Why does the built in flash pop up while shooting a landscape?

Camman

I have a new Canon 60D. While testing it out at about 7:00p.m. I focused on a tree that was about 150 feet away. When I depressed the shutter the flash popped up and fired. Why did that happen? I was shooing in full auto with a Canon 18-200mm zoom. I retried several times and the flash popped up each time. Since I don't need the flash how do I prevent this from happening and why does it happen?

PBked

Hi Camman,
The answer lies in your question. You are using full auto. In this mode, if the camera decides flash is needed then up it will pop and fire. Swap to "P" mode and get the benefit of auto shooting but the flash only popping up when you decide to release it.
Regards,
PBked

Camman

Thank you, PBked. I suspected that the answer might be what you said. I really appreciate the help.