Download Canada*s Landform Regions

Canada’s Landform Regions
Canada is made up of 3 distinct types of
landforms:
1. Shield
2. Lowlands
3. Highlands
The Lowlands and Highlands are further
subdivided into regions.
Landform #1:
SHIELD
The Canadian Shield
Location:
The Canadian Shield
Background:
• Geologic foundation of Canada
• Underlies much of Canada and 2 small parts of
the US
• More than half of Canada (4.8 million km2) is
covered by shield.
• Contains some of the world’s oldest rock near
Great Slave Lake in NWT (3.96 billion years
old) and in Quebec (approx. 4 billion years old)
Great Slave Lake
The Canadian Shield
Appearance/Landscape:
• Rounded hills of rock that are the root of
ancient mountains
• Eroding for billions of years
• Relatively flat compared to other mountains
• Thousands of lakes – created by glaciers that
scraped the bedrock
Rounded Hills
Smooth, Round Rock
Thousands of Lakes
The Canadian Shield
Features:
• Formed by two types of rock: igneous and
metamorphic
• Contains many of Canada’s metallic minerals:
lead, gold, copper, nickel, zinc
• Diamond deposits have recently been found
• No fossil fuels – Life forms that produced
these products did not exist when the Shield
was created.
The Canadian Shield
Industries:
• Mining
• Not a lot of farming – thin soil
• Recreation/Tourism – scenic rivers, waterfalls,
forests, nature activities
• Hydroelectricity
Mining in Sudbury
Recreation/Tourism
Landform #2:
LOWLANDS
Interior Plains
Location:
Interior Plains
Background:
• Part of Great Plains of North America – stretch
from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
• Covers a distance of 2700 km from 49oN to the
Arctic Ocean – 1300 km wide in the South but
only 275 km wide in the North.
• During the formation, the Interior Plains were
often covered by low inland seas. As sediments
from the Shield and the Rocky Mountains settled
in the sea, eventually they compacted and made
sedimentary rock.
Interior Plains
Appearance/Landscape:
• Not as flat as people think...
• Mostly rolling hills and deep wide river valleys
• Land slopes downward gradually from west to
east
• 3 levels of elevation in the Prairies – each
separated by escarpment
• A few lakes in Manitoba
Rolling Hills
Escarpment
River near Calgary
Interior Plains
Features:
• Subjected to glaciation
• Landscape shaped by the forces of erosion –
specifically, differential erosion.
Alberta’s
Badlands
Interior Plains
Industries:
• Oil and Gas – When the seas were replaced by
rock, the rock trapped the sea reefs which
now contain much of the oil and gas found
today in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
• Mining
• Agriculture – especially wheat and cattle
Alberta Oil Sands
Saskatchewan Wheat Fields
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Location:
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Background:
• 2 parts: Great Lakes Lowlands and St.
Lawrence Lowlands
• Separated by a thin wedge of Canadian Shield
• Bedrock formed of sedimentary rock which
can be seen in some escarpments – ie. Niagara
• Formed by a rift valley
Niagara Escarpment
Layers of Sedimentary Rock
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Appearance/Landscape:
• Great Lakes – rolling landscape from glaciers
“dumping” soils/sands as they moved through
the region
• Flat plains, glacial hills, deep river valleys
Hills, lakes, escarpment
River valley
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Features:
• Most densely populated region in Canada
• About 50% of Canada’s population lives here
and the region only cover 1.4% of Canada’s
total area.
Toronto
Montreal
Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Industries:
• Agriculture – excellent soils and warm climate
• Manufacturing
Steel Plant in Hamilton
The Holland Marsh in King City
Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Location:
Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Background:
• Hudson Bay – the bay used to cover this area.
It left behind sand, silt, and clay that became
sedimentary rock
• Arctic – a series of islands in Canada’s far
north
Hudson Bay Lowlands
Arctic Lowlands
Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Appearance/Landscape:
Hudson Bay – flat, low, swampy forests
Arctic – gently rolling landscape
Hudson Bay Swampy Forests
Arctic Rolling Landscapes
Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Features:
• Hudson Bay – layers of sedimentary rock rest
on top of the Shield
• Arctic – harsh climate, frozen grounds not
good for farming
Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Industries:
• Arctic – coal (lignite), oil, natural gas deposits
Landform #3
HIGHLANDS
Appalachian Mountains
Location:
Appalachian Mountains
Background:
• Stretch from Georgia in the Southern US to
Newfoundland
• Oldest highland in North America (300 million
years old)
• Formed when N. American collided with
Europe and N. Africa during formation of
Pangaea.
The Appalachians
Appalachian Mountains
Appearance/Landscape:
• Rounded/rolling mountains and hills
• Plateaus of igneous and metamorphic rock
• Wide glacial valleys separate hills and
mountains
• “Drowned Coastline” – long, deep bays
formed by glaciers that sank the land when
the ice melted
Appalachian Mountains
Features:
• Non-metallic minerals – like coal
• Igneous and metamorphic rock from past
volcanic activity
Appalachian Mountains
Industry:
• Fishing
• Some mining
Innuitian Mountains
Location:
Innuitian Mountains
Background:
• Located in Canada’s far north
• Mountains formed in middle of Mesozoic era
• Younger than the Appalachians
Innuitian Mountains
Appearance/Landscape:
• Mountains measure over 2500m high
• No vegetation because of cold climate
• Vast areas covered by ice and permanent
snow
Innuitian Mountains
Features:
• Contain igneous and metamorphic rock –
mostly sedimentary
• Contain similar minerals to the Appalachians
Innuitian Mountains
Industry:
• None – Temperatures are too cold and
prevent development
Western Cordillera
Location:
Western Cordillera
Background:
• Stands along the western edge of the
continent
• Geologically young mountains
• Formed by collision of Pacific Plate and North
American Plate
• 3 major divisions – Coast mountains, interior
plateaus, Eastern mountains
Canada’s Western Cordillera
Western Cordillera
Appearance/Landscape:
• Many mountain ranges separated by plateaus
and valleys
• Rugged mountain peaks
• Only remaining Canadian glaciers (exceptions
of the Arctic)
Glacier
Mountains with Valley
Western Cordillera
Features:
• Runs north-south, prevents a lot of access
from highways and rail lines that run eastwest
• Lightly populated – main areas Victoria and
Vancouver
Vancouver
Train Access
Western Cordillera
Industry:
• Farming
• Mining
• Tourism/Recreation