1. Canada’s Landform Regions
February 18, 2015
Canada’s Landform Regions

2. Today’s Agenda
3 basic types of landforms
7 landform regions
Activity

3. Canada has three basic types of landforms:
Shield
Highlands
Lowlands

4. Canada’s landform regions
Shield
Canadian Shield - Core of Canada; covers more than half of Canada
Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands
Interior Plains
Hudson Bay – Arctic Lowlands
Appalachians – oldest and smallest of highlands, due to erosion
Innuitian Mountains – very far north
Western Cordillera – the youngest and the highest
Lowlands
Highlands

5. Profile of Southern Canada’s Landform regions

6. Canadian Shield The geologic foundation of Canada
More than half of Canada is covered by the shield
Some of the world’s oldest rocks are found here
Made up of ancient mountains that have been eroded

7. Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
Where the Niagara Region is found!
Small but largely populated
Made up of two parts: The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, separated by a thin wedge of Canadian Shield
Made up of many escarpments, the largest being Niagara Falls itself

8. Interior Plains Stretch from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
Mostly flat land caused by erosion and deposited sediments
Known as “Canada’s Breadbasket” – so much wheat is grown here

9. Hudson Bay – Arctic Lowlands
Found on the shore of Hudson Bay and James Bay
Flat, low area covered by swampy forest
Covered by water at one point that compacted rock, silt, and sand to create sedimentary rock
Made up of a series of islands

10. Appalachians Stretch from Georgia to Newfoundland
Oldest highland region in North America
Formed 300 million years ago

11. Innuitian Mountains In Canada’s far North 2500 metres in height
Composed mostly of sedimentary rock
Younger than the Appalachian mountains, therefore erosion has not worn them down as much yet
Barren (no vegetation)
Trees cannot survive the cold there and the summer is too short for vegetation to grow

12. Western Cordillera Found on the western side of Canada
Consists of a range of mountains (young)
Difficult travel routes here because the mountains are in the way
Great tourist area because of beautiful mountains

13. Activity Use pages 130 – 142 to fill in the chart
For each of the landform regions, you will discover:
The types of rocks and minerals found in that region
What provinces or territories it is located in
Characteristics (ex. Canadian Shield has rounded hills of rock)
The commercial use (ex. Interior Plains is used for mining and farming crops and cattle)
The geologic process that shaped the landform (ex. Innuitian Mountains were formed by erosion and glaciers)