The Anahim hotspot was stationed in a tectonically complex region of the Chilcotin Plateau between 3.9 and 1.4 million years ago. This complexity may have given rise to interactions of the hotspot with pre-existing fracture systems, such that magma rose along normal faults to create a long north-south chain of volcanoes. The Itcha Range developed directly over the intersection whereas the Satah Mountain volcanic field developed along the more distal portions of the fracture system and away from the Itcha Range. A lack of extensive volcanic fields adjacent to the neighbouring Ilgachuz and Rainbow ranges might indicate an absence of fracture systems associated with those volcanoes.