Cobalt Lake-The Bugaboos-The Granite Spires

 

The Bugaboos consists of towering spires made of granite. Located in the snow and rain heavy "Columbia Wet Belt", this section of the Purcells is subject to heavy erosion and large, active glaciers. Originally covered in weaker rock, glaciation eventually revealed the granodiorite batholiths which form the group's distinctive spires. The surrounding rock is approximately 600 million to 1 billion years old, while the Bugaboo intrusion dates to 135 million years ago. The igneous intrusion cooled slowly, forming the crystalline structure of the hard granite found today.

Originally named the "Nunataks", the Bugaboo Spires were first noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s. Mining brought the first Europeans to the region with a small, ill-fated gold rush occurring in 1895 and 1896 near Bugaboo Falls. The area was prospected and staked, but the meager deposits turned out to be mostly pyrite and galena. The name "Bugaboo" originated from this rush; the term was used by prospectors for "dead-end".

Starting in the background, on the left of the painting is Snowpatch. Then the tops of the Howser Towers. Bugaboo Spire is the pointed peak above and left of Cobalt Lake, then Brenta Spire.

I brush down a layer of Paynes Grey over the peaks. As there are many layers of dark and light on the spires, I need to add layer after layer of various tones of the Paynes grey to capture the shadows of the rock. Patience needed again as the first layer dries. In the background, I am listening to Baba on CKUA. Incense is burning in the corner of the studio and the space heater is beating back the early morning chill.