Canada

1
Canadas Physical Geography

• Canadas physical geography is as diverse as any
  country in the world!
• There are 3 major landform types found in Canada.
  They are
• The SHIELD
• The LOWLANDS
• The HIGHLANDS

2
The Canadian Shield

• Lakes, rocks, and forests

3
Where is the Canadian Shield?

• The Shield is Canadas largest landform region
  by far.

4
The Canadian Shield

• Formed 4 billion years ago by volcanism magma
  cooled and became IGNEOUS rock (granite)
• While the magma cooled, metallic minerals seeped
  into cracks these metals are part of Canadas
  mining industry (nickel, gold, silver)

5
The Canadian Shield

• The Shield has been eroding for billions of years
  by wind, rain, rivers, glaciers and other
  weathering processes
• Today, the Shield is mainly flat and rocky with
  lakes filling holes carved out by glaciers

6
The Canadian Shield

• glaciers scraped away much of the soil soils are
  thin and the granite is exposed as a result,
  farming does not occur on the Shield.
• The Shield is covered by coniferous forests
  (pine, spruce, cedar) which can survive the cold,
  harsh climate and thin soils.

7
The Canadian Shield

• Major industries
• Mining towns (Sudbury nickel)
• Forestry towns (Kirkland Lake)
• Pulp and paper towns (Ottawa-Hull)

8
The Canadian Shield

• Due to the wide network of lakes and rivers on
  the Shield, another major industry is the
  production of hydroelectric power
• Rivers are dammed to produce 60 of Canadas
  electricity

9
The Lowlands

• Sedimentary rocks, thick soils, and cities

10
The Lowland Regions

• Made up of 2 major regions
• Great Lakes/St. Lawrence lowlands
• Interior plains (the prairies)
• Plus the Hudson Bay/ Arctic Lowlands

11
Where are the Lowlands?
Hudson Bay Lowlands
Interior Plains
Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Lowlands
12
The Lowland Regions

• The erosion of the Canadian Shield and the
  Highlands created layers of sediment that settled
  in shallow tropical seas over millions of years,
  sedimentary rock formed.
• Within the layers of sediment, dead organisms
  (plants and animals) became trapped and fossilized

13
The Lowlands Interior Plains

• Characterized by generally flat but rolling
  landscape
• Thick, fertile soils covered by grassland
• Fossilized remains of ancient coral reefs,
  trapped in the sedimentary rock, transformed over
  millions of years into oil and gas deposits

14
The Lowlands Interior Plains

• Important to Canada because of
• Agriculture
• Wheat
• Cattle
• Oil and gas

15
The Lowlands Interior Plains

• Even though the land is relatively flat, there
  are a series of escarpments created by the
  differential erosion of glaciers
• Escarpments form when a harder rock layer that
  overlays a softer layer resists erosion

16
The Lowlands Great Lakes/St Lawrence Lowlands

• Gently rolling hills covered with mixed forest
  (deciduous and coniferous trees)
• Thick, fertile soils used for farming (especially
  tender fruit crops on the Niagara Escarpment)
• Dominated by URBANIZATION
• Location of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River
  Basin

17
The Lowlands Great Lakes/St Lawrence Lowlands

• The Great Lakes are located in basins that were
  gouged out by glaciers when the glaciers melted,
  they left huge lakes (even bigger than they are
  today!)

18
The Lowlands Great Lakes/St Lawrence Lowlands

• This region is the most southerly region in
  Canada
• It is well suited to farming because of its
  excellent soils and warm climate

19
The Lowlands Great Lakes/St Lawrence Lowlands

• The Niagara Escarpment
• Formed by differential erosion
• World famous for grapes that make wine other
  tender fruit crops include peaches and cherries
• Lake Ontario keeps the vineyards cool in the
  summer and warmer in the winter
• Niagara Falls produces a significant amount of
  hydroelectric power

20
The Lowlands Great Lakes/St Lawrence Lowlands
Toronto

• 50 of Canadas population lives in the Great
  Lakes/St Lawrence lowlands even though its only
  1.4 of Canadas land area
• The region is dominated by CITIES including
  Canadas 2 largest cities (Toronto Montreal)
• The region is Canadas manufacturing centre 70
  of Canadas manufacturing industries are located
  here

Montreal
21
The Lowlands Hudson Bay/ Arctic Lowlands

• This region is located around the southwestern
  shore of Hudson Bay
• It is a flat, low area covered by swampy forest
• The harsh climate does not permit farming a lot
  of the soil is permafrost (permanently frozen)

22
The Highlands
The Appalachians
The Innuitians
The Rockies

• Mountains, glaciers, and more mountains!

23
Where are the Highlands located?

• EAST of the Shield and Lowlands Appalachians
• WEST of the Shield and Lowlands Western
  Cordillera
• NORTH of the Shield and Lowlands Innuitians

24
The Highlands-- Appalachians

• North Americas oldest mountain range 300
  million years old!
• Sedimentary rock was uplifted and folded when the
  North American plate collided with Europe and
  northern Africa
• Millions of years of EROSION have made these
  mountains more like rounded, rolling hills

25
The Highlands-- Appalachians

• Sedimentary rocks are surrounded by igneous and
  metamorphic rocks (formed by volcanism)
• Sedimentary rock layers are rich in layers of
  coal coal mining is a major industry in the
  Appalachians
• The region is home to drowned coastlines
  excellent harbours for large cities

26
The Highlands-- Innuitians

• Canadas huge mountains in the Arctic formed 150
  million years ago
• Contain some igneous and metamorphic rock, but
  are mostly composed of folded SEDIMENTARY rock
• Barren, treeless mountains covered in snow and
  icy glaciers
• Mining doesnt occur due to the remote location
  in Canadas high Arctic

27
The Highlands Western Cordillera

• Canadas youngest mountains approximately 100
  million years old
• Made up of 3 distinct mountain ranges Coast
  Mountains, Columbia Mountains, and Rocky
  Mountains
• Formed by the collision of the Pacific plate and
  the North American plate
• The folding, faulting, and volcanic activity
  caused by the collision resulted in the ranges of
  the Western Cordillera

28
The Highlands Western Cordillera

• The north-south direction of the Western
  Cordillera makes transportation from the east to
  the west difficult only a few mountain passes
  allow railways and highways through the range
• The growth of the major cities in the region
  (Vancouver Victoria) are limited by the
  presence of the mountains
• Most of the Western Cordillera is lightly
  populated because its so mountainous

29
The Highlands Western Cordillera

• Outside of Vancouver Victoria, most people live
  in farming and mining towns in river valleys
• Mountain towns like Banff, Lake Louise, or Jasper
  have small populations but are very important
  tourist destinations
• Tourists come to see the spectacular scenery and
  the only remaining glaciers south of the Arctic.

30
Canadas Physiography

• Canadas diversity is found across the 3 landform
  types
• Canadian Shield
• Lowlands
• Highlands
• WHAT A COUNTRY!