Vegetation and Formation of Canada’s Physiographic Regions

Existant Biomes In Each Physiographic Region:

Arctic:

-Subarctic
-Tundra

Cordillera:

-Grassland
-Parkland
-Open Woodland
-Coniferous Forest
-Coast and Interior Forest
-Tundra

Interior plains:

-Grassland
-Parkland
-Open Woodland
-Coniferous Forest
-Tundra

The Canadian Shield:

-Subarctic
-Mixed Forest
-Open Woodland
-Tundra

St. Lawrence Lowlands:

-Coniferous Forest
-Mixed Forest

Appalachians:

-Open Woodland
-Coniferous Forest
-Mixed Forest

 

Describing The Biomes:

Subarctic- swampy;  scattered coniferous trees mixed with tundra vegetation. Wildlife: caribou, lemmings, and snowy owls.

The Mackenzie Mountains, Yukon-Northwest Territories

(The Mackenzie Mountains, Yukon-Northwest Territories)

Tundra-  treeless landscape mostly low shrubs, mosses, and lichens. Polar bears, seals, walruses, muskox, and Arctic foxes survive here.

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(Keewatin area, Churchill, Manitoba)

Open woodland- scattered evergreen trees, shrubs, and grass. Caribou, martens, bears, geese, beaver, and lynx all live here.

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 (Woodland West)

Coniferous forest- Evergreens such as spruce, fir, pine, and aspen. Wildlife: deer, moose, black bears,  fur-bearing animals, hawks, eagles,  wild ducks. This are contain infertile soil.

coniferous

(Alberta)

Coast and interior forest-  Wet and mild climate. The slopes of mountains above the treeline have Tundra and Arctic vegetation; there is short grass and plants. There is an abundant wildlife: cougars, mountain sheep, bears, moose, and birds.

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(Boughton Island, Central Coast B.C.)

Mixed forest-  softwood trees: hemlock and cedar & hardwood trees: maple, birch, oak, and ash. There is the same wildlife as in the coniferous forest. Soil is more fertile in mixed forests than in coniferous forests.

Algoma Highlands, Ontario

(Algoma Highlands, Ontario)

Parkland- long grasses, clumps of aspen and cottonwood trees; the wildlife is the same as in the coniferous forest and grasslands.

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(Alberta)

Grassland- short grasses, not enough moisture for trees… Wildlife: antelope, gophers, and wild fowl. The soil here is more fertile than in the forest regions.

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(Frenchman River Valley and Three Sisters Butte, West Block)

 

The Formation of Physiographic Regions:

 

Arctic:  Fold mountains were formed by the build up of pressure from the Canadian Shield pushing up sedimentary rock.
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Cordillera: Formed by the collision of the North American and Pacific plates.

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Interior plains: Made up of soil that was carried down by rivers from the Canadian Shield and deposited at it’s edge. Then, they turned into flat lands, river valleys and rolling hills.

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The Canadian Shield: Used to be a volcanic mountain range. Over time, weathering and erosion have worn land down to a landscape of flat, bare rocks, lakes, and wetlands.

St. Lawrence Lowlands: Formed when ice sheets retreated and pushed soils to make lowlands. When the ice sheets melted, huge lakes were created all over the St. Lawrence region.

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Appalachians: Range of mountains that were worn down by glaciers and erosion. It made a diverse landscape of rolling hills, valleys, small mountains, highlands, and coastal fjords.

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Topography Of Canada

Topography Of Canada

Arctic Region

The arctic region consists of plains, lowlands, and mountains. The sedimentary rock has been pushed up by the pressure at the northeastern edge of the Canadian Shield, forming a range of fold mountains. Kettle lakes and glaciers are found in that area as well, along with plenty minerals located in the mountainous areas.

 

Baffin Mountains (Located in Nunavut)

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Cordillera Region

The cordillera region is a diverse landscape made up of parallel mountain ranges separated by plateaus, trenches, and valleys in British Columbia and Yukon. This area which also includes dormant volcanoes, glaciers, and ice fields, is part of a chain of mountains that stretch from Alaska to Chile. The landform was formed through plate tectonics movement. Plate collision caused the earth’s crust to push together and folded volcanic rock into mountains.

 

Montane Cordillera

(Incorporated in the valleys of Bristish Columbia such as the Albertafoothills and Okanagan Valley)1557981

Interior Plains region

The Interior Plains spread from the Canadian Shield to the Cordillera mountains. They formed when soil carried away by rivers from the Canadian Shield deposited at its edge. Sedimentary rock was then formed, which became areas of flat land, rolling hills, and river valleys. Overtime, remains of plants and animals were pressed between sedimentary layers, which formed deposits of fossil fuels (oil, gas) and evaporites (potash).

 

(Located in Calgary) 

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Made by Ana Popa