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Physiographic Regions of the
North
By: Joon, Atcha, and Drew
The Physiographic Regions
of the North
There are 5 Physiographic
Regions in the Canadian
North.
•Innuitians
•Arctic Lowlands
•Canadian Shield
•Pacific Cordillera
•Interior Plains
The Innuitians
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Older than the Western
Cordillera’s Mountains.
Younger than the
Shield’s Mountains.
Formed by folding
Mainly made of
sedimentary rock (there
is some igneous and
metamorphic rock)
The Innuitians (continued)
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Mountain tops are
not as jagged as the
Rockies, but sharper
than the shield.
Features caused by
erosion.
Due to climate there
is limited activity and
human uses.
Arctic Lowlands
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Made up of the
islands in the far
north
Mainly sedimentary
rock.
Ground remains
frozen all year
Poor for farming
Gently rolling
landscape
Arctic Lowlands (continued)
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Sedimentary rock
contains lignite (coal).
Also contains oil and
natural gas deposits.
Used for mining.
Bedrock underneath
soils are formed from
sediments from the
Shield.
Interior Plains
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Mainly Sedimentary rocks
Digging for oil/ mining
Glaciations (rolling hills)
Wet climate soils
Infertile soils from leaching (in
the North)
Minerals washed away by
precipitation
Boreal and Taiga forests
Coniferous and some deciduous
trees
Spruce, pines, cedar, hemlock
Western Cordillera
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Rocky mountains
Youngest mountain range
Tall and rugged
Sedimentary rock
Rock was folded and faulted
upwards
Lakes (lorains)were formed by
melted glaciers
Complex soils in mountain ranges
Many different varieties of soil
types
Cordilleran Vegetation
Coniferous forests
Meadows, flowers shrubs
High altitudes - rocks, snow, ice no vegetation
Copper, silver mines
Canadian Shield
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Rock Type:
Igneous
Metamorphic
Formed by:
Molting/ Volcanism
Topography + Soils:
Valuable minerals (e g. lead,
gold)
Human uses:
Recreation (Canoeing)
Hydroelectricity
Mining
Canadian Shield (continued)
Characteristics:
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The oldest rock in
Canada
Formed lots of lakes
and has disordered
lands
Infertile to farm
Covered by a thin layer
of soil, and the bedrock
is visible in many places