Canada's Landform Regions

Landform Regions

• A landform region constitutes a specific area sharing the same major landforms like plains, mountains, or plateaus.
• Canada's landform regions were shaped by tectonic forces, erosion, land building, sediments, and glaciation.
• Canada consists of three main landform types: Canadian Shield (oldest and largest), highlands (mountainous), and lowlands (low-lying).
• Highlands and lowlands contain smaller sub-regions leading to 7 distinct landform regions.
• Highland regions: The Appalachians, The Innuitians, and The Western Cordillera.
• Lowland regions: Interior Plains, The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands, and the Hudson Bay and Arctic Lowlands.

Western Cordillera

• Located in British Columbia and the Yukon.
• Features mountain belts divided by plateaus and valleys.
• Rocky mountains reach heights of 3000 meters, with active glaciers.
• Contains forested areas, sedimentary and volcanic rock

Interior Plains

• Located in Alberta, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
• Sediments from the Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Shield compose the plains.
• Thousands of meters thick of sedimentary rock.
• Primarily treeless, consisting mainly of grasses and herbs, with coniferous trees in the boreal forests to the north.
• Land is suitable for farming, wheat cultivation, and cattle raising, with rolling hills, fertile soil, and three levels of elevation.

Canadian Shield

• Located in Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland.
• Lakes and rivers formed by glacial scraping.
• Igneous and metamorphic rocks exist, formed by volcanic activity and the alteration of igneous rocks by heat and pressure.
• There are some of the oldest extinct volcanos, flat lands and rolling hills.
• Abundant trees (pine, tamarack, coniferous), wood, and forestry resources are used for housing and building.

Lowlands

• It can be found in Ontario, Manitoba, a small portion of Quebec, and Nunavut.
• Consistent physical features between the Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Arctic Lowlands.
• Short, cool summers and long, cold winters.
• Permafrost leads to poorly developed soil, which prevents farming.
• Large mountains with shrubs, grasses, trees, and animals (bears, wolves, cows) are present for sustenance and commerce.

Innuitians

• Located in the arctic parts of Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
• Glaciers, ice sheets, and mountains cover the plant-less ground.
• No warmer than freezing due to weak sun exposure.
• The Subarctic tundra supports various species, however, no trees grow due to permafrost.
• Resources include water, plant roots, and animals (hare, wolves, coyotes) for hunting and food.

Appalachia

• Located throughout Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Southeastern Quebec.
• Rolling mountains, hills, and uneven mountainous terrain due to millions of years of erosion.
• Temperatures range from 10°C in the north to about 18°C in the south end of the highlands.
• The average frost-free period is about 100 days in the northern mountains and about 220 days in the low southern parts.
• Mixed forests with deciduous and coniferous trees include dead maples, star flowers, violets, aspen, mountain ash, red spruce, white pine, hemlock, apple trees, and sugar maple trees can be found here.

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Located in Quebec and Ontario.
• Formed during the Paleozoic era by ice carving during the Pleistocene glaciations.
• Bodies of water (St. Lawrence River, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior), fertile soil, forests, and hills define it today.
• Humid continental climate with hot summers and very cold winters.
• Vegetation includes maple trees, walnut, oak, spruce, hemlock, sassafras, and tobacco plants due to fertile soil.
• Fertile soil supports agriculture and forestry, along with fish from the Great Lakes (maple trees, walnut, oak, spruce, hemlock, sassafras)

Vegetation

• Vegetation is defined as Plants considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area or habitat

Tundra Vegetation Region

• It is a large barren and arctic land in the very North of Canada that lacks trees and is known for the permafrost
• Beneath rivers and lakes, ice can extend down to 1500 meters under the surface and lacks vegetation
• Has extreme freezing temperatures which can reach down to -34 to -6 degrees Celsius
• Has short summers, continuous daylight, long winters and low annual precipitation

Boreal Forest Vegetation Region

• The boreal forest is a vast, coniferous forest that stretches across Northern Canada, which is one of the world's largest biomes, and one of the last remaining wilderness areas.
• Is a carbon reservoir that is home to trees, like pine, spruce, larches, wetlands, and lichens.
• Summer temperatures range from 13 to 15.5 celsius and the winter temperature ranges from -17.5 to -13.5/ It also has permafrost confined to its peatlands.
• Temperature depend on its position in Canada, but it usually has a lower temperature

Grassland Vegetation Region

• The Grassland Region of western Canada, also known as the Canadian Prairies, which includes parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
• They are part of the Great Plains in North America and the northern part reaches a less dense population and more forests
• The growing season is extremely short, with cool summers, harsh, cold winters, and low precipitation
• The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a private, non-profit organization that works to protect Canada’s biodiversity.
• Cold winters and warm summers, low precipitation, and temperature varies greatly between seasons.

Parkland Vegetation Region

• One of Alberta’s richest agricultural regions, making up about 12 percent of Alberta.
• A transition between the mixed-wood forests to the north and west and the drier prairies to the south and east, which has a park-like appearance.
• The rich agricultural land has black soils and receives ample rainfall.
• Receives ample rainfall, with moderate temperatures with distinct seasons.
• Warmer than boreal forests but cooler than grasslands.

West-Coast Forest Vegetation

• A coastal rainforest located in British Columbia that is home to many mosses and other hydrated plants due to its high precipitation.
• The temperature in the West-Coast forest is pretty moderate due to its ocean air, with cool summers and average winters, which means its range is pretty small.
• The temperature range is between 10 degrees and 15 degrees year round.
• The climate is also quite humid, leading for more moist temperatures
• Animals such as bears, salmon, and wolves thrive in this forest, also decomposing to create enriched soil.
• Douglas-fir Sitka spruce, western redcedar and western hemlock trees make up the majority of this forest.

Mixed Forest Vegetation Region

• Found in Eastern Canada, this region has both deciduous (broad-leaved) and coniferous trees.
• It acts as a transition between the boreal forest to the north and the broad-leaved forest to the south.
• Warm summers and cold winters, and more precipitation than boreal forests, supporting a mix of tree species.

Broad-Leaved Forest Vegetation

• A deciduous forest found in southern Ontario and parts of Quebec.
• Trees like maple, oak, and beech dominate, known for vibrant fall colors.
• Moderate climate with warm summers and mild winters.
• High precipitation year-round, supporting dense tree growth.

Cordilleran Vegetation

• Found in western Canada along the Rocky Mountains.
• Vegetation varies by elevation, with dense forests at lower altitudes and alpine tundra at higher elevations.
• Highly variable climate depending on altitude, with moderate temperatures at lower elevations, and cold temperatures, heavy snowfall, and short growing seasons at higher elevations.