Study Area and Description:

The area of Elfin Lakes to Mamquam Lake is in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Elfin Lakes is 12 kilometers east by northeast of the town of Brackendale, and approximately 15 kilometers northeast of the town of Squamish (see figure 1). The headwaters of Ring, Skookum and Zig Zag creek flow south out of the backside of Mount Garibaldi, The Gargoyles, Columnar Peaks, Opal Cone and Pyramid mountains. The supply of water for these creeks comes from the Diamond Head, Garibaldi and Lava glaciers. The areas surveyed in this project fall into to the sub-alpine and alpine environmental zones (Pojar and Mckinnon 1994). The total area surveyed in this project is the 11 square kilometers between Elfin Lakes and Mamquam Lake (see figure 2).