Birch Mountains kimberlite field the Phoenix and Legend pipes. The diatremes within the field include: Birch Mountains kimberlite field The Birch Mountains kimberlite field is a cluster of kimberlitic volcanic pipes or diatremes in north-central Alberta, Canada that were emplaced during a period of kimberlitic volcanism in the Late Cretaceous epoch. As of 2011, 8 diatremes had been discovered in the field, and diamonds and microdiamononds had been recovered during sampling programs. The Birch Mountain (BM) kimberlite field was discovered in 1998 and lies about north of Edmonton and northwest of Fort McMurray. It is part of the Northern Alberta kimberlite province, along with
Buffalo Head Hills kimberlite field in mudstones that are interbedded with some of the kimberlite deposits are consistent with the Late Cretaceous age. The BHH kimberlite pipes cover areas ranging from one to . They represent maar-style volcanoes which have a vertical-walled volcanic crater of explosive origin, surrounded by a low rim of ejecta and filled with water. Pyroclastic fall and surge are the two volcanic mechanisms of deposition. There are also deposits formed by hydraulic reworking of kimberlite from tephra cones and/or extra-crater fall and surge deposits. The pyroclastic fall deposits are poorly sorted and massive, while the surge deposits are better sorted, fine