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LANDFORM REGIONS OF CANADA
• Canada is divided into
seven landform
regions:
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Western Cordillera
Interior Plains
Canadian Shield
Great Lakes - St.Lawrence
Lowlands
Appalachians
Arctic and Hudson Bay
Lowlands
Innuitian Mountains
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
Google Earth Vancouver Island
Coastal Mountains
The West Coast Mountains
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VERY TALL PEAKS
VOLCANIC
MANY FIORDS
IN SOME AREAS, THE SEA
OFFERS THE BEST WAY TO GET
AROUND
COMMUNITIES IN VALLEYS ON
SHORELINES
WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
• Subduction zone
• Oceanic plate sliding
under continental
plate
• Prone to
earthquakes
WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
• SOME VOLCANOES
MORE RECENT THAN
OTHERS
• MOUNTAINS COVERED
IN LUSH FORESTS
WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
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INDUSTRIES TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THE
RESOURCES AND
LANDFORMS OF THE
AREA
WHISTLER ATTRACTS A
SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF
….
WEST COAST EXTREME
• WHY WOULD EARLY
SETTLERS HAVE
FOUND THIS REGION
DIFFICULT TO CROSS?
• WHAT WOULD
DISCOURAGE
SETTLERS FROM
REMAINING IN THIS
REGION?
THE INTERIOR PLATEAUX
• A HIGHLAND FLAT
AREA
• THE INTERIOR OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA IS
A MIXTURE OF
MOUNTAIN RANGES
AND HIGH FLATLAND
AREAS
INTERIOR PLATEAUS
• DESCRIBE
TWO THINGS
ABOUT THIS
LANDSCAPE
USING THE
IMAGE TO
THE LEFT
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
The Interior Plateaux
• Tourism is a big
industry
• What types of
tourist activities
would take place
here?
The Rockies
THE ROCKIES
• CANADA’S 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?
Lake Louise
• This is one of Canada’s
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?
Unlike flat regions, mountains are known for fast-flowing
rivers which gouge steep valleys in the landscape
In what ways do the climate and vegetation change as
you go up the mountainside?
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?
Interior Plains
The Interior Plains (Prairies)
•
Once the bed of a huge sea between the Canadian Shield and the Rockies
•
Mostly flat
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Composed of sedimentary rocks
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Highly suitable for farming where climate offers the right conditions
The Interior Plains
A typical huge prairie farm.
The Prairies
• Known for its
relatively dry
climate
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?
The Interior Plains Economy
• Agriculture is one of
the most important
activities in the
Interior Plains
• What other major
resource activity
takes place there?
Transport on the Prairies
Canada’s wheat basket
requires many
kilometers of rail lines
to deliver wheat to
Vancouver, Hudson
Bay and Thunder Bay
Canadian Shield
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
CANADIAN SHIELD
• Stretches from Arctic to
Great Lakes, from
Mackenzie delta to
Atlantic
• Soils are thin - a poor
choice for agriculture in
most places
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
Canadian Shield wildlife
Vegetation
on the Shield
• White patches
reveal the
extraction of
resources on
the Shield.
• What resource
is being
extracted?
Great Lakes - St. Lawrence
Lowlands
Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands
•
Most southerly and smallest landform region of Canada
•
Newest landform region
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Formed by the action of glaciers scraping away and re-depositing material
on the landscape
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Consists of lakes, valleys and rolling hills
Great Lakes - St. Lawrence
Lowlands
• Why would landforms
of this region favour
large scale settlement?
• Densely populated
• Many of Canada’s
largest cities
• What is meant by the
term ‘high density’?
Gt. Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands
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?
Other features of this region
• The image shows a
popular part of
Southern Ontario.
• Why is southern
Ontario a popular
tourist destination?
The Appalachians
APPALACHIANS
• How would you
describe to a friend
the land in this
image?
• This is part of the
Cabot Trail on Cape
Breton Island
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?
Nova Scotia
• The flatter land next
to the sea reveals
the location of the
old shoreline
New Brunswick
• Compare this
landscape to
southern Ontario
• What is similar and
what is different?
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?
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
Brodeur Peninsula - Baffin Island
• These are called
Hoodoos
• Do you think these
were formed by
wind, waves or
rivers?
Baffin Island Greenshield Glacier
• Continental glaciers or icefields
Shark Fjord
• This valley was carved out by a narrow band
of glacial ice cutting into the plateau on
either side
Labrador - Torngat Mountains
Ayr Lake - Baffin Island
• Very remote to
most Canadians
• Some mining
industries are
leaving a
permanent mark
on the landscape
District of Mackenzie
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
District of Mackenzie
• Why would
these
features be
called
‘kettles’?
• Where do
these ‘kettles’
drain out?