1)

Politics

• Aboriginals forced to give up land for european settlers
•  Colony and Community leaders often Loyalists or British officers
• Ruled by rich aristocrates
• upper class in charge
• lower class starting to demand democracy vs. upper class wanting to stay in power
• expected to conform or else cannot be in positions of power
• loyalty to Britain
• oligarchy (Family Compact)

Society

• barely any roads, everything was hard to reach
•  it took a long time to clear the land
• there is an upper and lower society
• communities and social groups were dependent on each other
• majority of immigrants are lower class
• close knit communities
• colonists learn from First Nations
• religion central to culture

 

Economy

• this is a barter economy
• payments are done with goods like wood or wheat
• no currency
•  fur trade was a big industry which was mostly controlled by Hudson´s Bay
• trade to overseas (for example Britain) via ship
• mortgage caused many people to be in dept
• land reserved for government and church
• most of the landlords were in Britain and just held on to the land to make profit

2)

Farming

In the picture we can see two men standing in an open space surrounded by trees. There is a path out of dirt with a cart on it. The cart is a cart for transporting wheat or other grains and is pulled by a horse. The field where the wheat come form is only a little field with barely enough grains on it to fill up that cart, but the farmer seems to make a living off the field and what he grows there. Another significance is that there are lots of tree stumps, so apparently he cleared the area by cutting down trees. The logs he could trade too, so that is a second way to make a living fir him. The two men look like they are in a handshake to finish a deal they just made. On of them, the one on the right, is well dressed and looks like he is part of the upper class, while the other man is not really well dressed, he might be lower class. That suggests that they are dependent on each other, because the farmer might trade the grains that he grows on his field to the land owner so he can us the land and live there. That is exactly what the textbook says about society and economy at that time.

 

 

Social Class

This picture shows a city like it looked like in the 1800´s. There are no high buildings, no traffic lights or cars. There are coaches pulled by horses and some buildings. One of those buildings, the one in the centre of the picture,  is big and in a bright color. It is also really big, so apparently it is owned by a member of the upper class. The buildings on the left side are smaller and look like they have not been painted in a long time. There is one door, but many units that all look the same, so there might be a lot of people living there together, each of them having not a lot of space for themselves. The people on the coaches that roll down the road are well dressed, so they might be the owner of the big and nice house or at least members of the upper class, while others are walking, maybe the people who live in one of the units in the apartment building. In the foreground of the picture there is a little hill and a river. Down at the bottom of the hill there are children playing in the mud, while above them, on top of the hill, there are people standing and talking. Those people, who are also well dressed, are looking at the playing children, maybe because it is their land.  The children look like they arrant a part of the upper class, so maybe that is the reason why the people on the hill are watching them and might not want them to be there. The fact that the upper class looking people are standing above the children and appearing higher, supports that impression.

 

 

Religion

This picture shows Toronto in the 1800´s. There are people walking down the road, all in the same direction, so apparently they have one common destination. Significant is that people from the really big and nice houses on the left side of the picture that are connected to a good road, and the people from the smaller and less splendid houses are apparently walking to the same place. That place seems to be the church which is a big building in the centre of the town, with its big tower that can be seen from anywhere in town. It seems that religion was an important part of the peoples´ live in that time. They all are dressed nicely and families are together. In the other parts of the picture there are no people, just on the roads toward the church there are people. The textbook says religion was a central part of the culture and this picture supports that statement.

 

 

Land Issues

 

This picture show a group of tents within a forest.  In the foreground there used to be lots of trees, but now there are only tree stumps, so most of that forest has been cut down. The two really high trees in the centre of the picture look like they are falling over, so maybe they are just being cut down in that scene. The forest is cut down by British settlers, which is shown by the British flag on on of the tents. Apparently the British cleared land to create a space for living and for building homes, a church and public institutions. The soil must be affected by the actions that were happening because all the trees, which have the shape of evergreen tress, have lost their needles, maybe due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. That is a problem that is still occurring as more and more trees are cut down, the whole ecosystem is affected. That picture partly agrees to the textbook. The textbook does say they clear land,but it says it took along time. In the picture it looks like they are cutting down the forest in a really short time.

 

Sources:

http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/bchan/2014/02/17/224/

 

• Cordillera

 Map:

The Region on the left side of the map, which shows the Western part of Canada ist he Cordillera Region. British Columbia and Yukon are the Provinces in that Physiographic region, in the East there is a little part of Alberta included. The Western and Northern extent are the Northern Corner of the Yukon, where the border to the USA is. The Eastern extent peeks into Alberta and the Southern extent ist he border to the USA.

 Relative Location:

The Cordillera Region extents from Southern BC to Northern Yukon. It is 800 kilmeters wide and, going from the Pacific Coast in the West to peeking into Alberta in the East. The Southern extent ist he US border with the Ivvavik Park and ist Northern Extent.

 

 Absolute Location:

Northern Extent: 69°32´59.5572´´N

Southern Extent: 48°4´41.0844´´N

Western Extent. 140°53´19.2192´´W

Eastern Extent:   113°54´22.5000´´W

 

 

Place and Region:

The Cordillera has a diverse , varying landscape composed by parallel mountain ranges, which are separated by plateaus, trenches and valleys. There are also dormont volcanoes and in the Northern part oft he region there are large glaciers and ice fields. The region also has a teeming with wildlife and vegetation, as its comprised of 6 different biomes, which are: Tundra, Coniferous Forest, Coast and Interior Forest, Parkland, Grassland and Open Woodland. Since both Coniferous and Coast and Interior Forest are forest biomes, there are a lot of evergreens (spruce, fir, spine, etc.) and large trees with greater groth due to wet and mild climate.

 

 

 

Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

 

The cultural landscape is mostly located in the Coastal areas in Southern BC with Vancouver, the Tri Cities area and other cities and communities. Those cities are surrounded by mountains, which are the main part that shapes the physical landscape of of the Cordillera Region. On those mountains the cultural landscape is composed from skiing resorts and their towns, skiing lifts and roads.

 

 

Mt. Waddington

Golf Chateau, Whistler, BC

 

 

The other major part of the physical landscape are trees and green spaces in the grasslands and Ice fields in the Northern Yukon.

 

Wernecke Mountains, Yukon

 

 

Formation:

The region was formed by the shifting of the Pacific Plate, which is an oceanic plate and the North American Plate, which is a continental plate. They are moving towards each other so oceanic subduction occurs, which causes the less dense, lighter oceanic plate to subduct under the more dense, heavier continental plate. This process caused Mountains, Plateus, Valleys and Volcanoes to form out of volcanic rock.

In this picture there a visualzation of oceanic subduction, like it occurs on the Pacific Coast of the Cordillera Region.

 

 

That is the reason why the coastal region in BC is mostly shaped by mountians. Erosion, caused by two factors, shaped the mountains to what they are now. First, in the last ice age, flowing glaciers carved the mountains under huge pressure and weight, and now rivers are still carving out valleys and moving minerals all over the region.

 

Human and Environmental Interaction

Natural Resources: The Cordillera Region has a variety of natural resources, with mining and forestry as the main industries. The rich, fertile soil maked agriculture another profitable industry in BC.

 

Economy in Numbers:

 

GDP

 

Total GDP: 204.805.000 Dollars

 

Real Estate: 36.365.000 (17.75%)

Construction: 16.767.000 (8.18%)

Health Care: 15.127.000 (7.38%)

Manufacturing: 14.693.000 (7.17%)

Public Administration: 12.736.000 (6.21%)

 

 

People Employed:

 

Total: 2.336.000

 

Retail and Wholesale: 348.000

Other Services: 305.000

Health Care: 275.000

Construction: 201.000

Educational Services: 189.000

 

Forestry: 54.000

Africulture: 21.000

 

The GDP and the numbers of employment are not necessarily dependent on each other, so for example there is an employment number of 189.000 in the Educational Services, this Industry is not in the Top 5 list of the industries with the highest GDP.

 

 

 

• Interior Plains

 

Map

 

Relative Location

The Interior Plains region extents from Western Alberta, where the border to BC is, to its Eastern extent in Western manitoba. It is very wide in the South, along the US border, but as we look more up North, it has only the West- East extent of Alberta. Ist Southern border is the United States border, the Northern border is the arctic sea in the Northwest Territories.

 

Absolute Location

Northern Extent: 69°57´37.5804´´N

Southern Extent: 48°57´56.8584´´N

Western Extent: 120°11´25.5480´´W

Eastern Extent:   97°7´8.9076´´W

 

Place and Region

The landscape of the Interior Plains is mostly composed of flat lands, rolling hills and river valleys. The region is varying in biomes, with the Southern half composed of parklands, grasslands and coniferous forest, with the Northern half composed of open woodland.

 

 

Alberta, Highway 63

 

 

 

Porcupine Hills, Southwest of Calgary, Alberta

 

Formation

Soil, carried by the rivers from the Canadian Shield, formed this region as they settled as sedimentary rock in horizontal layers. That is why the land is mostly flat.

 

This picture shows how Sedimentary rock is formed.

 

Human and Environmental Interaction

 

Resources

The region has vast amounts of fossil fuels, making it have one oft he largest oil industries in Canada. The landscape, which flat and rich soil is also ideal for farming and agriculture. By digging huge holes into the ground and carrying soil away natural habitats are destroyed. In addition to that people have to build roads to get there, so they might have to cut down forests, which are important natural habitats.

 

Economy in Numbers (Alberta)

 

Employed: Total: 2.276.000

 

Top 5, Emplyoments by industry

1. Trade (324.000)
2. Health and Social Assistance (273.000)
3. Construction (255.000)
4. Professional scientific and technical services (175.000)
5. Forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas (155.000)

 

GDP: Total: 286.600.000

1. Energy (80.248.000; 28%)
2. Finance and Real Estate (40.124.000; 14%)
3. Business and Commercial services (28.660.000; 10%)
4. Construction (25.744.000; 9%)
5. Retail and Wholesale (22.928.000; 8%)

 

 

Energy contributes most of GDP

• due to oil industry
• due to large deposits of fossil fuels

 

 

 

 

• Canadian Shield

Map

Relative Location

The Canadian Shield surrounds the Hudson Bay, so it coverst he provinces Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Nunavut. It extents from the southernmost of Ontario to all the way up north tot he south-east corner of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut. In width, the Canadian Shield goes from the Eastern part of Quebec to the Eastern part oft he Northwest Territories and the North- East corner of Alberta. Its southern neighbour are the St. Lawrence Lowlands and in the east it touches the Appalachian region and the Atlantic ocean.

 

Absolute Location

Northern Extent: 76°38´21.2136´´N

Southern Extent: 45°31´18.2784´´N

Western Extent: 83°9´59.4144´´W

Eastern Extent: 61°36´40.7807´´W

 

Place and Region

The Canadian Shield is a large area, making up half of Canada’s land surface. The region is mainly flat bare rocks, which makes it hard to build houses and nearly impossible to grow plants. The region is also composed of lakes and wetlands. This is due to the fact that the region was once a volcanic mountain range, that was worn down to its present state by the effects of glaciers (glacial erosion). The region is primarily coniferous in the Southern part, with small amount of mixed forests and open woodland. The northern part is primarily tundra with some subarctic areas.

 

 

 

Picanoc River in Pontiac, Quebec with bare rock and surrounded by a coniferous forest.

 

 

 

 

Human and Environmental Interaction

In this region there are many minerals to find, due to the region being covered by mostly bare

rock. The most common minerals are copper, coal iron along with gold and diamonds.

 

Numbers employed (Quebec)

 

Total: 4.097.000

 

1. Health Care (576.500)
2. Manufacturing (488.600)
3. Wholesale, Retail and Trade (662.000)
4. Professional, Technical and Scientific services (315.000)
5. Accomodation and Food services (270.400)

 

 

GDP

 

Total: 370.064.000

 

1. Manufacturing (5.439.940; 14,7%)
2. Real Estate (4.181.723; 11,3%)
3. Health Care (3.071.531; 8.3%)
4. Public Administration (2.775.480; 7,5%)
5. Construction (2.442.422; 6,6%)

 

 

• St. Lawrence Lowlands

Map

Relative Location

The St. Lawrence Lowlands region extents from southern extent of Ontario to the very edge of the Northwest of Newfoundland. In the west it goes from the western Manitoulin Island to the west coast of Newfoundland. At ist south is the US border which also surrounds the eastern and western area oft he southern most extent of the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

 

Absolute Location

Northern Extent: 49°33´13.4136´´N

Southern Extent: 41°46´16.7232´´N

Western Extent: 83°9´59.4144´´W

Eastern Extent: 61°36´40.7808´´W

 

 

Place and Region

 

The region has many fertile areas of of flat lands and rolling hills , leading to many fruits and vegetables to be grown. There are many trees as the region mainly consists of the mixed forest biome and traces of open woodland.

 

 

Lanaudier Plain, the picture show lots of rich soil which provides perfect conditions for farming.

 

 

Reserve Taunique de Portneuf, Quebec

 

Formation

The land was carved and shaped by retreating ice sheets from the ice age. These sheets also pushed soils from the shield onto the land, which is why areas are so fertile. The lakes were made as the ice melted and filled the holes, that were pressed into the ground by the huge weight of the ice. That is why most of the lakes are not connected to any rivers or other lakes. They got their present state due to drainage.

 

 

Human and Environmental Ineraction

While not great in mineral resources the region has very rich and very fertile soils, leading to plenty of of farmlands.

 

Numbers employed (Ontario)

 

Total: 618.050.000

1. Wholesale and Retail (1.042.000)
2. Health Care (812.000)
3. Manufacturing (244.000)
4. Professional, Scientific and Technical services (529.000)
5. Finance (543.000)

 

 

GDP

 

Total: 618.050.000

1. Real Estate (84.591.000; 13,6%)
2. Finance and Insurance (60.125.000; 9,7%)
3. Professional and Administrative services (57.864.000; 9,3%)
4. Public Administration (42.604.000; 6,8%)
5. Health Care (41.702.000; 6,7%)

 

 

 

• Arctic Region

Map

 

Relative Location

The arctic region is the North- Eastern region on the map that is marked in yellow. In the Eastern Part, on Baffin Island there is the capital citiy of the province, Iqualit. The Arctic Region is composed of many small Islands around the Hudson Bay and ist Northern extents almost touch   the West Coast of Greenland. The arctic region is in Northern Canada. Ist Western Border is the arctic ocean, the Eastern Border is Greenland. It is Northern from the Hudson Bay and the Canadian Shield region. The furthest Western extent reaches all the way to the Alaskan Border.

 

Absolute Location

Northern Extent: 82°59´38.8752´´N

Southern Extent: 63°38´33.2808´´N

Western Extent: 140°53´19.2192´´W

Eastern Extent:   68°38´33.2808´´W

 

Place and Region

The Arctic region is not as diverse and varying as for example the Cordillera region because it is too cold. The ground is permanently frozen, so plants can barely grow. The only plants that grow are mostly shrubs, which are outstandingly strong. Their strength results from the strong arctic winds. Those winds reach up to more than 200 kilometers per hour and nothing really blockst hem because it is mostly flat land.

 

 

 

 

The physical landscape is shaped by flatlands, plains and mountains and mostly icy, only for 2 to 3 months per year it is not covered in ice.

 

 

Iqualit, Nunavut, Canada

 

The only wild animals in the arctic regions are Polar Bear, Walruss and Narwhal. The reason why there is not a varying wildlife are the same factors that affect the vegetation: It is too cold and there is barely any food to find. The cultural landscape in the arctic is different from all the other Physiographic regions. There is a very little population density because it is hard to build houses and keep them warm in temperature of 40° C below and colder. The cities are composed of small houses and only little groups of houses.

 

 

 

Iqualit, the capital of Nunavut, Canada

 

 

Formation

The arctic region was formed by flowing glaciers, which still cover 5% of the Canadian Arctic. Those Glaciers carved away rock and pressed the ground to a flat landsform. In the Winter a major part oft he arctic landsmass is formed by sea ice, so the area rapidly increases as the rivers, lakes and the ocean start freezing in September. In the South the waters are ice-free from June to October, in the North only from July to August.

 

This picture shows the glaciation that formed and shaped the arctic region.

 

Human and Environmental Interaction

 

The main natural resources oil and natural gas. Since the rock is the same as in the Appalachians, it is estimated that there are similar mineral resources. The industry is based on mining and oil.

 

(in million dollars, numbers from 2014)

 

1. Final Consumption Expenditure (2010)
2. Imports of goods and services (1944)
3. Final Domestic Demand ( 3093)
4. Goods (300)
5. Business and Capital ( 831)

 

• Appalachian Region

Map

 

Relative Location

The Appalachian region is the very Eastern region on this map. It covers the Eastern extent of Newfoundland and the provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. It has similar

Precipitation as the Cordillera region because it is a Coastal region, too.

 

Absolute Location

Northern Extent: 51°43´37.3008´´N

Southern Extent: 45°31´18.2784´´N

Western Extent: 74°10´46.8768´´W

Eastern Extent:   52°59´52.9692´´W

 

 

Place and Region

 

Appalachians are composed of highlands, mountains (mainly rolling hills), narrow river valleys and Fjords. The biomes are Open Woodland and Coniferous and Mixed Forest. In those mountains it is not as hard to settle as in the Rocky Mountains or the Coastal Mountains because the Appalachians are not as steep and not as high. But they do affect the Settlement and the economy, because there are not really big open spaces where people could farm food.

 

 

Cabot Trail on Breto Island in Nova Scotia

 

Formation

 

The region was formed oceanic subduction, since it is right next to the ocean. When the tectonic plates subduct they form volcanoes and mountains. Those mountains were eroded by glaciers, which gave them their present shape.

   

 

Human and Environmental Interaction

 

The main resource of the region are logging and coal mining. The logging started off as a big challenge because in the region there weren´t really good roads and the acces to the mining and logging places was very difficult.

 

People employed (Newfoundland)

 

Total: 236.200

 

1. Forestry, Fishing ( 16.200)
2. Services Producing Sector (182.000)
3. Wholesale and Retail Trade (41.600)
4. Educational Services (15.100)
5. Construction (22.600)

 

GDP

 

Total: 26.005.500

 

1. Mining and Oil Extraction (8.135.500)
2. Construction (2.641.600)
3. Retail Trade (1.459.500)
4. Real Estate Rental and Leasing (2.221.000)
5. Health Care and Social Assistance (1.827.000)

 

 

Settlement

 

Cordillera

 

Topography:

Due to the various mountain ranges, towns and cities are generally located on the Coast or in valleys. This also means that there is little room for expansion. If the population would grow, the population density would rapidly increase. Up north threr is far more room, however, the cimate stops people from living there.

 

Climate:

SPeaking of the climate in the southern half of the region is cold and and wet. And while that usually means people would stay away, the copious amount of rain makes the trees grow larger, which is good fort he forestry business. Along with that, there are a few pockets of land which are very rich and fertile.

 

Vancouver is right on the Coast, which is good for trade.

 

Interior Plains

 

Topography:

The plains’ large flat lands mean people can spread out because there is lots of room. Resulting from that the population density is way lower than in the Cordillera region.
Climate:

The southern half of the region is warmer than most other regions, which is one of the reasons people move to this part of the region. Like in the cordillera region only a few people live in th enorthern area because it is more than 30°C below 0 so it is way too cold.

 

Canadian Shield

 

Topography:

Due to the topography of the region there are not as many people as in other regions, even though it is one of the biggest regions in Canada. This is because the ground is mainly bare rocks with tough terrain, which not only makes travel difficult, but but also unsuitable for farmland.

 

Climate:

Climate truly plays a factor farther up north where barely anyone lives due to how cold it is.

 

The vast amounts of minerals play a factor.

 

St. Lawrence Lowlands

Topography:

Though the region is rather small, it houses half of the Canadian Population, though ares like Vancouver and in the Cordilleras are rather concetrated and densely populated. The soil in the St. Lawrence Lowlands is very fertile, which means plenty of farmlands, which causes many people to settle there.

 

Climate:

The temperature is rather warm compared to most of the other regions. The climate in the St. Lawrence Lowlands is comparable to the climate in the Southern Cordillera.

 

 

Places to visit

 

Cordillera

• Vancouver- Why?

Vamcouver is abeautiful place which is close to nature like Stanley Park or the mountains. Also there are lots of different people and cultures in Vancouver.

 

Interior Plains

• Calgary, Alberta- Why?

Calgary has lots of cultural events like the Calgary Stampede Rodeo event or the Old West Celebration event.

 

Canadian Shield

• Quebec City- Why?

Quebec is one of the oldest settlements in North America and is a good place to experience the French Canadian culture.

 

St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Toronto Ontario, CN tower, Niagara Falls- Why?

Toronto is the largest city in Canada, so there is lots of activities and sightseeing to do. The best spots for sightseeing in Toronto are the CN- Tower and Casa Loma. A little bit outside Toronto there are the world famous Niagara Falls and the Great Lakes.

 

 

Arctic

• Iqualit, Nunavut

Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum

Toonik Tyme Spring Festival

 

Iqualit is the biggest city in the arctic region and the capital city of Nunavut. There are not a lot of outdoor activities because it is extremely cold, but there are lots of museums that provide good visualization and information about the arctic region.

 

Appalchian Region:

• Calot Trail on Breto Island in Nova Scotia

The Calot Trail is a spectacular drive, overlooking both the ocean and the rolling hills. There are also some hiking trails through the forests that cover most of that region.

 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.stats.gov.nu.ca/en/Economic%20GDP.aspx

http://www.latlong.net

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/geological-regions/

http://www.first-nations.info/arviat-inuit-community.html

http://www.abelard.org/briefings/antarctica_melting_ice.php

Manley, Joan H. Horizons. Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Heinle & Heinle, 1998. Print.

http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/statistics/GDP/PDF/GDP_Industry.pdf

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/econ15-eng.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numbers employed in different industries (Top 5)

Total number employed: 2.276.000

1. Trade (607.600)
2. Health and Social assistance (273.300)
3. Construction (255.100)
4. Professional scientific and technical services (175.600)
5. Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Oil and Gas (155.800)

Source:  http://work.alberta.ca/labour/2016-monthly-labour-force-statistics.html

 

How much the industries make: GDP by industry

1. Energy (25,5%,
2. Finance and Real Estate (13,5%,
3. Construction (10,8%,
4. Business and Commercial (10,2%,
5. Retail and Wholesale (9,3%,

Source: https://www.albertacanada.com/files/albertacanada/SP-EH_highlightsABEconomyPresentation.pdf

 

How is the environment affected?

• There may not be enough water because they use lots of water to make one barrel of oil

• they have to cut down trees for the pipelines
• they have to build new roads to reach the oilfields
• more than a million barrels of crude oil flow out of Aberta´s oil sands every day

Source: http://mapleleafweb.com/features/alberta-s-oil-sands-key-issues-and-impacts

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jun08/feature_tar_sands.asp

How would global warming affect the settlement patterns of Canadians?

The global warming is not a problem for Canada, because with almost 10 million square kilometers it is the second biggest country in the world, while 33 million people barely cover any of the available space.

 

The regions where the settlement could not be extended

 

1.  Cordilleras, where mountains make it significantly harder to settle there, because it is colder and it is harder to build houses there. From the climatic aspect the Cordillera region is the best one for settlement which would cause lots of people to go there. But only the small area where there are no mountains can be used for living space, so the population density would rapidly increase.
2. In the Canadian Shield the temperature is very similar to the Interior Plains, where there are lots of people living, but it is not possible to build houses or grow foods because the ground is rocky. The Interior Plains would still provide lots of room for new inhabitants as Canada warms up. Right now, the Settlement in that region extends from the border to the United States to North from Edmonton. North from there it is way too cold to live there, but the climate change might warm Northern Canada up so much that Settlement might get possible far north from Edmonton, so that would provide lots of room for living.
3. Since the temperature makes it nearly impossible to settle, the global warming would cause huge regions in Northern Canada to provide room where people can live. The temperature would rise to what it in the Interior Plains right now and there are lots of people permanently settled.

 

 

• Biomes in the Arctic:

-subarctic

 

Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

The ground in this biome is covered in permanent ice, so there might only grow some lichens, which are strongy built because they have to resist the strong arctic winds.

 

 

• Biomes in the Cordillera

 

• Coast and Interior Forest

Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Due to the location close to the coast the Coast and Interior Forest gets lots of precipitation.  Only in BC there are 60 Million Hectares covered by Coast and Interior Forests, that is about two thirds of the land-mass.

 

• Tundra

 

The ground in this biome is covered in permanent ice, so there might only grow some lichens, which are strongy built because they have to resist the strong arctic winds.

Grassland

 

The dry climate allows not many plants to grow, which is the reason why there is a small amount of trees, while most of the land-mass is covered in grasses, which can grow up to 1,5 meters high.

• Parkland

Parkland in the South Western corner of Alberta, Canada

This biome is between Forest and Grassland. There are some trees and some grass covered areas as you can see in the picture.

 

• Coniferous Forest

 

Manning Provincial Park, Southwestern BC, Canada

In this biome there are only Coniferous Trees, or how many people call them evergreen trees. Those trees never lose their leaves, even in Winter they keep them.

• Open Woodland

Graves Island Provincial Park, Nova Scotia

 

The tree population in this biome is not really dense, which provides good access to lot of sunlight and little amount of shadow.

 

 

• Biomes in the Canadian Shield

 

• Tundra

The ground in this biome is covered in permanent ice, so there might only grow some lichens, which are strongy built because they have to resist the strong arctic winds.

• open woodland

• coniferous forest

• mixed forest

 

Algoma Highlands, Ontario, Canada

In this biome there is enough precipitation for big trees to grow. Here we can see both coniferous and deciduous trees.

• Biomes in the Interior Plains Regiom

 

• Parkland

 

• Grassland

 

• Coast and Interior Forest

• Tundra

• Coniferous Forest

 

 

• Biomes in the St. Lawrence Lowlands Region

 

• Mixed Forest

• Coniferous Forest

 

 

• Biomes in the Appalachian Region

 

• Open Woodland

• Mixed Forest

• Coniferous Forest

 

 

How were all the Physiographic Regions formed?

How were the Cordilleras formed?

The Pacific plate subducting under the North American plate caused magma to rise into the earth surface, which then cooled down and forme the Coast Mountains. Those mountains are an important part of the Cordillera region.

 

How was the Interior Plains region formed?

500 Million years ago that region was covered by shallow seas. The rivers that were flowing into those seas deposited layer over layer of sedimentary rock. When the seas drought out the sedimentary rock became the surface of the Interior Plains region and is now mostly covered in grass.

 

 

How was the Arctic regions formed?

During the last Ice Age, when Canada was completely covered by giant glaciers, there were Glaciers flowing in all directions in the Arctic region. The ground was compressed under the huge weight of the glaciers, that is why ist is still so flat.

 

 

How was the Canadian Shield region formed?

The Canadian Shield was formed by plate tectonic movements, volcanic eruption and sedimentary deposits. It got its flat landscape from glacial erosion and glacial incursion.

 

 

How were that St. Lawrence Lowlands formed?

 

This region was like all the other regions formed by glacial erosion, but also by rivers and deposits. The river flowing through tis region left deposits and carved out river valleys. That is how the St. Lawrence Lowlands were formed. The giant lakes in this region were formed by melting glaciers.

 

 

How was the Appalachian Region formed?

 

The Appalachian region is located on the coast where the continental plate and the oceanic plate subduct. That formed the hills. The reason why the hills are flat and round is that the giant glaciers carved off the tops and left the round mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

Topography of Canada- Luca Saalmann, Andrew Hope

 

Read pages 16-23 Horizons (Chapter1)

 

 

• Cordillera

 

In the Cordillera region we can find:

• Mountains

As the oceanic plate subducts under the continental plate there are mountains or volcanoes formed.

Mount Waddington, the highest mountain in British Columbia (4019 meters)

 

 

• Fjords

As glaciers float down tot he sea they carve out rock. As they melt the water fills up the Fjord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• River valleys

 

In a river valley the river carves out the sediment rock so the valley gets deeper and deeper.

Hells Gate, British Columbia

 

 

 

• Interior plains region: 

In the interior plains region there are valleys with river, flat lands as well as mountains.

 

• river valleys

 

• mostly flat land

 

Rivers coming from the Canadian Shield carried soil, which deposited and formed horizontal layers of sedimentary rock.

 

 

 

 

• rolling hills

They are less big and less steep than a mountain and are usually found in big areas with many hills.

Rolling Hills in Nova Scotia, Canada

 

• Canadian Shield Region

In the Canadian Shield Region there are mostly broad, flat areas and lots of lakes. That region can hardly be used for agriculture and it is hard to travel on the wet and soft soil.

 

• mostly flat landscape

 

 

• lakes

As glaciers float, they deposit in the soil. Because oft he soft soil in the Canadian Shield region the glaciers were stuck in the soil and as they melted they filled the whole in the ground with water. Special about those lakes is that they are usually not connected to a river.

 

Emerald alke, Canada

 

 

• wetlands

 

Wetlands are either covered or saturated by water which makes it hard to travel in that region. Another difficulty is that the soil is not really usable for agriculture.

 

 

 

• The Arctic Region

The arctic region is thievery northern region of Canada. It is shaped by big mountains and still partly covered by ice. It is not usable for any economy because of the extremely cold temperatures.

 

• Plains

Plains are a broad area of relatively flat land. Grass ist he major vegetation, that is why another name for Plains is Grassland. They are formed as ice and water erode dirt and rock away in higher regions and carries them down to large deposits.

• Lowlands

 

The glaciers moved away approximately 7500 years ago and left sedimentary rock. The soil in the artic region is rich on oil, coal and minerals, but it is almost impossible to use it for agriculture.

 

 

 

 

• Mountains

 

The arctic mountains extend more than 1000 km across the northern arctic islands. The mountains in the arctic region are really high because they were formed by two colliding tectonic plates.

 

 

 

 

• The Appalachian Region

The Appalachian Region is the northern end of the Appalachian mountains. This region is higher elevated than most of the parts of Canada.

 

• Rolling hills

 

• Highlands

 

Highlands have barely any vegetation so they are unusable for agriculture. They are basically flatlands in an higher elveation.

 

 

 

 

• Fjords

 

 

 

 

• The St. Lawrence Lowlands 

• Lowlands

 

The Lowlands where formed by retreating ice sheets that pushed soil away to the region where the lowlands are today. The ice that covered most of Canada during the last ice age are completely gone today.

 

 

• Bluffs

Bluffs are formed by water eroding coastal rock and soil. The layers that were carried by that soil fall into the water and the process starts from the beginning.

 

 

 

• Rich Soils

The soils that were left behind when the ice was gone are rich on minerals and nutrients, which makes that region an important part of Canada’s agriculture.

 

 

 

 

• Introduce readers to the five themes.
• Provide an example of all five themes by applying it to Port Coquitlam.

 

 

• The five themes of Geopgraphy help us define a location or a place. By using terms like formal regions, functiional regions and perceptual regions we give information about a citiy or a region without giving addtional information. It also makes it easier to split them up into different categories like countries, cities or physical landscapes like lakes and mountains. That helps us to know if it was build by humans or created by nature. All those information create a detailed image of what we are describing. For example if there is someone who has never heard of Kelowna, we can help that person find it by giving coordinates. That would be the absolute location.
• Examples:

 

Relative Location: Riverside Secondary: Close to PoCO trail and PoCo downtown.

 

Absolute Location: Riverside Secondary: Latitude: 49,262

Longitude: -122, 78

 

Physical landscape: The river right next tot he school Riverside.

 

Cultural Landscape: The bridges built to cross the river.

 

Formal Region: PoCo is a city like Coquitlam and Port Moody are, too. They are politically independent.

 

Functional Region: PoCo, Coquitlam and Port Moody join together as a functional region to provide education for everyone.

 

Perceptual Regions: PoCo south and PoCo north are perceptual regions that were created by the people. There is no border and they are not even marked on a map as south and north.

 

Globalization: The devices we use to connect tot he internet like phones, computers and tablets are a result oft he globalization. Those devices might be developed in a country and then produced in another one and then sold all over the world.

 

Human and Environmental interaction: We burn the fuel that is made out of natural resources to get to schol by car or bus and back home. What we return to the environment is Carbondioxide.