1. CANADA’S LANDFORM REGIONS

2. Canada’s Landform Regions
Canada is made up of 3 distinct types of landforms:
Shield
Lowlands
Highlands
The Lowlands and Highlands are further subdivided into regions.

3. Landform #1:
Shield

4. The Canadian Shield
Location:

5. The Canadian Shield Background: Geologic foundation of Canada
Underlies much of Canada and 2 small parts of the US
More than half of Canada (4.8 million km2) is covered by shield.
Contains some of the world’s oldest rock near Great Slave Lake in NWT (3.96 billion years old) and in Quebec (approx. 4 billion years old)

6. Great Slave Lake

7. The Canadian Shield Appearance/Landscape:
Rounded hills of rock that are the root of ancient mountains
Eroding for billions of years
Relatively flat compared to other mountains
Thousands of lakes – created by glaciers that scraped the bedrock

8. Rounded Hills
Smooth, Round Rock
Thousands of Lakes

9. The Canadian Shield Features:
Formed by two types of rock: igneous and metamorphic
Contains many of Canada’s metallic minerals: lead, gold, copper, nickel, zinc
Diamond deposits have recently been found
No fossil fuels – Life forms that produced these products did not exist when the Shield was created.

10. The Canadian Shield Industries: Mining
Not a lot of farming – thin soil
Recreation/Tourism – scenic rivers, waterfalls, forests, nature activities
Hydroelectricity

11. Mining in Sudbury
Recreation/Tourism

12. Landform #2:
Lowlands

13. Interior Plains
Location:

14. Interior Plains Background:
Part of Great Plains of North America – stretch from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico
Covers a distance of 2700 km from 49oN to the Arctic Ocean – 1300 km wide in the South but only 275 km wide in the North.
During the formation, the Interior Plains were often covered by low inland seas. As sediments from the Shield and the Rocky Mountains settled in the sea, eventually they compacted and made sedimentary rock.

15. Sedimentary Rock in NWT

16. Interior Plains Appearance/Landscape: Not as flat as people think...
Mostly rolling hills and deep wide river valleys
Land slopes downward gradually from west to east
3 levels of elevation in the Prairies – each separated by escarpment
A few lakes in Manitoba

17. Rolling Hills
Escarpment
River near Calgary

18. Interior Plains Features: Subjected to glaciation
Landscape shaped by the forces of erosion – specifically, differential erosion.

19. Alberta’s
Badlands

20. Interior Plains Industries:
Oil and Gas – When the seas were replaced by rock, the rock trapped the sea reefs which now contain much of the oil and gas found today in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Mining
Agriculture – especially wheat and cattle

21. Alberta Oil Sands
Saskatchewan Wheat Fields

22. Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Location:

23. Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Background:
2 parts: Great Lakes Lowlands and St. Lawrence Lowlands
Separated by a thin wedge of Canadian Shield
Bedrock formed of sedimentary rock which can be seen in some escarpments – ie. Niagara
Formed by a rift valley

24. Niagara Escarpment
Layers of Sedimentary Rock

25. Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Appearance/Landscape:
Great Lakes – rolling landscape from glaciers “dumping” soils/sands as they moved through the region
Flat plains, glacial hills, deep river valleys

26. Hills, lakes, escarpment
River valley

27. Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Features:
Most densely populated region in Canada
About 50% of Canada’s population lives here and the region only cover 1.4% of Canada’s total area.

28. Toronto
Montreal

29. Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands
Industries:
Agriculture – excellent soils and warm climate
Manufacturing

30. Steel Plant in Hamilton
The Holland Marsh in King City

31. Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Location:

32. Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Background:
Hudson Bay – the bay used to cover this area. It left behind sand, silt, and clay that became sedimentary rock
Arctic – a series of islands in Canada’s far north

33. Hudson Bay Lowlands
Arctic Lowlands

34. Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Appearance/Landscape:
Hudson Bay – flat, low, swampy forests
Arctic – gently rolling landscape

35. Hudson Bay Swampy Forests
Arctic Rolling Landscapes

36. Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Features:
Hudson Bay – layers of sedimentary rock rest on top of the Shield
Arctic – harsh climate, frozen grounds not good for farming

37. Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands
Industries:
Arctic – coal (lignite), oil, natural gas deposits

38. Landform #3
Highlands

39. Appalachian Mountains
Location:

40. Appalachian Mountains
Background:
Stretch from Georgia in the Southern US to Newfoundland
Oldest highland in North America (300 million years old)
Formed when N. American collided with Europe and N. Africa during formation of Pangaea.

41. The Appalachians

42. Appalachian Mountains
Appearance/Landscape:
Rounded/rolling mountains and hills
Plateaus of igneous and metamorphic rock
Wide glacial valleys separate hills and mountains
“Drowned Coastline” – long, deep bays formed by glaciers that sank the land when the ice melted

44. Appalachian Mountains
Features:
Non-metallic minerals – like coal
Igneous and metamorphic rock from past volcanic activity

45. Appalachian Mountains
Industry:
Fishing
Some mining

46. Innuitian Mountains
Location:

47. Innuitian Mountains Background: Located in Canada’s far north
Mountains formed in middle of Mesozoic era
Younger than the Appalachians

49. Innuitian Mountains Appearance/Landscape:
Mountains measure over 2500m high
No vegetation because of cold climate
Vast areas covered by ice and permanent snow

51. Innuitian Mountains Features:
Contain igneous and metamorphic rock – mostly sedimentary
Contain similar minerals to the Appalachians

52. Innuitian Mountains Industry:
None – Temperatures are too cold and prevent development

53. Western Cordillera
Location:

54. Western Cordillera Background:
Stands along the western edge of the continent
Geologically young mountains
Formed by collision of Pacific Plate and North American Plate
3 major divisions – Coast mountains, interior plateaus, Eastern mountains

55. Canada’s Western Cordillera

56. Western Cordillera Appearance/Landscape:
Many mountain ranges separated by plateaus and valleys
Rugged mountain peaks
Only remaining Canadian glaciers (exceptions of the Arctic)

57. Glacier
Mountains with Valley

58. Western Cordillera Features:
Runs north-south, prevents a lot of access from highways and rail lines that run east-west
Lightly populated – main areas Victoria and Vancouver

59. Vancouver
Train Access

60. Western Cordillera
Industry:
Farming
Mining
Tourism/Recreation