Physiographic Regions in Canada

Physiographic Regions in Canada

The Arctic Region

Location

The Arctic Region is the northmost region in Canada. It is located in northern Northwest Territories, northern Nunavut, and a small portion of the Yukon.

Climate

In the arctic winters are very cold and can last up to ten months and summers are not warm and are very short. There is very little precipitation in the area and it is very dry.

Geological features/ Formation Process

The Arctic Region was formed during the Ice Age. The icecaps formed and it became very cold so the icecaps stayed.

Landforms

There are many plains, lowlands, and mountains in this region. The mountains belonging in the region are the Inuitian Mountains. They are in the northern part of the arctic and are almost like plateaus but are mountains. There are also very large icecaps in the region.

Vegetation

There are no trees in the Arctic Region. It is much too cold for them to grow there and the ground is always permanently frozen except for the surface of the ground during the summer. Only mosses and lichens can grow in this region.

Unique Characteristics

The Arctic is in a very remote location. Some parts can only be accessed during certain times of the year.

Environmental Concerns

In the Arctic region global warming is melting the polar icecaps and destroying polar bear habitats.

The

Codillera

Region

The

Great

Plains

Region

Resources used

1.http://partner.galileo.org/schools/gibson/4-5_fp/geography/canadian_shield_sw/canadian_shield2.htm

2.http://web2.uwindsor.ca/edfac/student/griff-3.htm#Shield

3.http://www.ask.com/geography/canadian-shield-formed-2e209e8e8d96e6df

4.http://thecoolcanadianshield.blogspot.ca/2010/05/vegetation-of-canadian-shield.html

5.http://canlandformregions.weebly.com/interior-plains.html

6.https://ss9geography.wikispaces.com/Great+Lake+St.+Lawrence+Lowlands?responseToken=b8cfd09f0dd373b27a5194641849b4f4

7.https://ss9geography.wikispaces.com/Appalachian+Region

8.https://sites.google.com/site/thegreatappalachianregion/appalachian-climate

9.http://partner.galileo.org/schools/gibson/4-5_fp/geography/cordillera_sw/cordillera3.htm

10.https://ss9geography.wikispaces.com/Western+Cordillera

11.https://sites.google.com/site/laraharderwesterncordillera/vegetation

12.http://www.answers.com/Q/How_arctic_lowlands_formed

The Codillera

Location

In Canada, the Codillera Region Covers Most of the west coast. Almost all of British Columbia and the Yukon fit into this region along with part of western Northwest Territories and southwestern Alberta.

Climate

The Western part of the Codillera has a maritime climate. It gets warm summers and mild winters. There is lots of precipitation and it is humid. In the interior part of the Codillera it gets cold winters and warm summers. They get moderate amounts of precipitation. In the valleys it is very warm but in the mountains as you get higher in elevation it gets colder.

Geological Features/ Formation Process

The Codillera's Rocky and Coastal mountain ranges were formed when collision between tectonic plates caused the earth's crust to buckle, creating mountains.Geological processes left rich mineral deposits, such as gold, copper, and coal.

Landforms

The Codillera area is very mountainous. Both the Coastal Mountains and the Rocky Mountains run through this area. There are also many valleys, trenches, plateaus, dormant volcanoes, glaciers, and ice fields.

Vegetation

In the Codillera region the vegiotation types vary according to elevation. Trees such as fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, and many types of evergreen grow in the region. In some of the valleys cacti can grow.

Unique Characteristics

The Codillera Region contains some of the wettest places on Earth.

Environmental Concerns

Global warming is making lower chances for survival of salmon much lower. Salmon are a keystone species and are very important.

The Interior Plains

The Canadian Shield

Location

The interior plains covers most of Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, northeastern Yukon, southern Saskatchewan, Southern Manitoba, and Central Northwest Territories,

Climate

The Interior Plains has long, cold winters and short, hot summers. The interior plains gets much less precipitation than most other places in Canada.

Geological features/ Formation Process

The Interior Plains were often covered by shallow inland seas. Sediments carried from the Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Shield deposited over millions of years. The deposits formed horizontal layers of sedimentary rock which became large areas of mostly flat land, with river valleys and rolling hills.

Landforms

There are many different landforms in the Interior Plains Region. Some of these landforms are rolling hills, cliffs, low mountains, river valleys, sand dunes, and several large lakes such as Lake Winnipeg, Great Bear Lake, and Lake Manitoba.

Vegetation

In the southern part of the region there are no trees, only grasslands. In the more northern part of the region there are mainly coniferous trees such as fir, pine, and spruce.

Unique Characteristics

In the region because of the flat plains and grass the area is good for cattle farming and when the land is irrigated is good for wheat crops because there is already no trees in some parts and wheat can survive its climate.

Environmental Concerns

Drought is a major concern in this area. Agriculture has had a serious effect on drought and damages area as well as their agricultural land. Cattle ranches flatten the land causing lots of runoff and fertile topsoil for farming is washed away. Hail kills lots of wheat crops that grow in the area.

The Appalachian

Mountain Region

The Appalachian Mountain Region

Location

The Appalachian Mountain region is located on the east coast of Canada. Quebec's peninsula, all of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and most of Newfoundland (not Labrador) are all part of this region.

Climate

During the winter in the northern part of the region it can get very cold and during the summer is cool and wet. In the southern part of the region it can still get cold during the long winter but not as cold as the noth part and during its short summer it's hot. The region recieves lots of precipitation.

Geological features/ Formation Process

500 million years ago the Appalachian mountains were much taller than the rockies are today. Over time, the mountains slowly eroded away due to erosion and became the short, flat mountains that they are today.

Landforms

The landforms in this region would include smooth mountains, rivers, valleys, small mountains, highlands, and coastal fjords.

Vegetation

In the Appalachian Mountains some of the common types of trees growing are spruce, fir, maple, pine, oak, and cedar.

Unique Characteristics

This particular regin gets lots of sedementary rock. Other provinces do not have near to as much as this one does. Fishing is also very good in the area and lots of crabs, lobsters, and shellfish are also commonly found in this region in the ocean.

Environmental Concerns

Overfishing has brought some of the most vital fish in the ecosystem close to extinction. The Atlantic cod nearly went extinct 10 years ago. The numbers of this species may have increased since then but is still in danger. Lots of other species in the area rely off this species and it had a major negative impact on the region.

The Canadian shield

Location

The Canadian Shield is the largest region in Canada. It covers all of Labrador, most of Quebec, almost all of Ontario, northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, southern Nunavut, and eastern Northwest Territories. The Canadian Shield has a varied climate.

Climate

It borders the Arctic Ocean to the north, where cold dry arctic winds move southward making the area very cold during the winter. The far south can get heavy snowfall during the winter. Their summers are short and frost comes early. It can get very warm in the southern parts during the summer.

Geological features/ Formation Process

The Canadian shield used to have mountainous terrain but was flattened by billions of years of erosion and glacial activity. None of the volcanoes that were once in the area are active. They became dormant and eventually eroded to flat terrain due to glacier movement.

Landforms

The Canadian Shield is mostly made up of hills, highlands, plateuas, lowlands, plains, and many rivers and lakes. some of the major rivers and lakes in this region would include: Great Slave Lake, Lake Athabaska, Churchill River, and

Vegetation

In the Canadian Shield, the types of trees growing in the area consist of birch, aspen, tamarack, spruce, willow, hemlock and pine trees.

Unique Characteristics

The Canadian Shield has very good mining. In fact, the region is one of the beat for mining in all of Canada. It is the first region to remain above water and helped form many of the other regions in Canada.

Environmental Concerns

Acid rain is damaging lots of the region. It poisons some of its lakes, destroying the ecosystem.

The St. Lawrence Lowland

St Lawrence Lowlands

Location

The St. Lawrence Lowlands are located between the Lakes Lake Huron, Erie and Ontario, and extend along the St. Lawrence river to Quebec City.

Climate

The St Lawrence Lowlands have a mild climate. Winters are not too cold and summers are not too hot either. The region is very humid and often gets lots precipitation.

Geological features/ Formation Process

This Region was formed during the last ice age ice sheets pushed soils from the Canadian Shield onto where they are to this current day. As they melted, giant lakes formed, much larger than today's Great Lakes. Once the lakes drained to their current size, forming the Great Lakes. In between the old shoreline and the present shoreline, areas of fertile sand were left behind.

Landforms

There are not many landforms in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. The landforms of this region are small hills, the St Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie.

Vegetation

Because of the fertile soil, many forms of vegetation can grow. Many trees grow here, such as maple, walnut, oak, and hemlock.

Unique Characteristics

The St. Lawrence Lowlands have lots of fertile soil so there is good farming in the area. In the region there are lots of orchards, vinyards, and other plants that could not be grown anywhere else in Canada, excluding the Okenogan.

Environmental Concerns

Pollution is lowering air quality and creating acid rain, which damages crops and kills the fish living in the Great Lakes. People say that some of the Great Lakes will be dead for one thousand years.