canadian landforms. types of landforms canada is made up of three distinct types of landforms: the...

Canadian Canadian LandformsLandforms

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Types of LandformsTypes of Landforms• Canada is made up of three distinct

types of landforms:

The Canadian Shield

• Lowlands

• Highlands



The LowlandsThe Lowlands• There are three lowland regions

surrounding the Shield:

• The Interior Plains

• The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Hudson Bay-Arctic Lowlands QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor


The LowlandsThe Lowlands• An area of land that is low in relation to the

surrounding country.

• The bedrock under these lowland is formed mainly of sediments eroded from the Shield

• As rock particles collected, the weight of the upper layers compressed the lower layers into sedimentary rocks

Interior PlainsInterior Plains• It is found in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.



The Interior PlainsThe Interior Plains• During the Paleozoic era, sediments that eroded

from the Shield and the Rocky Mountains were deposited

• Part of the sedimentary rock consisted of coral reefs

• Today, the reefs are thousands of metres below the surface of the land and contain much of the oil and gas found in Alberta and Saskatchewan

The Interior PlainsThe Interior Plains• During the Mesozoic era, shallow seas

covered the region of Saskatchewan

• When the seas evaporated, thick layers • of mineral deposits were left behind

• Potash is mined from these layers and used as fertilizer in Canada and overseas

• The swamps on the edges of these ancient seas produced plants that were changed eventually into coal, which is mined today



The Interior PlainsThe Interior Plains• Erosion shaped the surface of the landscape

• the Interior Plains are mainly flat, but the landscape is also composed of some rolling hills, and deep, wide river valleys

• Overall, the land slopes gently downward from west to east



The Interior The Interior PlainsPlains

• Glaciation also shaped the landscape• Glaciers left deposits that produced rounded,

gently, rolling landscape• Glaciers melted and formed a large lake over

much of what is now southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but as land rose, it drained into the ocean

• Small portions of the lake remain today, known as Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba,



The Interior The Interior PlainsPlains

• The soil that developed on these sediments is deep and fertile

• Grain is grown in many parts of the Interior Plains - it is known as Canada’s “breadbasket”

• So much wheat is grown here• Cattle is raised in places where the

climate is too dry for crops



Great Lakes - Great Lakes - St. Lawrence LowlandsSt. Lawrence Lowlands• It is the smallest region in Canada

• The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands is located at the southern regions of Ontario and Quebec. It extends from Quebec City, to Windsor, ON.



Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Sedimentary rock formed here from the Paleozoic era

• The Niagara Escarpment is best known in this region. It was formed by differential erosion (different rates of erosion cause different levels of elevation)

Great Lakes - Great Lakes - St. Lawrence LowlandsSt. Lawrence Lowlands• In the Great Lakes portion of the

lowlands, glaciation created rolling landscapes

• While glaciers carried huge amounts of material from the Shield, flat plains with glacial hills and deep river valleys were formed

Great Lakes - Great Lakes - St. Lawrence LowlandsSt. Lawrence Lowlands

• Glaciers gouged out The Great Lakes

• The lakes were larger then than they are now because of the enormous volume of water from the melting glaciers

• The meltwater drained into the ocean

Great Lakes - Great Lakes - St. Lawrence LowlandsSt. Lawrence Lowlands

• The St. Lawrence Lowland was formed by a rift valley (tensional forces cause the earth’s plate to split apart. The centre block will drop down, forming steep walls)

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence LowlandsGreat Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands

• It is well-suited to agriculture because ot its excellent soils and warm climate

• The flat land is ideal for transportation routes and development of cities

• Canada’s two largest cities, Toronto and Montréal are located here

• It is best known as Canada’s industrial and urban heartland



Hudson Bay - Arctic LowlandsHudson Bay - Arctic Lowlands

• The waters of Hudson Bay covered much of this lowland at the end of the last Ice Age

• Has a layer of sedimentary rock



• Flat, low area covered by swampy forest

Hudson Bay - Hudson Bay - Arctic LowlandsArctic Lowlands

• Made up of a series of islands located in the far north

• Have gently rolling hills and low elevations• Contains a great deal of swamps with poor

drainage• Harsh climate does not permit farming - the

ground remains frozen most of the year• Oil, natural gas and lignite ( form of coal) is

deposited here

canadian landforms. types of landforms canada is made up of three distinct types of landforms: the...

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