Canada’s Landform Regions
Glacial Erosion
Landform Region Map
Canadian Shield
• Lake near Port Cartier, Quebec
• Rounded hills in the background
Canadian Shield
• Boulder field in the Northwest Territories
• More evidence of glaciation
Canadian Shield
• Exposed rock along the lakeshore
• Notice the scratches in the rock
• They were caused by glaciers
Canadian Shield
• A boulder in the Northwest Territories
• It was deposited here by a retreating glacier
Canadian Shield
• Exposed rock near Abitibi, Quebec
• The scratches are the result of a glacier
Canadian Shield
• Canada’s oldest and largest landform.
• Forms the foundation for the rest of Canada.
• Very thin acidic soil. Poor for agriculture.
• Shaped by erosion (glaciers and weather).
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
• Bald Mountain NB• Notice the rounded
mountains
Appalachian Mountains
• Aspy Bay in Cape Breton
Appalachian Mountains
• Cape Breton Highlands
• The mountains have been flattened by erosion
Erosion: soil and rock is moved by wind or water to a different location.
Appalachian Mountains
• Atlantic Canada
• Rounded Mountains through erosion
• Rolling Hills and Valleys
• Fertile soil. Good for farming
Western Cordillera
• Mountains of the Yukon
• Notice the jagged peaks
• If you looks carefully, you will also see glaciers
Western Cordillera
• One of the large glaciers found in the Yukon
Western Cordillera
• A glacier-fed lake in Jasper National Park in Alberta
Western Cordillera
• Jasper National Park• The valley is U-
shaped because it was carved by a glacier, not the river you see here
Western Cordillera
• The Coast Mountains provide a dramatic backdrop in this picture of North Vancouver, BC
Western Cordillera
• A series of parallel mountains
• Are considered young as they have not been effected by erosion
• Valleys are good for farming as soil has been put there through sedimentation
• Western side has huge timber where as the eastern side has much smaller trees.
Innuitian Mountains
• The dramatic cliffs of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
Innuitian Mountains
• A glacier and its melt water on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
Innuitian Mountains
• Red rocks and barren landscape on Melville Island
• Melville Island is divided between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories
Innuitian Mountains
• Due to their “young” age they have not been worn down through erosion.
• Rugged Peaks
• Approx 2000m in height
• The area is too cold for trees to survive.
Arctic Lowlands
• Tundra in Nunavut• Notice the flat land
and strewn rocks
Arctic Lowlands
• The flat, exposed land of Prince Patrick Island in the Northwest Territories
Arctic Lowlands
• Another image of Prince Patrick Island in the NWT
• The flat land allows melting water to cover a vast area
Arctic Lowlands
• South of the Innuitian Mountains
• Is a region of tundra and is treeless.
• Cold, dry and poorly drained soil.
• Sparse vegetation
Interior Plains
• Farmland near the Red River in Southern Manitoba
Interior Plains
• The meandering Red River in Southern Manitoba
Interior Plains
• The Cypress Hills in Southern Saskatchewan
Interior Plains
• The Qu’Appelle Valley in Southern Saskatchewan
• A rare change from the flat landscape in this region
Interior Plains
• Cows graze in a rocky field
• These rocks, deposited by glaciers, are called moraine
Interior Plains
• Located between Shield and Cordillera.
• Created by a dried up inland sea and through erosion
• In some areas the soil is very deep (black soil due to carbon content) and in others it is almost desert like
• Extends to the Gulf of Mexico
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
• Typical farm in Ontario
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
• The city of Toronto from the air
• Notice the lack of hills• Also notice the smog
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
• Farmland near Toronto
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
• Southern Ontario from the air
• Notice the flat horizon
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
• Located south of the shield (southern Ontario and Quebec)
• Good soil is a the result of flooding by the Champlain Sea that receded
• Experienced volcanic activity a long time ago
• Relatively flat.
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• A wetland known as a muskeg in Northern Manitoba
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• The watery terrain outside Churchill, Manitoba
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• The water-filled landscape near Fort Severn, Ontario
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• A forested bog outside Gilliam, Manitoba
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• North of the shield
• Some places rock is 2000m thick
• Poor drainage and flat terrain
• swamp like forests.