1. LANDFORM REGIONS OF CANADA

2. Rock Types in Canada

3. Profile of Canada

4. The Western Cordillera
The Western Cordillera region covers most of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. The great height and rugged appearance of the mountains tell us they are very young. The collision of the North American and the Pacific plates uplifted the region into several mountain ranges.

5. The West Coast Mountains on the Pacific coast
From West to East, the Western Cordillera is composed of three sub-regions, each one running from north to south
The West Coast Mountains on the Pacific coast
The Interior Plateau in the middle
The Rockies, bordering and crossing in to Alberta
See Fig on p. 113*

6. Google Earth - Vancouver Island

7. Coastal Mountains

8. The West Coast Mountains
VERY TALL PEAKS
VOLCANIC
MANY FIORDS (narrow inlets)
IN SOME AREAS, THE SEA OFFERS THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND
COMMUNITIES IN VALLEYS ON SHORELINES

9. WEST COAST MOUNTAINS Subduction zone
Oceanic plate sliding under continental plate
Prone to earthquakes

10. WEST COAST MOUNTAINS SOME VOLCANOES MORE RECENT THAN OTHERS
MOUNTAINS COVERED IN LUSH FORESTS

11. WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
INDUSTRIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES AND LANDFORMS OF THE AREA
WHISTLER ATTRACTS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF ….

12. WEST COAST EXTREME
WHY WOULD EARLY SETTLERS HAVE FOUND THIS REGION DIFFICULT TO CROSS?
WHAT WOULD DISCOURAGE SETTLERS FROM REMAINING IN THIS REGION?

13. THE INTERIOR PLATEAU A HIGHLAND FLAT AREA
THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA IS A MIXTURE OF SMALL MOUNTAIN RANGES AND HIGH FLATLAND AREAS (hence, “plateau”)
LOADED WITH VALUABLE METALLIC MINERALS
DUE TO GLACIAL AND RIVER DEPOSITS = EXCELLENT FARMLAND!

14. INTERIOR PLATEAUS
DESCRIBE TWO THINGS ABOUT THIS LANDSCAPE USING THE IMAGE TO THE LEFT

15. The Interior Plateau
EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN THE MOUNTAINS, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WELL KNOWN COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE FARM AND RANCH
PLACES SUCH AS PENTICTON, KELOWNA, OKANAGAN VALLEY AND GOLDEN ARE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES

16. The Interior Plateau Tourism is a big industry
What types of tourist activities would take place here? (record your answer)

17. The Rockies

18. THE ROCKIES CANADA’S LARGEST AND YOUNGEST MOUNTAINS
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL A FRIEND ABOUT ROCKIES’ VEGETATION AND CLIMATE? (record your answer)
IF THE CAMERA POINTS NORTH, WHAT TIME OF DAY IS IT IN THE 2nd PICTURE? (6am, 9am, 5pm or 7pm?)

19. Lake Louise
This is one of Canada’s most favoured tourist spots - Chateau Lake Louise
What is the flat surface in the foreground?
What are the almost straight lines on the mountain slopes?

20. Unlike flat regions, mountains are known for fast-flowing rivers which gouge/cut steep valleys in the landscape

21. In what ways do the climate and vegetation change as you go up the mountainside?

22. The Rockies are home to many alpine glaciers
A narrow channel of ice which slides down a mountain.
Snow accumulates at the top of the glacier/ melts at the bottom
What season is shown in this image?

23. Interior Plains

26. The Interior Plains (Prairies)
Once the bed of a huge sea between the Canadian Shield and the Rockies = mineral deposits
Glaciation = deposits
Mostly flat
Composed of sedimentary rocks
Highly suitable for farming where climate offers the right conditions

27. The Interior Plains
A typical huge prairie farm.

28. The Prairies
Known for its relatively dry climate

29. Vegetation on the Interior Plains
Is this ‘parkland’ or ‘grassland’?
What type of vegetation would you expect to see farther north where it is colder and damper?
(record your answer)

30. The Interior Plains Economy
Agriculture is one of the most important activities in the Interior Plains
What other major resource activity takes place there?
(record your answer)

31. Transport on the Prairies
Canada’s wheat basket requires many kilometers of rail lines to deliver wheat to Vancouver, Hudson Bay and Thunder Bay

32. Canadian Shield

33. The Canadian Shield
Largest region in Canada and the geographic foundation of Canada
Among the oldest known rocks on the planet
Formed by volcanic activity, therefore mostly igneous rock (but lots of metamorphic rock too) = valuable metallic minerals
Cold winters, warm summers, precipitation all year give it a distinctive type of vegetation

34. CANADIAN SHIELD
Stretches from Arctic to Great Lakes, from Mackenzie delta to Atlantic
Soils are thin - a poor choice for agriculture/farming in most places
But the drainage of the Shield = winding rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Great for tourism!

35. TYPICAL FEATURES OF THE CANADIAN SHIELD
What does the vegetation tell you of the location of this part of the Shield?
Name two typical features of the Shield shown by this picture

36. Canadian Shield Wildlife

37. Vegetation on the Shield
White patches reveal the extraction of resources on the Shield.
What resource is being extracted?

38. Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

39. Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands
Most southerly and smallest landform region of Canada
Newest landform region
Formed by the action of glaciers scraping away and re-depositing material on the landscape
Consists of lakes, valleys and rolling hills

40. Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands
Why would landforms of this region favour large scale settlement?
Comment on: soil, climate, flat land for transportation
Densely populated
Many of Canada’s largest cities “Canada’s industrial and urban heartland”
What is meant by the term ‘high density’? People/KM

41. Gt. Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

42. Southern Ontario Farming
Much of this region is taken up with dairy farming
What products are created in dairy farming?
Why is dairy farming important to this area?

43. Other features of this region
The image shows a popular part of Southern Ontario.
Why is southern Ontario a popular tourist destination?
(record your answer)

44. The Appalachians

45. APPALACHIANS
How would you describe to a friend the land in this image? (record your answer)
This is part of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island
Oldest highland region in Canada made mostly of sedimentary rock = non-metallic minerals like coal
Land sank and “Drowned coastline” after last Ice Age = deep harbours

46. The Maritimes
While the Atlantic provinces have relatively poor economies, still many people want to live there.
What features of Atlantic life would encourage people to live there? (record your answer)

47. Nova Scotia
The flatter land next to the sea reveals the location of the old shoreline

48. New Brunswick Compare this landscape to southern Ontario
What is similar and what is different?

49. ARCTIC AND HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS
Usual to think the Arctic has few if any plants
When would you expect to see the most Arctic growth?
But ground remains frozen for most of the year
Deposits = coal, oil and natural gas

50. The Arctic - the most varied Canadian region
This is the Brodeur peninsula of Baffin Island NT
Describe the shape of the land, the amount and type of vegetation, the amount of water present

51. Brodeur Peninsula - Baffin Island NT
These are called Hoodoos
What kind of erosion do you think formed them?

52. Baffin Island Greenshield Glacier
Continental glaciers or icefields

53. Shark Fjord
This valley was carved out by a narrow band of glacial ice cutting into the plateau on either side

54. Labrador - Torngat Mountains NL

55. Ayr Lake - Baffin Island NU
Very remote to most Canadians
Some mining industries are leaving a permanent mark on the landscape

56. District of Mackenzie NT

57. District of Mackenzie What season is this?
What evidence is there that this area experiences warm summers?
Describe the nature of soil in this region

58. District of Mackenzie Why would these features be called ‘kettles’?
Where do these ‘kettles’ drain out?
Formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters.