Physical Regions of Canada

Map

Appalachian

Appalachian The Appalachian Region includes most of the Atlantic region, as well as the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. This region is part of an ancient mountain range that has been eroded over many years.

Appalachian Most of the Maritimes lie within the forest region termed Acadian, which includes both deciduous and evergreen trees. Off the coast, the continental shelf, home to once apparently inexhaustible supplies of fish as well as oil and natural gas.

Great Lakes – St. Lawrence

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence A region dominated by gentle rolling hills, a product of the last ice age. Receding glaciers ground down the sedimentary rock of the Shield, leaving an area of fertile soil.

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence The waterways of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes make the largest water transportation system in the country. The fresh water from these areas supply many Canadians with water for drinking, cleaning, agriculture, manufacturing, electricity, as well as recreational activities.

Hudson Bay Lowlands

Hudson Bay Lowlands The Hudson Bay Lowlands area is the flattest part of Canada. This area was created when the Ice Age Glaciers retreated. The land rose, but because it is so near the sea, it remained marshy and wet.

Hudson Bay Lowlands Muskeg is formed when dead, living, and decaying plants fill in around the lakes. Up to 86% of the Hudson Bay Lowlands is muskeg. The massive hydro-electric project has changed the landscape, flooding thousands of square kilometres of land.

Canadian Shield

The Shield Stretches from the arctic around Hudson Bay and east across to Labrador. The Shield was once a volcanic range as high as the Himalayas. Erosion and glaciation have created the Shield’s vast storehouse of minerals, such as copper, gold, lead and nickel.

Interior Plains

Interior Plains Stretches from the Canadian Shield to the Rocky Mountains. Formed as eroded material from the Canadian Shield was deposited in layers at its edges (sedimentary rock). Deposits of plants and animals over millions of years have compressed between sedimentary layers to form deposits of fossil fuels.

Western Cordillera

Western Cordillera Made up of parallel mountain ranges that are separated by a series of plateaus and valleys. Formed when plate collision caused earth’s crust to buckle and cause lift. Sediments carried off by rivers formed fertile river valleys, such as the Fraser River Valley.

Arctic Region

Arctic Region Northern Canada is made up of two primary geological regions: the Innuitian Mountains, associated with the Cordillera mountain system, which are geologically distinct from the Arctic Region (which consists largely of lowlands) The ground in the Arctic is mostly composed of permafrost, making construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible.