains are just east of the [[Pacific Ocean]], they have a profound effect on British Columbia's climate by forcing moisture-laden air off the Pacific Ocean to rise, dropping heavy rainfalls on the western slopes where lush forests exist.<ref name="SD"/> This precipitation is among the heaviest in North America.<ref name="SD"/> The eastern slopes are relatively dry and less steep and protect the [[British Columbia Interior]] from the Pacific weather systems, resulting in dry warm summers and dry cold winters.<ref name="SD"/>

Beyond the eastern slopes is a {{convert|154635|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} plateau occupying the southern and central portions of British Columbia called the [[Interior Plateau]]. Included within the Interior Plateau is a coalescing series of layered [[flood basalt]] lava flows. These sequences of fluid [[volcanic rock]] cover about {{convert|25000|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of the Interior Plateau and have a volume of about {{convert|1800|km3|mi3|abbr=on}}, forming a large [[volcanic plateau]] constructed atop of the Interior Plateau. North of the Interior Plateau on the range's northeastern slopes lies a huge mountainous area known by geographers as the [[Interior Mountains]], which includes the neighbouring [[Skeena Mountains|Skeena]], [[Cassiar Mountains|Cassiar]] and [[Hazelton Mountains]].