Download Unit 2 Chapter 2

Unit 2 Chapter 2
Canada’s Physical Geography
Canada’s Landform Regions
• Canada is so large that geographers have divided it into eight different
regions to make it easier to study.
• A region is an area that is defined on the basis of the presence or
absence of certain characteristics.
• Geographers classify landform regions according to:
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Age of rock
Type of rock
Relief
Gradient
Process that has shaped the area
The Landform Regions of Canada
Image in text book Unit 2: Chapter 2 Landform Regions page 27.
Canadian Shield
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The rocks of the Canadian Shield are about four billion years old.
Throughout its history, the Shield has undergone many changes.
Most of the Shield has thin, acidic soils called podzols.
This region is mostly covered with coniferous forests with a few area
suited for agriculture.
• Covers Central Canada: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec,
Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Appalachian Mountains
• It is thought they were formed about 375 million years ago when the North
American Plate and the Eurasian Plate collided during the formation of the
supercontinent Pangaea.
• These mountains have been worn down by ice and water over the years.
Their typical height is 1000 m.
• The vegetation is a mix of coniferous and deciduous forest. With
coniferous trees populating the cooler north.
• The region covers most of Atlantic Canada.
Western Cordillera
• This region is made up of a series of parallel mountain ranges – The
Coast Mountains, the Columbia Mountains, and the Rocky Mountains,
separated by extensive plateaus.
• The height of many of these mountains reaches over 3000 m.
• The city of Vancouver is built on a large delta, rich soils deposited by the
Fraser River as it empties into the ocean.
• This region includes British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and part of Alberta.
Innuitian Mountains
• In the Far North, the Innuition Mountains have rugged peaks that rise over
2000 m with steep sided valleys.
• These mountains include Ellesmere Island.
• They are younger than the Appalachians, so erosion has not yet worn
down their summits.
• This area is too cold for trees to survive.
Arctic Lowlands
• To the south of the Innuitians are the Arctic Lowlands, a region of upland
plateau surfaces and lowland plains.
• This is a region of tundra, and treeless plain, with a cold, dry climate and
poorly drained soil.
• A short growing season allows for only sparse vegetation of lichens and
moss.
• Most of the Arctic Lowlands are located in Nunavut.
Interior Plains
• Between the Shield and the Western Cordillera is an extensive area of
plain that was created when island seas receded.
• Erosion carved out three prairie plains separated by two long
escarpments.
• In parts of the Plaines, the soil is more than 25 cm deep. This black earth
is known as chernozem, and is ideal for growing wheat.
• The Plains cover most of Alberta, and large sections of Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories.
Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands
• To the south of the Shield, The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands is
another region of plain.
• When the Champlain Sea waters retreated many years ago, the area was
left nearly level with an excellent base for the formation of a fertile soil
called brown earth.
• The Lowlands stretch from southwestern Ontario along the Great Lakes
and the St. Lawrence River to the mouth of the Saguenay River in
Quebec.
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• The Hudson Bay Lowlands region is a low area within the Shield with
accumulations of Paleozoic rocks to a depth of 2000 m.
• The land is mainly flat and poorly drained with recent coverings of
materials from seas, rivers, and glaciers.
• The soil in his area is generally a mix of tundra and podzols, leading to the
growth of swamp forests.
• The Lowlands are located in northern Ontario and Manitoba.