Download - Physical Regions of Canada
Physical Regions of CanadaHow can Canada be divided into physical regions?
Appalachian RegionSoutheastern USA to MaritimesVaried landscape of rolling hills, valleys, small mountains, highlands and coastal fjords
What is left of an older mountain range worn down by glaciers and millions of years of erosion
o Sedimentary rocko Igneous rocko Metamorphic rock
The Rock Cycle
Canadian Shield Region½ of Canada’s land surface
Hardest rigid blocks, surrounded by younger continental landforms
Once volcanic mountain range2 billion years oldSparcely populated, little soil fertility Full of valuable minerals: gold, nickel, platinum, diamonds etc.
Arctic RegionUntapped mineral reserves
St. Lawrence LowlandsBetween Lake Huron, Erie and OntarioGlacial melt created great lake and fertile soil surrounding St. Lawrence
Niagara Falls – created by glacier activityMillions of years ago.
Interior PlainsStretched from Cordillera mountians to Canadian shield Mostly flat land rolling hills and river valleysMillions of years ago was tropical climate – over time remains pressed between sedimentary layers to form large deposits of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas and evaorites such as potashEvaporite – type of sedimentary deposit resulting from the evaporation of seawater
CordilleraParallel mountain ranges
Includes dormant volcanoes, glaciers, ice fields
Rocky and Coastal mountainsFormed by plate collision caused the earth’s crust to buckle, pushing and folding volcanic rock into mountains.Plate movement called plate tectonics
Climates of CanadaClimate - temperatures, humidity, rainfall, and atmospheric conditions of a region over a long period of timeContinental climate – climate of continents interiorMaritime climate – a coastal climate Conditions that affect Canada’s regions (old p.104, new p.25)
LatitudeAltitudeDistance from the seaWind directionOcean direction
Prince Rupert, Edmonton, and St.John’s are all app. same latitude, yet have different climates. What are the main reason the climate of each city is different from the other two?
Climographs (old p.105, new p.26)
precipitation and temperature
Precipitation - Rainfall, snow, hail and fog – varies by regionClimographs – show average monthly temp. with line graph and monthly precipitation with bar graph
Climate ChangePast 200 years world’s become more industrialized and burns massive amounts of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) - trapped green house gases in atmosphereGreenhouse effect – change of weather patternsList 3 impacts climate change has had on your community. In what ways has if affected you and your family? (socially, economicaly, politically?)