THE 8 PHYSICAL REGIONS

OF CANADABy: Alison Chan

Legend

THE APPALACHIAN REGION

Topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Made up of many mountain ranges

Old mountains formed about 300,000,000 years ago

Has rolling mountains

Contains fertile plateaus and river valleys

climates affected by two ocean currents

The Gulf stream supplies the warm water

Labrador current brings cold water causing freezing during winter.

Heavily forested with coniferous and deciduous trees

Unproductive soil in the mountains

Much more fertile on the plateaus and rivers

With lots of land, crops will grow and farming becomes essential

Mining in the mountains

Forestry because the Appalachian region is heavily forested

Destroying varias amounts of ancient mountains

When mountains are blasted, chemicals are released into the air

Clearing trees, destroying homes of wildlife, reducing animal population

Topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Surface mostly flat or gently rolling hills

Average elevation of less than 200 meters above sea level

Contains many swamps and marshes

In the north, it consists of cold snowy winters and hot, humid summers

In the south it consists of subtropical climate

Mild warm winters

Soil is very sandy Natural vegetation

has adapted Originally the

vegetation was of the area was pine forests.

Economy of the Coastal Plains relies on agriculture

Oil and gas extraction

Prone to many hurricanes

Because elevations so low, many floods occur

THE COASTAL PLAINS

topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Rolling landscape Flat plains broken by

hills and deep river valleys

Consists of flat plains which gradually rise into Canadian shield and Appalachians

Has a humid continental climate

The great lakes cool the temperature throughout summer

Winters may vary from cool to cold

Summers may vary from warm to hot

Very fertile soil Heavily treed Soil and climate

allow maple, beech, hickory, and black walnut trees to thrive

Mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees

Farming poultry, dairy, meat products

Mining minerals such as iron, copper and silver

Farming vegetables, fruits and grains

Smallest region but has half of Canada’s population

More pollution in water, air and soil

More pollution causes sunrays to stay making region hotter and hotter

THE GREAT LAKES-ST. LAWRENCE LOWLAND

topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Barren rock surface Consists of chaotic

patterns of river valleys, lakes, swamps and muskeg

Average elevation 100 metres above sea level north

500 above sea level south

Varies in area Winters are

increasingly long and cold, summers are short and cold in the north.

Boreal forest covers most of the shield

Spruce, pine and fir are suited to thin, sandy soil

Some deciduous trees grow too

No trees grow north of the tree line, growing seasons too short

Mining, Shields is the worlds richest area in terms of mineral ores

Many towns extracting minerals, diamonds are discovered

Over extraction of minerals and timber threatening future of available resources

Acid rain Pollution in the great

lakes

CANADIAN SHIELD

topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Comprised of new mountains not yet worn down

Mountains twice as high as the Appalachian mountains

The Rocky mountain forms the continental divide to the east

All rivers east of Rockies flow east

West coast has a maritime climate, moist and mild

Winters usually above freezing

Summer cool Valleys warmer than

mountain slopes

Varies from one side of the mountain to the other

On moist side, trees such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar grow

Higher up the mountains, trees get smaller

Top of the mountain vegetation similar to a tundra

Mining Forestry, lumber

harvesting Trading Many large

industries in mining, agriculture and oil extraction

Logging and oil exploration responsible for accelerated slope erosion

Harmful metals released into streams and ground from mining

Wildlife habitat lost through land development for agriculture and livestock grazing

THE WESTERN CORDILLERA Winter season Summer season

topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Many streams and rivers flow into blackish lakes or disappear into desert sinks

Some streams and rivers make it to the ocean

Some areas cattle ranching is posibble

Affected by location ad elevation

Winters can be cool and wet or hot and dry

South portion winter, short and warm, little precipitation

North portion moist winters and hot and dry, also lacks precipitation

Ranges between sparse grasslands to plants survive in desert conditions

Higher areas covered in thin pine forest

Industries serving local markets (health services, real estate)

Hospitality and tourism

Extracting industries Agriculture Trading

Over allocation of water

Decrease in biodiversity

Increase of chance of wildfires

Great decline in government budget

THE INTERMOUNTAIN

REGION

topography climate vegetation Economic activity Environmental concerns

Arctic near ocean is very flat

Mountain far north formed by folding

Covered by glaciers

Very far from equator, severe climate

Winters last upto 10 months far north

Summers cold and very short

Little precipitation, considered a desert

Very few life forms can grow

Trees can’t grow on tundra because climate’s too cold and dry

Shrubs, mosses and lichens are the

only things that can grow, cling to the ground soaking up warmth

Extracting minerals and petroleum

Extracting oils and gasses

Cariboo or deer hunting

Commercial fishing

Climate change Changes in

biodiversity, over harvesting

Use of toxic substances threatens lives of people

ARCTIC

W O R K C I TAT I O N

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"intermountain economic activity." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://egwg.colostate.edu/content/new-egwg-initiative-intermountain-west>.

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"arctic economic activity." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/arctic/page/2670.asp&xgt;.

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IMAGE CITATIONappalachian region. N.d. Photograph. bing imagesWeb. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=appalachian region mountains&go=&qs=bs&form=QBIR&id=C8E0CDCB3568D1971D1C1FBC7B090C74B8BA0335&selectedIndex=4

coastal plains. N.d. Photograph. bing.com imagesWeb. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=coastal plains&FORM=HDRSC2&id=AF95B59F03CBA068037C8FA4087BFFFBE869599B&selectedIndex=2

candia. shield. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian shield region&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian shield region&sc=8-22&sp=-1&sk=

st lawrence . N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/st-lawrence-lowland/>.

canadian shield. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian shield region&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian shield region&sc=8-22&sp=-1&sk=

cordillera. N.d. Photograph. blogspotWeb. 17 Feb 2014. <http://wcordillera.blogspot.ca/>.

arctic . N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/debs-arctic-environment-pollution-496.htm>.

arctic. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.riams.org/2013/11/04/arctic-warmest-in-120000-years/>.

arctic. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian arctic region &qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian arctic region &sc=4-23&sp=-1&sk=