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Book for Time & Place Unit - can be found in your Learning Commons

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Citizenship Unit Grade 2: Division Developed

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Canada landscape cards - in Learning Commons

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Canada landscape cards - in Learning Commons

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Students examine competencies for democratic discussion and decision making. Election Vocabulary

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Students examine major physical regions of Canada. The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions

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Students examine major physical regions of Canada. The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions

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Canadaâ€™s landscape is very diversified and comprises several distinctive areas, called physiographic regions, each of which has its own topography and geology. This map shows the location of these physiographic regions, including their subregions and divisions.

These are the physiographic regions of Canada:

The Canadian Shield

The landscape of the Shield has been levelled by many long periods of erosion and presents an even, monotonous skyline interrupted by rounded or flat-topped summits and ranges of hills. The surface of the Shield is mainly the result of glaciation and a great proportion of it is covered by water in the form of lakes, ponds and swamps. The most outstanding characteristic of the Shield is the similarity of the terrain, whether you are in Labrador, northern Quebec and Ontario, or the Northwest Territories.

The Canadian Shield is divided into four subregions:

Kazan Region

The Kazan Region is located in the northern part of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and also covers parts of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It consists of vast areas of massive rocks that form flat, broad, sloping uplands, plateaus and lowlands. The Kazan Region is divided into several subregions: the Coronation Hills, the Bathurst Hills and the East Arm Hills; the Boothia Plateau and the Wager Plateau; the Kazan Upland and the Bear-Slave Upland; the Athabasca Plain, the Thelon Plain; and the Back Lowland.

The following photographs are examples of the type of terrain found in the Kazan Region.

Davis Region

The Davis Region extends from Ellesmere Island south and southeastward to northern Labrador. The general aspect of its landscape is that of a broad, old erosion surface almost without surficial deposits. Viewed from an elevated location, the landscape presents an even horizon interrupted by rounded or flat-topped ranges of hills. Along the eastern coast, the relief is generally high. The region is divided into a northern insular part and a southern mainland part. The subdivisions are the Davis Highlands and the Labrador Highlands; the George Plateau and the Melville Plateau; the Frobisher Uplands, the Hall Uplands and the Baffin Uplands; the Baffin Coastal Lowlands and the Whale Lowlands.

The following photographs show examples of the terrain from the Davis Region.

James Region

The James Region exhibits the characteristic features of the Shield that are apparent in major uplands and plateaus. This region spreads from the centre of Manitoba to Labrador, lying south of the Hudson Region. The James Region encompasses several subregions consisting of hills (Port Arthur, Penokean, Mistassini, Labrador and Povungnituk), plateaus (Saglouc, Larch, Caniapiscau and Lake), uplands (Abitibi and Severn), plains (Nipigon and Cobalt) and lowlands (Eastmain).

The following photographs show examples of landscape from the James Region.

Laurentian Region

The Laurentian Region comprises uplands and highlands that rise abruptly above the St. Lawrence Lowlands along their northwestern border. It borders the St. Lawrence Lowlands from Georgian Bay to the Atlantic Ocean and includes the Laurentian Highlands, Mealy Mountains, MÃ©catina Plateau, Hamilton Plateau, Hamilton Upland, Melville Plain and Lake St-Jean Lowlands.

The following photographs show examples of landscape found in the Laurentian Region.

The Hudson Bay Lowland

The Hudson Bay Lowland form the main central depression on the surface of the Canadian Shield. The Hudson Bay Lowland is a low, swampy plain with subdued glacial features and a belt of raised beaches that border the Hudson Bay.

The following photographs show examples of landscape found in the Hudson Bay Lowland.

The Arctic Lands

The Arctic Lands are divided into three subregions:

Innuitian Region

Arctic Coastal Plain

Arctic Lowlands

Innuitian Region

The Innuitian Region is characterized by two zones of mountains that are separated by extensive and discontinuous terrain of more subdued topography formed by plateaus, uplands and lowlands.

The mountain ranges include the Grantland, the Axel Heiberg, and the Victoria and Albert mountains. On central Axel Heiberg Island and northwestern Ellesmere Island, the mountains are nearly buried by ice sheets through which the peaks project as a row of nunataks. Between these two large mountainous zones lies the Eureka Upland. To the south are the Perry Plateau and the Sverdrup Lowlands, a region of low relief, rolling, and scarped lowland.

The following photographs show examples of landscape found in the Innuitian Region.

Arctic Coastal Plain

The Arctic Coastal Plain includes the coastal terrain along the shores of the Arctic Ocean from Meighen Island to Alaska. It is divided into three divisions, each of which has distinctive physiographic characteristics:

The Island Coastal Plain extends from Meighen Island to Banks Island, sometimes characterized by hilly terrain that carries an ice cap and sometimes by a low, flat, uniform landscape or by low hills;

The Mackenzie Delta includes not only the delta of the present river but remnants of earlier deltas and features built by the deposition of a mix of sediments coming from the river and from the sea. A multitude of lakes and channels cover the Mackenzie Delta plain and, in the older parts, pingos form the most outstanding features of the landscape;

The Yukon Coastal Plain, which lies at a higher altitude than the Mackenzie Delta, appears to be largely an erosion surface cut into bedrock and mantled by a thin veneer of recent sediments.

The following photographs show examples of the landscape of the Arctic Coastal Plain.

Arctic Lowlands

The Arctic Lowlands include the Lancaster Plateau, Foxe Plain, Boothia Plain, Victoria Lowland and Shaler Mountains.

The surface of the Lancaster Plateau slopes gently southward from about 770 metres on southern Ellesmere Island, across central Devon Island, to an average elevation of 300 to 600 metres on Somerset Island and the Brodeur Peninsula of northwestern Baffin Island. The landscape is uniformed. Farther south, the surface descends still lower until it forms the surface of the Boothia Plain on both sides of the Gulf of Boothia.

Surrounding Foxe Basin, the landscape of the Foxe Plain is low and smooth. It forms a very shallow basin-like area on the old surface, partly covered by very shallow sea. Farther west, the Shaler Mountains rise through the Victoria Lowlands.

The following photographs show examples of the landscape from the Arctic Lowlands.

The Interior Plains

The Interior Plains occupy the region between the Canadian Shield on the east and the mountains of the Cordillera on the west. They join with the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands of eastern Canada through the United States and are separated from the Arctic Lowlands by the Amundsen Gulf. The southern part is characterized by semi-arid prairie, the central part is tree covered and the northern part is covered by the tundra. The region is divided into several subdivisions, those in the north being smaller and more varied than those in the south.

In the north, the Horton and Anderson Plains form the Arctic slope. The Peel Plain, which lies southwest of the Mackenzie River, forms a broad, shallow hollow in which some areas have innumerable small lakes and others have none.

West of the Peel Plain, the Peel Plateau rises in steps between the Peel Plain and the Mackenzie Mountains. On the east, the Colville Hills embrace several ridges that stand above the general level of the surrounding plains. Located around Great Bear Lake, the Great Bear Plain has a rolling surface. In contrast, the Great Slave Plain has generally little relief.

Located in the centre of the Interior Plains, the Alberta Plateau consists of a ring of plateaus separated by wide valleys. The two main valleys (Fort Nelson and Peace River lowlands) occupy more than 50 per cent of the area. These two rivers and their main tributaries are more or less entrenched into the valleys.

South of the Athabasca River, the Alberta Plain stretches southeastward to the Canadaâ€"United States boundary. Although a continuation of the Alberta Plateau, it has a more even surface, with a few widely separated groups of low hills, such as Cypress Hills in the south. The Cypress Hills reach an elevation of more than 1400 metres.

The eastern edge of the Alberta Plain forms a step down to Saskatchewan Plain, which is lower and smoother than the Alberta Plain. On the east, the Saskatchewan Plain is bordered by the Manitoba escarpment, overlooking the Manitoba Plain. Streams flowing eastward have deep cut valleys, which divide the Manitoba Plain into a line of separate hills. The Manitoba Plain is largely covered by lakes and includes most of Lake Winnipeg.

The following photographs show examples of landscape from the Interior Plains.

The Cordillera

The Cordillera is divided into three large linear zones called the Eastern System, the Interior System and the Western System. Each system is further divided into areas and subdivided into mountains, ranges, plateaus, hills, valleys, trenches, basins and plains. Each has its own geological and physiographic characteristics. The Cordillera is also divided transversely into a number of segments by east-west belts of relatively low terrain.

In the Interior and Western systems, some landforms have been produced by volcanic processes. Most striking, however, are three great shield-like volcanoes in the northwestern part of the Interior Plateau and a group of similar volcanoes on the Stikine Plateau. Also on the Stikine Plateau are a number of flat-topped volcanoes that erupted during the Pleistocene Epoch (the Ice Age between about 80 000 and 10 000 years before the present time). A large number of small volcanoes and cinder cones occur singly, in line or in groups. These range in age from pre-Pleistocene to within a few hundred years of the present and vary in height up to a few tens of metres. For more information, refer to the map on Major Volcanic Areas in Environment / Natural Hazards.

The following photographs are examples of landscape from the Cordillera.

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands border the Shield on the southeast, extending from the west end of Lake Huron and the head of Lake Erie northeasterly to the Strait of Belle Isle. They comprise three subregions: the West Lowland, the Central Lowland and the East Lowland. The lowlands are plain-like areas that were all affected by the Pleistocene glaciations and are therefore covered by surficial deposits and other features associated with the ice sheets.

The West Lowland is broken into two parts by the Niagara Escarpment, which extends from the Niagara River on a sinuous westerly and northwesterly course to the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. The surface west of the escarpment slopes gradually southwestward through an area of rolling topography of low relief. East of the escarpment, the land rises gently northward from Lake Ontario;

The Central Lowland includes the area between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, straddling the St. Lawrence as far as the city of QuÃ©bec and extending a short distance beyond the city on the north shore only. The land is rarely more than 150 metres above sea level, except for the Monteregian Hills, which consist of intrusive igneous rocks

Finally, the East Lowland includes Anticosti Island, ÃŽles de Mingan, and several small areas bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Strait of Belle Isle, as well as the Newfoundland Coastal Lowland.

The following photographs show examples of landscape from the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Appalachian Uplands

The Appalachian Uplands extends from southern Quebec and GaspÃ©sie to encompass New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the island of Newfoundland.

On the island of Newfoundland, the Appalachian Uplands comprises three highlands that form a group called the Newfoundland Highlands. They are rugged with steep slopes and elevations vary from 180 to 820 metres. On the east side, the Atlantic Uplands of Newfoundland lie between 180 and 300 metres in elevation, and the Newfoundland Central Lowland extends from sea level up to 150 metres. Its surface is gently rolling and generally underlain by glacial sediments.

Nova Scotia is divided into three highland areas, three uplands and several small lowlands. The Nova Scotia Highlands include the Cobequid Mountains in the west, the Antigonish Highlands in the centre and the Cape Breton Highlands to the northeast. South of these highlands lay the Nova Scotia Uplands and the Annapolis Lowlands.

New Brunswick comprises three large units: the New Brunswick Highlands; the Chaleur Uplands, which cross the Quebecâ€"New Brunswick border; and the Maritime Plain, which stretches around the coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from the south shore of Chaleur Bay and includes Prince Edward Island and ÃŽles-de-la-Madeleine.

In Quebec, the Chaleur Uplands are bounded on the north by the Notre-Dame Mountains, which extend from near Thetford Mines to Baie de GaspÃ©. In the Notre-Dame Mountains area, there are the Chic-Chocs Mountains which have the highest elevation at more than 1230 metres in the north. To the southwest, the summits are lower, like the areas of MÃ©gantic Hills and Sutton Mountains, which merge with the Eastern Quebec Uplands. The Sutton Mountains are a continuation of the Green Mountains of Vermont; and the MÃ©gantic Hills lie astride the Canadaâ€"United States boundary and are part of the larger White Mountains of the New England states.

The following photographs show examples of landscapes from the Appalachian Uplands.

Definitions of underlined terms

Arete

Steep-sided mountain ridge also spelled arÃªte

Escarpment

A long steep slope at the edge of a plateau

Esker

Sinuous ridges composed of glacial material deposited by meltwater currents in englacial tunnels. Their orientation is generally parallel to the direction of glacial flow, and they sometimes exceed 100 kilometres in length.

Fjord

Deep and narrow glacial valley invaded by sea water after the retreat of the glacier

Ground ice

Ice formed into the ground

Horn

A pyramidal peak with three or more distinct faces steepened by glacial undercutting

Ice wedge

Piece of ice, generally has the shape of a wedge with the apex pointing towards the bottom. This ice is vertically foliated and is generally white.

Igneous rock

Rocks that are formed from molten materials that come from the depths of the Earth. They are also referred to as magmatic rocks.

Nunatak

Inuit-derived word describing a mountain completely surrounded by an ice cap

Patterned ground

Ground where the surface presents regular patterns such as circles, polygons or parallel lines

Permafrost

A layer of permanently frozen soil and rock. The active layer of permafrost refers to that portion of the ground that freezes in winter and thaws in summer; this layer is usually less than one metre in depth.

Pingo

Small hills with an ice core growing by water injection; they are covered with soil and vegetation

Pleistocene

An epoch of the Quaternary period, after the Pliocene of the Tertiary and before the Holocene. Pleistocene was between about 80 000 and 10 000 years before the present time.

Precambrian rock

Rock that originates from the geologic period in history from about 4.5 to 5 billion years ago to about 570 million years ago. Precambrian rock covers about 75% of the land area of the earth.

Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rocks are the product of the consolidation of loose sediment that has accumulated in beds. These sediments settle gradually under the weight of overlying beds and are transformed into solid sedimentary rock by cementation.

Surficial deposits

Unconsolidated materials covering the ground

Thermokarst

Karst-like topographic feature produced in a permafrost region by the local melting of ground ice and the subsequent settling of the ground.

Till

Any sediment that is transported and deposited by a glacier without being sorted by meltwater. It consists of clay, sand and large rock fragments that are deposited in irregular sheets or in ridges called moraines.

Tundra

The treeless area to the north of the boreal forest. Tundra vegetation includes low, matted and erect shrubs and herbs such as cottongrass.

Physiographic Regions

Map Source

Map. Physiographic Regions of Canada. 1254A. Scale 1:5M compiled by H.S. Bostock. 1967. Geological Survey of Canada.

Map References

Bone, R. M. 2003. The regional geography of Canada. Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press.

Douglas, R.J.W. (Scientific Editor). 1972. Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada. Geological Survey of Canada.

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The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions

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Canadaâ€™s landscape is very diversified and comprises several distinctive areas, called physiographic regions, each of which has its own topography and geology. This map shows the location of these physiographic regions, including their subregions and divisions.

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There are no online web-based resources for this unit yet. As resources come in, they will be posted here. If you have any suggestions for some resources to place here, please email me at science@rdpsd.ab.ca.

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