Canada’s Physical Geography Chapter 2

Canada’s Physical Geography Canada’s geography has a huge effect on Canadians’ sense of identity.

Planet Earth The Earth is made up of layers of rock of different ages. Canada has some of the oldest rock – about 4 billion years old!

Layers of the Earth The Earth is made up of 3 layers: the core, the mantle, and the crust.

Core  Center of the Earth composed of 2 layers: Inner core – very hot and solid because it’s under tremendous pressure. Outer core – very hot and contains mostly liquid rock.

Mantle  The middle layer and thickest layer of the Earth. It is made of solid rock, although high temperature and pressure can cause some of this solid rock to flow slowly. Magma  A hot, dense, slow moving liquid.

Crust  The surface of the Earth (the part we walk on). It is very thin under the oceans, but very thick under the continents.

Earth’s Crust Hard Boiled Egg

Layers of the Earth

7 Continents  North America  South America  Europe  Asia  Africa  Australia  Antarctica

Continental Drift  The theory that the Earth’s plates are moving.  Scientist Alfred Wegener came up with this theory.  The earth's crust is divided into plates that move because of currents in the mantle.

It is believed the world was once one giant super continent called Pangaea. Over time, the plates of Pangaea started to move apart creating the continents we know today.

Scientists found evidence of continental drift to support their theory: 1. The shapes of the landmasses. 2. Similar fossils in rocks on separate continents. 3. Fossils of sea animals found high in the Himalaya Mountains.

Assessment Homework review page 20 to 22 and answer Review and reflect questions 1,2,3.

Canadian Crust Canada is located on the North American Plate. It moves about 4 centimeters west every year. When the Pacific plate moves northeasterly it creates a subduction zone.

Subduction zone  when one plate slides beneath another creating volcanoes and earthquakes.

“Ring of Fire” The zone around the Pacific Ocean is called the “Pacific Ring of Fire.” More than half of the world’s active volcanoes above sea level are found in this zone. The scary part is that the same area has some of the most densely populated regions on the planet!

1/5 of Canada's thousand or so earthquakes happen in British Columbia. Movements of the plates also means that the distance between the Atlantic provinces and Western Europe is increasing every year.

Assignment

Assignment: Questions 1.What is the reason for the nickname “Pacific Ring of Fire?” 2.Explain why Eastern Canada experiences relatively few major earthquakes.

Landforms

 natural features of the land’s surface (topographic maps) Hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc.

Landscape  Made up of an area’s landforms, but includes vegetation, water, ice, rock, human and animal activity.  Landscape effects how we live: Food, travel, communication, business, etc.

There are two types of Landscape: 1. Urban landscape 2. Rural landscape

Urban Landscape

Rural Landscape

How are Landforms Built?

Landforms are built from material underneath the earth’s crust Or By the movement of the crust itself.

Currents under the crust sometimes cause the magma in the mantle to come to the surface as lava. When this happens, great trenches or large mountains can form.

Landforms are also created when continental plates move or collide. Fault lines  cracks in the earth’s crust that usually run between the plates

What is a Rift Valley? Draw a rift valley in your notes

The Great Rift Valley

Victoria Falls - Africa

Devil’s Pool

How are Landforms Shaped?

Weathering  The gradual breaking down of solid rock by air, water, animals, and plants.

Erosion  When the land’ surface is carried away by running water, tides, wind, and glaciers.

Deposition  When eroded particles are dropped off in one place by running water, tides, wind and glaciers.

Geological History of the Earth

Geologists believe the Earth is more than 4.5 billion years old. Canada was almost completely covered with ice years ago. The last ice remained in southern Ontario until about 8000 years ago.

assignment

Landform Assignment Research your assigned landform. Make a PowerPoint that includes: 1.A description of your landform *Remember to include how it was made or shaped! 2. Five (5) pictures of your landform. Fjord – Pingo – Moraine – Sand spit – Horn – Hoodoo – Drumlin – Esker – Waterfall – Erratic – Stack – Oxbow lake -