1. LANDFORM REGIONS OF CANADA
Canada is divided into seven landform regions:
Western Cordillera
Interior Plains
Canadian Shield
Great Lakes - St.Lawrence Lowlands
Appalachians
Arctic and Hudson Bay Lowlands
Innuitian Mountains

2. The Western Cordillera
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 Plateaux in the middle
The Rockies, bordering and crossing in to Alberta

3. Google Earth Vancouver Island

4. Coastal Mountains

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

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

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

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

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

10. THE INTERIOR PLATEAUX A HIGHLAND FLAT AREA
THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA IS A MIXTURE OF MOUNTAIN RANGES AND HIGH FLATLAND AREAS

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

12. The Interior Plateaux
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 AND GOLDEN BC ARE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES

13. The Interior Plateaux Tourism is a big industry
What types of tourist activities would take place here?

14. The Rockies

15. THE ROCKIES CANADA’S LARGEST MOUNTAINS
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL A FRIEND ABOUT ROCKIES’ VEGETATION AND CLIMATE?
IF THE CAMERA POINTS NORTH, WHAT TIME OF DAY IS IT IN THE 2nd PICTURE?

16. 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?

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

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

19. 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
Where would you expect the deepest ice?
What season is shown in this image?

20. Interior Plains

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

24. The Interior Plains
A typical huge prairie farm.

25. The Prairies
Known for its relatively dry climate

26. 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?

27. The Interior Plains Economy
Agriculture is one of the most important activities in the Interior Plains
What other major resource activity takes place there?

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

29. Canadian Shield

30. The Canadian Shield Largest region in Canada
Among the oldest known rocks on the planet
Formed by volcanic activity, therefore mostly igneous rock
Cold winters, warm summers, precipitation all year give it a distinctive type of vegetation

31. CANADIAN SHIELD
Stretches from Arctic to Great Lakes, from Mackenzie delta to Atlantic
Soils are thin - a poor choice for agriculture in most places

32. 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

33. Canadian Shield wildlife

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

35. Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

36. 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

37. Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands
Why would landforms of this region favour large scale settlement?
Densely populated
Many of Canada’s largest cities
What is meant by the term ‘high density’?

38. Gt. Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

39. 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?

40. Other features of this region
The image shows a popular part of Southern Ontario.
Why is southern Ontario a popular tourist destination?

41. The Appalachians

42. APPALACHIANS
How would you describe to a friend the land in this image?
This is part of the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island

43. 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?

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

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

46. ARCTIC AND HUDSON BAY LOWLANDS
Usual to think the Arctic has few if any plants
During which two months would you expect to see the most Arctic growth?

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

48. Brodeur Peninsula - Baffin Island
These are called Hoodoos
Do you think these were formed by wind, waves or rivers?

49. Baffin Island Greenshield Glacier
Continental glaciers or icefields

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

51. Labrador - Torngat Mountains

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

53. District of Mackenzie

54. 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

55. District of Mackenzie Why would these features be called ‘kettles’?
Where do these ‘kettles’ drain out?