Canadian Geography 1202

1
Canadian Geography 1202

• Chapter 3 Landforms

2
General Information

• 1.Canada has the largest coastline of any
  country in the world.
• 2. Canada has four basic types of landforms
• A. Canadian Shield
• B. Interior Plains
• C. Lowlands
• D. Mountain Rim

3
3. Canadian Shield

• Shield is outlined in Red !!

4
Canadian Shield

• - is the foundation of the Canadian land mass and
  is made of hard granite rock (bedrock) which
  contains some of the oldest rock in the world.

5

• - The four eras of our geological past are
• A. Cenozoic
• B. Mesozoic
• C. Palaeozoic
• D. Precambrian

6
Geologic Timeline
7
4.a. Rock Cycle

• Rock Cycle is a group of changes . Igneous rock
  can change into sedimentary rock or into
  metamorphic rock. Sedimentary rock into
  metamorphic or into igneous . Metamorphic into
  igneous or sedimentary rock.
• A. Igneous Rock is very hard , impervious rock
  formed from hot molten magma beneath the earths
  surface.

8

• B. Sedimentary Rock is rock composed of
  sediment , usually formed in layers.
• C. Metamorphic Rock is rock that has been
  transformed by heat or pressure beneath the
  earths surface.
• - Most of the Canadian Shield is formed from hard
  igneous rock ( common type is granite .) Granite
  is an impervious rock meaning that water cannot
  pass through it.

9
4.b. Composition of the Rock Cycle

• Rock
• A. Rocks are created from hot , melted magma that
  rises from beneath the earths crust.
• B. Molten rock cools, hardens and forms igneous
  rock.
• C. Igneous rock that is exposed to erosion and
  weathering is broken down into sediment.

10

• D. Under great pressure this sediment sticks
  together and becomes sedimentary rock.
• E. If sedimentary rock is exposed to heat and
  pressure it is transformed into metamorphic rock.
  This type of rock often contains many valuable
  mineral resources.

11
Rock Cycle
12
Rock Cycle
13
5. Topographic maps reading the landscape

• A. Topographic map is a map that uses grids and
  symbols to provide detailed information about
  human and physical features.

14
Topographic Map of St. Johns
15

• B. Area symbols are colored paterns that
  represent physical features . Ex. Lakes and woods.

16

• C. Line symbols represent linear features like
  roads and railways.

17

• D. Point symbols represent specific features
  like bridges and buildings.

18

• E. Easting is a reference on a map , drawn
  vertically from north to south , identified by
  the numbers displayed from west to east across
  the map.
• Eastings on the bottom (ex 47 and 48 )

19

• F. Northing is a series of reference lines on a
  map running east- west and identified by numbers
  increasing from south to north
• Northing is on the side (ex. 98 and 99)

20

• G. Grid Reference is the co-ordinates of the
  easting and the northing that identify a specific
  point. The easting is always given first. (ex.
  4798)

21

• H. Four figure grid reference useful for
  identifying a large feature or a grid square. Ex.
  School 7332

22

• I. Six figure grid reference useful for
  identifying a specific point.
• Ex. 829 543 for the red square.

23
6. Forces of Erosion

• - The elevation ( height above sea level ) of the
  Canadian Shield was once greater than it is
  today. It was once over 6000m high.
• - Today the elevation of the shield is between
  300 500m. The Shield was subjected to erosion
  and was worn away until it became a stable
  landmass.

24

• Erosion is the gradual wearing down of land or
  rock by a variety of natural forces.
• Forces of Erosion
• A. Temperature rocks expand with hot
  temperatures and contracts with cold
  temperatures. Constant change in temperature
  eventually weaken the rock , causing parts to
  break away into small pieces. (ex. Beach rocks in
  a beach fire )

25

• B. Running Water rainfall , running water and
  wave action eventually wear down the surface of
  the rock . As it weakens it begins to break away.

26

• C. Ice when water freezes in the cracks of
  rocks it expands , causing small pieces to break
  off. Glacial movement also wears away rock
  surfaces.

27

• D. Wind - wind action carries away small
  particles of the rock surface . Small rock
  particles carried in the wind also cause other
  rock to brake away on impact.

28

• E. Vegetation when vegetation takes root in
  small cracks , rocks are weakened . Small pieces
  of rock gradually break away.

29
7. The ICE Age

• - a period in our geological history that started
  about 1 million years ago and lasted up until
  10,000 years ago.
• - during this period, massive ice sheets , some
  up to 3km thick , covered most of Canada
• and the northern part of the United States.
• - the force of the moving ice eroded parts of
  the landscape.

30
Terms

• A. Glacier is a massive ice sheet formed during
  the ice age.

31

• B. Drumlin is an oval shaped hummock or hill
  left behind by a melting sheet of ice.

32

• C. Esker is a long ridge of material deposited
  by a melt water stream, it can extend for
  hundreds of kilometers.

33

• D. Moraine is a hill formed along the edge of a
  glacier . These would look similar to eskers but
  are actually formed in margins between glacial
  sheets.

34
8. The Interior Plains

• - As erosion wore away the Canadian Shield , the
  rock particles were carried westward and
  deposited in the Interior Plains causing the
  build-up of sedimentary rock.
• - the rock layers of the Interior Plains contain
  valuable mineral resources as well as fossils.

35
Interior Plains
36
9. Relief

• A. Relief is the shape , slope and altitude of
  the earths surface in relation to sea level.

37

• B. Contour Lines are lines on a topographic map
  that connect areas of the same elevation.

38

• C. Contour lines reveal the shape of the
  landscape
• - if lines are close together the land is steep
• - if lines are far apart there is a gentle slope

39

• D. Contour Interval is the difference between
  one contour line and another. The contour
  interval is always constant on a map.

40
Contour Interval

• What is the contour interval ?

41

• E. Bench Mark is the specific point locations
  on the earth for which the altitude above sea
  level has been determined . These are measuring
  points from which surveyors map the land.

42
10. Scales on Topographic Maps

• A. Scale is represented by a ratio scale.
• Ratio Scale- is a ratio that indicates that the
  distance on the ground is a number of times
  greater than the same distance on a map.
• Ex. 150,000 is the same as 1cm on the map
  equaling 50,000 cm on the ground.

43
B. Large Scale Maps

• - shows small areas
• - they tend to show more detail
• - 110,000 to 1 1,000,000 is the range for the
  scale of large maps
• - road maps are large scale maps

44
Large Scale Map
45
C. Small Scale Maps

• - show larger areas
• - show less detail
• - 1 1,000,000 to 1 10,000,000 is the range for
  the scale of small scale maps
• - a map of a country or a continent is a small
  scale map.

46
Small Scale Map
47
11. The Lowlands

• There are three Lowland Regions in Canada
• A. The Great Lakes St. Lawerence
• - is the smallest of the three regions
  (physically)
• - often considered Canadas heartland
• - most densely populated region of Canada

48

• - during the last Ice Age , sediments from the
  Canadian Shield were deposited in this region.
  Layers of limestone , sandstone and shale lie
  beneath the surface
• - the movement of ice sheets carved out the areas
  that are now the Great Lakes
• (originally they were much larger)
• - millions of tons of till or glacial sediment
  were deposited in this region. This provided
  excellent conditions for farming.

49
(No Transcript)
50

• B. The Hudson Bay
• found south of Hudson Bay
• flat layers of sedimentary rock rest on the
  Canadian Shield
• many valuable mineral are found here.

51

• C. The Arctic
• - scattered among islands of the far north
• - consists of sedimentary rock on top of the
  Canadian Shield
• - many valuable mineral resources are found here
• - ground remains frozen for much of the year.

52
12. The Mountain Rim

• Formation of the Mountain Rim
• - Approximately 2900 m below the surface of the
  earth is a hot form of semi-liquid rock that
  circulates in a process called convection.
• - Over time, a pressure is created through this
  process of convection and the surface of the
  earth cracks and creates plates. These plates are
  free to slowly move in specific directions.

53

• - If the plates move apart , magma or liquid
  rock moves to the surface , cools and forms new
  igneous rock.
• - If the plates move toward each other they will
  scrape or push on top of each other. The lighter
  plate is usually forced up over the heavier one
  . This movement often results in the folding of
  the lighter plate. This creates Fold Mountains.
  They are easy to identify because of the huge
  (folds ) or ripples in the rock structure.

54
Fold Mountains
55

• - When two plates come together and one plate
  that is pushed beneath the other, the lower plate
  will melt into the earths interior. The plate
  will be transformed into new metamorphic rock
  when it eventually rises and cools on the earths
  surface. This process is called subduction.

56
Subduction
57
13. Landform Regions of the Mountain Rim

• A. Western Cordillera
• - Young fold mountains that were created about
  65 million years ago.
• - They were formed as a result of the collision
  of the American and Pacific Plates ( Refer to
  diagram pg.44. )
• - many valuable minerals are found in these
  mountains

58

• - They consist of three ranges of mountains ,
  the Coastal Mountains , the Columbia Mountains,
  and the Rocky Mountains. They are located on the
  west coast of Canada in British Columbia and
  Alberta.

59
(No Transcript)
60
B. The Appalachians

• - they contain one of the oldest mountain
  systems in Canada
• - they were created when the American and
  European Plates collided about 300 million years
  ago
• - because the mountains are so old , erosion has
  worn then down and today they are rarely higher
  than 500m above sea level

61

• - Much of the landscape consists of smooth
  rolling hills and glacial valleys, some of which
  are excellent for farming
• - In some places, the glaciers have cut deep
  into the valleys, creating fiords as the land
  plunges into the sea.
• - The Appalachian Region is on the east coast of
  Canada.

62
C. The Innuitians

• - They are the least known mountains in Canada.
• - They were created through the folding and
  faulting of the earths crust between 225 and 70
  million years ago.
• - They are located in the far north of Canada.