Let’s go play some hockey, eh? CANADA
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
LANDFORMS Western 1/3 is mountainous Contains: Pacific Ranges (Cascade and Coast Ranges) Canadian Rockies are east of those Rockies flatten into the Great Plains and Interior Lowlands
Canadian Shield east of Great Plains Appalachian Mountain range extends into the maritime provinces Coastal Lowlands in extreme east LANDFORMS CONTINUED
Mackenzie River (from Great Slave Lake to Arctic Ocean) drains much of northern Canada St. Lawrence River (from Lake Ontario to Atlantic Ocean) forms part of border with the U.S. WATER SYSTEMS
CLIMATE REGIONS Marine West Coast climate on Pacific coast Semi-arid climate btwn Pacific Ranges and Rockies (rain-shadow effect) TIMBERLINE : point in elevation where trees can not grow CHINOOK : seasonal (spring) warm wind that blows down the Rockies
CLIMATE CONTINUED Humid continental climate for the southern 1/3 of Canada Subarctic and tundra climates in the north Boreal Forest makes up majority of the north BF is the 2 nd largest area of uninterrupted forest in the world
NATURAL RESOURCES Energy: Athabasca TAR SANDS : large deposit of semisolid heavy crude oil Minerals: gold, silver, copper (Rockies); iron ore and nickel (Canadian Shield) Fish Timber
SECTION 2: HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
INDIGENOUS GROUPS Inuits, Metís, and First Nations are the main indigenous peoples Inuits around Canadian Arctic Metís: FN and French ancestry FN: indigenous but not Inuit or Metís 1.25 million indigenous people today
FRENCH EXPLORERS Early 1600s Jacques Cartier came in mid-1500s Named New France (Quebec today) Began clashes w/British in 1670 Britain wins control in 1763
DOMINION Early 1800s French and English communities feud over policy Fear of U.S. takeover forced alliance 1867: colonies of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick unite This is the DOMINION OF CANADA DOMINION : partially self- governing country; close ties to another country
GOVERNMENT Close ties to Great Britain Gained full independence in : Constitution Act cut legislative link to Britain Executive branch: governor general, prime minister, and cabinet Legislative branch: Parliament (Senate and House of Commons) Judicial: Supreme Court
LE QUEBECOIS Def: Quebec’s French- speaking inhabitants Became minority in early to mid 1800s Being in minority creates nationalism
MODERN CHALLENGES North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): eliminated tariffs and other trade barriers btwn Canada, U.S., and Mexico Many Canadians dislike effect of NAFTA Imports U.S. pop culture
MODERN CHALLENGES CONT. Strong support for Quebec independence 2012: members of the Parti Québécois were elected to political office They support SEPARATISM : breaking away one part of a country to create a separate, independent country
POPULATION PATTERNS Pop: 35,706,000 9 ppl/sq. mile 75% live within 100 miles of U.S. border 81% live in urban centers Major cities: Toronto (largest) Montreal (industry/shipping) Vancouver (trade w/Asia) Edmonton (oil)
SOCIETY AND CULTURE Very multicultural 2 official languages (French and English) Education and health care supported by government Only required to go to school until 16
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Leader in production of uranium, iron ore, coal, petroleum, copper, and silver World’s 3 rd largest producer of hydroelectric power
ECON CONT Natural resources and ag make up 60% of exports 70% of GDP is service industry GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) : value of goods and services produced WITHIN a country in a year
ECON CONT Prairie Provinces are major producers of grain and cattle Atlantic coast: fishing Tech and electronics are growing fast Space and aircraft industry are growing
SECTION 3: PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT
MANAGING RESOURCES OLD GROWTH FORESTS : relatively untouched by human activity Boreal (Taiga) Forest is shrinking Only 10% is federally protected
RESOURCES CONTINUED Overfishing led to laws protecting certain fish Hydroelectricity requires damming (protests) Crude oil extraction and processing releases CO2