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The Cordillera Region
The Cordillera Region
• The Cordillera Region consists of the
Pacific Coastal Mountain Ranges and
lowlands and the Rocky Mountains.
• Both of these regions consist of a very large
group of mountains that extend from Alaska
through to Mexico
• The Pacific Coastal
Mountain Ranges and
Lowlands are found in
British Columbia and
the southwestern part
of the Yukon
Territory.
• This region occupies
almost all of British
Columbia. The Queen
Charlotte Islands and
Vancouver Island are
included in this region as
well.
• These islands are the top
part of a mountain range
that is partly covered by
the Pacific Ocean.
• The Coast Mountains and St. Elias
Mountains are found in this region also.
Canada’s highest mountain, Mount Logan,
is found in the St. Elias Mountains in the
Yukon near the Alaskan border.
• Glaciers cover many of the mountains
found in the St. Elias Range.
Glacier of St. Elias Mountain
Range
•
This is a photo of the Variegated Glacier
which lies in the St. Elias Mountain Range of
Alaska. You can see a relatively flat snow
covered area at the top of the photo. This is
an ice field where snow collects and gets
compacted. This is also called the
accumulation area. Ice then moves under it's
own weight down the valley creating a "river"
of ice called a glacier. When it exits the
valley the ice spreads out like pudding and
cracks form in the ice called crevasses. Ice is
a material that is both brittle and plastic. This
means that it can flow but that if it
experiences a sharp contrast in speed (e.g..
low speeds before an icefall to high speeds
after the icefall) it will crack.
Mount Logan
•
Mount Logan is Canada's highest mountain and the second-highest peak in
North America, after Mount McKinley. The mountain was named after Sir
William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological
Survey of Canada). Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park and
Reserve in southwestern Yukon and is the source of the Hubbard and Logan
Glaciers. Logan reportedly has the largest base circumference of any
mountain on Earth.
•
Due to active tectonic uplifting, Mount Logan is actually still rising in
elevation. Before 1992, the exact height of Mount Logan was unknown and
measurements ranged from 5,959 metres to 6,050 metres. In May 1992, a
GSC expedition climbed Mount Logan and fixed the current height of 5,959
metres.
•
Temperatures are extremely cold on and near Mount Logan. On May 26,
1991 a record -77.5 °C was observed, making it the coldest recorded
temperature outside of Antarctica
• The Coast Mountains run close the the
coastline of British Columbia and made
many inlets called fiords.
• The fiords are long and narrow inlets that
provide water routes to many valuable
forests.
• There are dense forests in this region.
• Trees include tall red cedars, hemlocks, and
other evergreen trees that grow on the lower
slopes of the mountains.
Red Cedar
Hemlocks
• Many fur-bearing
animals such as black
bears and foxes made
their homes in the
forested areas
• East of the Coast
Mountains lies an interior
plateau that consists of
valleys, plains and small
mountains.
• Farms, orchards and
grasslands for grazing
cattle are found on the
southern part of the
Cordillera.
Bismuth
• Many mineral resources such
as bismuth and molybdenum
have made this area very
valuable.
• Bismuth compounds are
used in cosmetics and in
medical procedures.
• As the toxicity of lead has
become more apparent in
recent years, alloy uses for
bismuth metal as a
replacement for lead have
become an increasing part of
bismuth's commercial
importance.
Molybdenum
• It has the sixth-highest
melting point of any
element, and for this
reason it is often used in
high-strength steel alloys.
Molybdenum is found in
trace amounts in plants
and animals, although
excess molybdenum can
be toxic in some animals.
The Rocky Mountains
• Also included with this region is the Rocky
Mountains.
• The Rockies are located to the east of the Pacific
Ranges and the Lowlands.
• Mountains in the Rockies are often snow-capped
and vary in height from 2,100 to 3,660 metres
above sea level.
• Mount Robson is the tallest peak in the eastern
British Columbia and stands 3,954 metres high.
Mount Robson
Minerals
• Rich deposits of coal, lead, silver, zinc and
other minerals are found in the Rocky
Mountains.
Coal
Lead
Silver
Zinc (mock silver)
Vegetation
• Large forest of juniper
and pine trees grow on
the Rockies lower
slopes.
• Fir and spruces are
able to survive at
higher elevations.
Animals
• Animals such as bears,
deer, minks, mountain
lions, squirrels and
with many others live
in the forests on the
upper slopes.
• Above the timber line,
an area where trees
cannot grow, Rocky
Mountain goats and
Bighorn Sheep roam.