Download The Physical Regions of Canada

 Two
billion years ago
all the continents were
joined in a form known
as Pangea.
 Plate
tectonics have
moved the continents
to where they are
today.
There are seven major physical regions of Canada
(We will be looking at only three)
 Each region has distinct geological formations,
landforms and climactic conditions .
 The Three physical regions of Western Canada:
• The Canadian Shield
• The Interior Plains
• Western Mountains (Cordillera)

 The
Canadian Shield was
once a volcanic
mountain range as high
as the Himalayas.
 Millions
of years of
weathering and erosion
have wore it down into a
landscape of exposed
rocks and lakes.
The Canadian shield stretches from the Arctic islands around
Hudson bay to the Adirondack mountains in the United States,
and across Labrador.
 Originally
it was
made of igneous
rock.
• Igneous rock is formed
by the solidification of
molten material.
 Over
time, it has
changed by heat
and/or pressure into
metamorphic rock.
 The
Canadian Shield is rich in minerals
such as copper, gold, lead, and nickel.
 The exposed rock makes the land
unsuitable for agriculture and settlement.
 It
formed as eroded
material from the
Canadian Shield was
deposited in layers.
 These
layers are
generally horizontal
and are sedimentary
rock.
Stretches from the Canadian Shield to the Rocky Mountains, covering almost all
of Alberta.
 Millions
of years ago, the Interior Plains had a
tropical climate and it was covered by water,
plants, and animals.
 Over time, these deposits were compressed in
layers of sedimentary rock to form rich
deposits of fossil fuels and evaporites.
 Fossil
fuels are natural fuels formed by
geological forces from the residue of
living organisms.
• Examples: oil and natural gas
 Evaporites
are a type of sedimentary
rock that originates by the evaporation of
sea water.
• Example: potash.



The Western Mountains
are a cordillera.
This means they are
parallel mountain ranges,
separated by a series of
plateaus and valleys.
They were formed by
tectonic plate collisions,
causing the Earth’s crust
to buckle, which lifted
sections of it into the air.
Plateaus and valleys
Ranges from the Interior plains to the coast of B.C.
 Tectonics
also
caused the terrain to
form valleys,
plateaus, and
trenches.

Erosion from rivers
and glaciers formed
the jagged, rugged,
and mountainous
landscape we know
today.
 Follow
these links
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL6sK
tG2UVs&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfziy_
860GU&feature=related
 They
will help you understand how plate
tectonics works.
 Sediments
carried off by rivers (such as
alluvium) formed fertile river valleys,
such as the Fraser River Valley.
 This
region is rich in minerals, copper,
gold, molybdenum, and coal.
Canadian Shield Interior Plains
•Volcanic
Mountains
• Tropical
climate
• As high as the
Himalayas
• Covered by
water
• Igneous rock
Western
Mountains
•Series of plates
moving toward
one another
Canadian Shield Interior Plains
•Millions of
years of
weathering
and erosion
• Heat and
pressure
•Eroded
material laid
down at edges
• Occasional
Flooding
• Deposits
compressed
Western
Mountains
•Plate collision
• Pressure of
plate tectonics
• Erosion from
rivers and
glaciers
Canadian Shield Interior Plains
•Worn down
into an
exposed
landscape of
rocks and lakes
• Changed to
metamorphic
rock
•Flood deposits
of plants and
animals
• Deposits of
fossil fuels and
evaporites
Western
Mountains
•Earth’s crust
buckled, lifted
into the air
• Valleys,
plateaus, and
Trenches
formed
• Fertile valleys
Canadian Shield Interior Plains
•Hard, rigid,
exposed rocks
•Horizontal
layers of
sedimentary
rock
• Flat and rolling
grasslands
Western
Mountains
•Cordillera: a
series of
parallel mountain
ranges separated
by a series of
plateaus and
valleys