today. The ultimate cause of this volcanism is still up for debate, however, the most widely accepted idea is that a back-arc basin behind the Cascadia subduction zone initiated the widespread and voluminous basaltic volcanism. Some centers erupted along pre-existing brittle fault systems while volcanism along its northern portion is most widely believed to have been related to a center of upwelling magma called the Anahim hotspot (similar to that associated with present-day Hawaii), creating the Rainbow, Ilgachuz and Itcha Range shield volcanoes which also in turn form part of the Anahim Volcanic Belt. The exact nature of the relationship between the Anahim hotspot and the Chilcotin Group is, however, unknown. Notable vents Volcanoes of the Chilcotin Group include: Alixton Creek Browns Lake Crows Bar Prentice Gulch Thaddeus Lake Alkali Lake Canoe Creek Dog Creek Leon Creek Lambly Creek Missezula Lake Nicola (Chester) Quilchena Creek West Kettle River Hydraulic Lake Chilcotin Creek Cone Lightning Peak Black Dome Mountain Skoatl Point Alasla Mountain Tin Cup Mountain Mount Begbie Forestry Hill Lone Butte See also Anahim Volcanic Belt Chilcotin Plateau Chilcotin Ranges Garibaldi Volcanic Belt List of volcanoes in Canada Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province Volcanism in Canada Volcanism in Western Canada Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field References External links The Cheslatta Lake suite:Miocene mafic, alkaline magmatism in central British Columbia Canadian Cascade Arc Plateaus of British Columbia Miocene volcanism Pliocene volcanism Pleistocene volcanism Volcanic belts Landforms of the Chilcotin