CANADA’S LANDFORM REGIONS

Canada’s Landform Regions

Canada is made up of 3 distinct types of landforms:

1. Shield2. Lowlands3. HighlandsThe Lowlands and Highlands are further

subdivided into regions.

SHIELDLandform #1:

The Canadian Shield

Location:

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)

Great Slave Lake

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

Rounded Hills

Smooth, Round Rock

Thousands of Lakes

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.

The Canadian Shield

Industries:• Mining• Not a lot of farming – thin soil• Recreation/Tourism – scenic rivers, waterfalls,

forests, nature activities• Hydroelectricity

Mining in SudburyRecreation/Tourism

LOWLANDSLandform #2:

Interior Plains

Location:

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.

Sedimentary Rock in NWT

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

Rolling Hills

River near Calgary

Escarpment

Interior Plains

Features:• Subjected to glaciation• Landscape shaped by the forces of erosion –

specifically, differential erosion.

Alberta’s Badlands

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

Alberta Oil Sands

Saskatchewan Wheat Fields

Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands

Location:

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

Niagara Escarpment

Layers of Sedimentary Rock

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

Hills, lakes, escarpment

River valley

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.

Toronto

Montreal

Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Lowlands

Industries:• Agriculture – excellent soils and warm climate• Manufacturing

Steel Plant in Hamilton

The Holland Marsh in King City

Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands

Location:

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

Hudson Bay Lowlands

Arctic Lowlands

Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands

Appearance/Landscape:Hudson Bay – flat, low, swampy forestsArctic – gently rolling landscape

Hudson Bay Swampy Forests

Arctic Rolling Landscapes

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

Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands

Industries:• Arctic – coal (lignite), oil, natural gas deposits

HIGHLANDSLandform #3

Appalachian Mountains

Location:

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.

The Appalachians

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

Appalachian Mountains

Features:• Non-metallic minerals – like coal• Igneous and metamorphic rock from past

volcanic activity

Appalachian Mountains

Industry:• Fishing• Some mining

Innuitian Mountains

Location:

Innuitian Mountains

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

Innuitian Mountains

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

snow

Innuitian Mountains

Features:• Contain igneous and metamorphic rock –

mostly sedimentary• Contain similar minerals to the Appalachians

Innuitian Mountains

Industry:• None – Temperatures are too cold and prevent

development

Western Cordillera

Location:

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

Canada’s Western Cordillera

Western Cordillera

Appearance/Landscape:• Many mountain ranges separated by plateaus

and valleys• Rugged mountain peaks• Only remaining Canadian glaciers (exceptions

of the Arctic)

Mountains with Valley

Glacier

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

Train Access

Vancouver

Western Cordillera

Industry:• Farming• Mining• Tourism/Recreation