Canada’s Landform Regions February 18, 2015 Canada’s Landform Regions
Today’s Agenda 3 basic types of landforms 7 landform regions Activity
Canada has three basic types of landforms: Shield Highlands Lowlands
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
Profile of Southern Canada’s Landform regions
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
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
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
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
Appalachians Stretch from Georgia to Newfoundland Oldest highland region in North America Formed 300 million years ago
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
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
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)