LANDFORM REGIONS OF CANADA

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LANDFORM REGIONS OF CANADA

• Canada is divided into seven landform regions
• Western Cordillera
• Interior Plains
• Canadian Shield
• Great Lakes - St.Lawrence Lowlands
• Appalachians
• Arctic and Hudson Bay Lowlands
• Innuitian Mountains

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The Western Cordillera

• From West to East, the Western Cordillera is
  composed of three sub-regions, each one running
  from north to south
• The West Coast Mountains on the Pacific coast
• The Interior Plateaux in the middle
• The Rockies, bordering and crossing in to Alberta

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Google Earth Vancouver Island
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Coastal Mountains
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The West Coast Mountains

• VERY TALL PEAKS
• VOLCANIC
• MANY FIORDS
• IN SOME AREAS, THE SEA OFFERS THE BEST WAY TO GET
  AROUND
• COMMUNITIES IN VALLEYS ON SHORELINES

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WEST COAST MOUNTAINS

• Subduction zone
• Oceanic plate sliding under continental plate
• Prone to earthquakes

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WEST COAST MOUNTAINS

• SOME VOLCANOES MORE RECENT THAN OTHERS
• MOUNTAINS COVERED IN LUSH FORESTS

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WEST COAST MOUNTAINS

• INDUSTRIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES AND
  LANDFORMS OF THE AREA
• WHISTLER ATTRACTS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF .

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WEST COAST EXTREME

• WHY WOULD EARLY SETTLERS HAVE FOUND THIS REGION
  DIFFICULT TO CROSS?
• WHAT WOULD DISCOURAGE SETTLERS FROM REMAINING IN
  THIS REGION?

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THE INTERIOR PLATEAUX

• A HIGHLAND FLAT AREA
• THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA IS A MIXTURE OF
  MOUNTAIN RANGES AND HIGH FLATLAND AREAS

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INTERIOR PLATEAUS

• DESCRIBE TWO THINGS ABOUT THIS LANDSCAPE USING
  THE IMAGE TO THE LEFT

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The Interior Plateaux

• EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN THE MOUNTAINS, THERE ARE A
  NUMBER OF WELL KNOWN COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE
  FARM AND RANCH
• PLACES SUCH AS PENTICTON, KELOWNA AND GOLDEN BC
  ARE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES

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The Interior Plateaux

• Tourism is a big industry
• What types of tourist activities would take place
  here?

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The Rockies
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THE ROCKIES

• CANADAS LARGEST MOUNTAINS
• WHAT WOULD YOU TELL A FRIEND ABOUT ROCKIES
  VEGETATION AND CLIMATE?
• IF THE CAMERA POINTS NORTH, WHAT TIME OF DAY IS
  IT IN THE 2nd PICTURE?

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Lake Louise

• This is one of Canadas most favoured tourist
  spots - Chateau Lake Louise
• What is the flat surface in the foreground?
• What are the almost straight lines on the
  mountain slopes?

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Unlike flat regions, mountains are known for
fast-flowing rivers which gouge steep valleys in
the landscape
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In what ways do the climate and vegetation change
as you go up the mountainside?
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The Rockies are home to many alpine glaciers

• A narrow channel of ice which slides down a
  mountain.
• Snow accumulates at the top of the glacier/ melts
  at the bottom
• Where would you expect the deepest ice?
• What season is shown in this image?

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Interior Plains
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The Interior Plains (Prairies)

• Once the bed of a huge sea between the Canadian
  Shield and the Rockies
• Mostly flat
• Composed of sedimentary rocks
• Highly suitable for farming where climate offers
  the right conditions

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The Interior Plains

• A typical huge prairie farm.

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The Prairies

• Known for its relatively dry climate

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Vegetation on the Interior Plains

• Is this parkland or grassland
• What type of vegetation would you expect to see
  farther north where it is colder and damper?

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The Interior Plains Economy

• Agriculture is one of the most important
  activities in the Interior Plains
• What other major resource activity takes place
  there?

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Transport on the Prairies

• Canadas wheat basket requires many kilometers of
  rail lines to deliver wheat to Vancouver, Hudson
  Bay and Thunder Bay

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Canadian Shield
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The Canadian Shield

• Largest region in Canada
• Among the oldest known rocks on the planet
• Formed by volcanic activity, therefore mostly
  igneous rock
• Cold winters, warm summers, precipitation all
  year give it a distinctive type of vegetation

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CANADIAN SHIELD

• Stretches from Arctic to Great Lakes, from
  Mackenzie delta to Atlantic
• Soils are thin - a poor choice for agriculture in
  most places

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TYPICAL FEATURES OF THE CANADIAN SHIELD

• What does the vegetation tell you of the location
  of this part of the Shield?
• Name two typical features of the Shield shown by
  this picture

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Canadian Shield wildlife
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Vegetation on the Shield

• White patches reveal the extraction of resources
  on the Shield.
• What resource is being extracted?

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Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands
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Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Most southerly and smallest landform region of
  Canada
• Newest landform region
• Formed by the action of glaciers scraping away
  and re-depositing material on the landscape
• Consists of lakes, valleys and rolling hills

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Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Why would landforms of this region favour large
  scale settlement?
• Densely populated
• Many of Canadas largest cities
• What is meant by the term high density?

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Gt. Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands
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Southern Ontario Farming

• Much of this region is taken up with dairy
  farming
• What products are created in dairy farming?
• Why is dairy farming important to this area?

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Other features of this region

• The image shows a popular part of Southern
  Ontario.
• Why is southern Ontario a popular tourist
  destination?

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The Appalachians
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APPALACHIANS

• How would you describe to a friend the land in
  this image?
• This is part of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton
  Island

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The Maritimes

• While the Atlantic provinces have relatively poor
  economies, still many people want to live there.
• What features of Atlantic life would encourage
  people to live there?

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Nova Scotia

• The flatter land next to the sea reveals the
  location of the old shoreline

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New Brunswick

• Compare this landscape to southern Ontario
• What is similar and what is different?

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ARCTIC AND HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS

• Usual to think the Arctic has few if any plants
• During which two months would you expect to see
  the most Arctic growth?

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The Arctic - the most varied Canadian region

• This is the Brodeur peninsula of Baffin Island
• Describe the shape of the land, the amount and
  type of vegetation, the amount of water present

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Brodeur Peninsula - Baffin Island

• These are called Hoodoos
• Do you think these were formed by wind, waves or
  rivers?

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Baffin Island Greenshield Glacier

• Continental glaciers or icefields

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Shark Fjord

• This valley was carved out by a narrow band of
  glacial ice cutting into the plateau on either
  side

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Labrador - Torngat Mountains
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Ayr Lake - Baffin Island

• Very remote to most Canadians
• Some mining industries are leaving a permanent
  mark on the landscape

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District of Mackenzie
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District of Mackenzie

• What season is this?
• What evidence is there that this area experiences
  warm summers?
• Describe the nature of soil in this region

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District of Mackenzie

• Why would these features be called kettles?
• Where do these kettles drain out?

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