Hudson Bay/Arctic Lowlands

Arctic Lowlands

Hudson Bay/Arctic Lowlands

Climate

Citations/References

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hudson-bay/

http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpe/environments/inland_water/hudson.htm

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/physiographic-regions/

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Biodiversity/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166949.html

Clark, B.W., Wallace, J.K., and Earle, K.M (2006). Making Connections: Canada's Geography.

Hudson Bay Human Settlements (http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/HudsonPlains/human.html)

Human Settlements

(2nd ed). Toronto: Pearson Education.

The first human settlement was in the 1600's by Henry Hudson and his crew. In the 1700's they constructed forts near the bay which helped them travel around. Later, they began hunting and started fur trades with Europeans. Today the forts are pretty well recognized but it's very unpopulated with around 10000 residents.

Both the Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Arctic Lowlands climate is very a like. They both have very short but pretty warm summers while having long, harsh, and cold winters. It also rains/snow a lot in these regions. Hudson Bay Lowlands has the highest precipitation levels in Canada, the same can not be said for the Arctic Lowlands as it is very, very dry and cold mostly throughout the year

Landscape & Location

Hudson Bay Lowlands are located in Ontario, Manitoba and in a small portion of Quebec near the coastline of Hudson Bay, stretching for a area of 320 000 km^2. To the North is the Hudson Bay, with lowland levels/flat land and no exits for the water from the Bay, it's a very wet and marshy wetland. To the South is the Canadian shield which surrounds the Hudson Bay Lowlands entirely.

Natural Resources

In the Hudson Bay Lowlands, there is a layer of natural resources underneath the Lowlands containing mostly oil and small portions of lignite, natural gas and sedimentary rocks. There is also a mass variety of fish in the region too, with 40-50 types of marine species.

Lignite

Plants & Animals

In the Hudson Bay Lowlands, a myriad of species inhabit the land due to its varying landscape and vegetation. There are mostly species of birds that are found in this region with more than 200 species of birds found migrating in the spring time. Hudson Bay Lowlands are mostly used as a breeding site for animals all around. There are also a lot of marine animals to be found in the Hudson Bay Itself such as trike, cod, and pikes. The Vegetation is great in the higher land levels where it is drier but most of the Hudson Bay Lowlands is a wet, swampy place.

Economic Activities

In the Hudson Bay Lowlands, there is Ontario’s largest protected area, Polar Bear Provincial Park. It's very influenced by the salt water in Hudson Bay and the tides that comes once in a while. People can come here to see a wide variety of animals such as fish, mammals, insects and birds.

Landscape & Location

The Arctic Lowlands is at the North of Canada located south from the Innuitian region and north from the Canadian Shield. It covers about 2.6million km^2 which is roughly about 26% of Canada. This Lowland is mostly covered in snow and ice as it in still in the Ice age. There is a lot of Lakes and Rivers in this due to the ice sheets which has also made the land into a bunch of islands.

Natural Resources

A like the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the Arctic Lowlands also contains lignite, oil, natural gas, and sedimentary rocks, but the Arctic contains far more minerals such as zinc, lead, gold, and iron. There is also a lot of fresh water in the region as there are a lot of untouched snow there.

Economic activity and Human Settlements

There are very little human activites in the Arctic as it has very harsh climates and has very uninhabitable conditions, but there is the city of iqaluit which is close to the Arctic Lowlands but not exactly in it. The only economic activity there would be fishing since the ocean is close by and one can do ice fishing over lakes. There can also be hunting for animals such as polar bears possibly.

Plants & Animals

In the Arctic Lowlands, there are a lot of winter animals such as polar bears, beluga whales, arctic fox, wolverines, and some snow owls.

The Arctic Lowlands are covered in a layer of snow so there are not much vegetation/plants in the area.