Canadian Landforms

Types of Landforms Canada is made up of three distinct types of landforms: The Canadian Shield Lowlands Highlands

The Lowlands There are three lowland regions surrounding the Shield: The Interior Plains The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands

The Lowlands An area of land that is low in relation to the surrounding country. The bedrock under these lowland is formed mainly of sediments eroded from the Shield As rock particles collected, the weight of the upper layers compressed the lower layers into sedimentary rocks

Interior Plains It is found in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The Interior Plains During the Paleozoic era, sediments that eroded from the Shield and the Rocky Mountains were deposited Part of the sedimentary rock consisted of coral reefs Today, the reefs are thousands of metres below the surface of the land and contain much of the oil and gas found in Alberta and Saskatchewan

The Interior Plains During the Mesozoic era, shallow seas covered the region of Saskatchewan When the seas evaporated, thick layers of mineral deposits were left behind Potash is mined from these layers and used as fertilizer in Canada and overseas The swamps on the edges of these ancient seas produced plants that were changed eventually into coal, which is mined today

The Interior Plains Erosion shaped the surface of the landscape the Interior Plains are mainly flat, but the landscape is also composed of some rolling hills, and deep, wide river valleys Overall, the land slopes gently downward from west to east

The Interior Plains Glaciation also shaped the landscape Glaciers left deposits that produced rounded, gently, rolling landscape Glaciers melted and formed a large lake over much of what is now southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but as land rose, it drained into the ocean Small portions of the lake remain today, known as Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba,

The Interior Plains The soil that developed on these sediments is deep and fertile Grain is grown in many parts of the Interior Plains - it is known as Canada’s “breadbasket” So much wheat is grown here Cattle is raised in places where the climate is too dry for crops

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands It is the smallest region in Canada The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands is located at the southern regions of Ontario and Quebec. It extends from Quebec City, to Windsor, ON.

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands Sedimentary rock formed here from the Paleozoic era The Niagara Escarpment is best known in this region. It was formed by differential erosion (different rates of erosion cause different levels of elevation)

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands In the Great Lakes portion of the lowlands, glaciation created rolling landscapes While glaciers carried huge amounts of material from the Shield, flat plains with glacial hills and deep river valleys were formed

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands Glaciers gouged out The Great Lakes The lakes were larger then than they are now because of the enormous volume of water from the melting glaciers The meltwater drained into the ocean

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands The St. Lawrence Lowland was formed by a rift valley (tensional forces cause the earth’s plate to split apart. The centre block will drop down, forming steep walls)

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands It is well-suited to agriculture because ot its excellent soils and warm climate The flat land is ideal for transportation routes and development of cities Canada’s two largest cities, Toronto and Montréal are located here It is best known as Canada’s industrial and urban heartland

Hudson Bay - Arctic Lowlands • Flat, low area covered by swampy forest The waters of Hudson Bay covered much of this lowland at the end of the last Ice Age Has a layer of sedimentary rock

Hudson Bay - Arctic Lowlands Made up of a series of islands located in the far north Have gently rolling hills and low elevations Contains a great deal of swamps with poor drainage Harsh climate does not permit farming - the ground remains frozen most of the year Oil, natural gas and lignite ( form of coal) is deposited here