1. THE 8 PHYSICAL
REGIONS
OF CANADA
By: Alison Chan

2. Legend

3. THE
APPALACHIAN
REGION
Topography
 Made up of many
mountain ranges
 Old mountains
formed about
300,000,000 years
ago
 Has rolling
mountains
 Contains fertile
plateaus and river
valleys
climate
vegetation
Economic activity
Environmental
concerns
 climates affected by
two ocean currents
 The Gulf stream
supplies the warm
water
 Labrador current
brings cold water
causing freezing
during winter.
 Heavily forested with  With lots of
 Destroying varias
coniferous and
land, crops will grow
amounts of ancient
deciduous trees
and farming
mountains
 Unproductive soil in
becomes essential
 When mountains are
the mountains
 Mining in the
blasted, chemicals
 Much more fertile
mountains
are released into the
on the plateaus and  Forestry because the
air
rivers
Appalachian region
 Clearing
is heavily forested
trees, destroying
homes of
wildlife, reducing
animal population

4. THE COASTAL
PLAINS
Topography
 Surface mostly flat
or gently rolling hills
 Average elevation of
less than 200 meters
above sea level
 Contains many
swamps and
marshes
climate
vegetation
 In the north, it
 Soil is very sandy
consists of cold
 Natural vegetation
snowy winters and
has adapted
hot, humid summers  Originally the
 In the south it
vegetation was of
consists of
the area was pine
subtropical climate
forests.
 Mild warm winters
Economic activity
 Economy of the
Coastal Plains relies
on agriculture
 Oil and gas
extraction
Environmental
concerns
 Prone to many
hurricanes
 Because elevations
so low, many floods
occur

5. THE GREAT
LAKES-ST.
LAWRENCE
LOWLAND
topography
climate
vegetation
Economic activity
Environmental
concerns
 Rolling landscape
 Flat plains broken by
hills and deep river
valleys
 Consists of flat plains
which gradually rise
into Canadian shield
and Appalachians
 Has a humid
continental climate
 The great lakes cool
the temperature
throughout summer
 Winters may vary
from cool to cold
 Summers may vary
from warm to hot
 Very fertile soil
 Heavily treed
 Soil and climate
allow maple, beech,
hickory, and black
walnut trees to
thrive
 Mixture of
coniferous and
deciduous trees
 Farming poultry,
dairy, meat products
 Mining minerals
such as iron, copper
and silver
 Farming vegetables,
fruits and grains
 Smallest region but
has half of Canada’s
population
 More pollution in
water, air and soil
 More pollution
causes sunrays to
stay making region
hotter and hotter

6. CANADIAN
SHIELD
topography
 Barren rock surface
 Consists of chaotic
patterns of river
valleys, lakes,
swamps and muskeg
 Average elevation
100 metres above
sea level north
 500 above sea level
south
climate
vegetation
 Varies in area
 Boreal forest covers
 Winters are
most of the shield
increasingly long and  Spruce, pine and fir
cold, summers are
are suited to thin,
short and cold in the
sandy soil
north.
 Some deciduous
trees grow too
 No trees grow north
of the tree line,
growing seasons too
short
Economic activity
 Mining, Shields is
the worlds richest
area in terms of
mineral ores
 Many towns
extracting minerals,
diamonds are
discovered
Environmental
concerns
 Over extraction of
minerals and timber
threatening future of
available resources
 Acid rain
 Pollution in the great
lakes

7. THE WESTERN
CORDILLERA
Winter season
Summer season
topography
climate
vegetation
Economic activity
Environmental
concerns
 Comprised of new
mountains not yet
worn down
 Mountains twice as
high as the
Appalachian
mountains
 The Rocky mountain
forms the
continental divide to
the east
 West coast has a
maritime climate,
moist and mild
 Winters usually
above freezing
 Summer cool
 Valleys warmer than
mountain slopes
 Varies from one side
of the mountain to
the other
 On moist side, trees
such as Douglas fir,
western hemlock,
and western red
cedar grow
 Higher up the
mountains, trees get
smaller
 Mining
 Forestry, lumber
harvesting
 Trading
 Many large
industries in mining,
agriculture and oil
extraction
 Logging and oil
exploration
responsible for
accelerated slope
erosion
 Harmful metals
released into
streams and ground
from mining
 Wildlife habitat lost
through land

8. THE
INTERMOUNTAIN
REGION
topography
climate
 Many streams and
rivers flow into
blackish lakes or
disappear into
desert sinks
 Some streams and
rivers make it to the
ocean
 Some areas cattle
ranching is posibble
 Affected by location
ad elevation
 Winters can be cool
and wet or hot and
dry
 South portion
winter, short and
warm, little
precipitation
 North portion moist
winters and hot and
dry, also lacks
vegetation
Economic activity
 Ranges between
 Industries serving
sparse grasslands to
local markets (health
plants survive in
services, real estate)
desert conditions
 Hospitality and
 Higher areas covered
tourism
in thin pine forest
 Extracting industries
 Agriculture
 Trading
Environmental
concerns
 Over allocation of
water
 Decrease in
biodiversity
 Increase of chance
of wildfires
 Great decline in
government budget

9. ARCTI
C
topography
 Arctic near ocean is
very flat
 Mountain far north
formed by folding
 Covered by glaciers
climate
 Very far from
equator, severe
climate
 Winters last upto 10
months far north
 Summers cold and
very short
 Little precipitation,
considered a desert
vegetation
 Very few life forms
can grow
 Trees can’t grow on
tundra because
climate’s too cold
and dry
 Shrubs, mosses and
lichens are the
 only things that can
grow, cling to the
ground soaking up
Economic activity
 Extracting minerals
and petroleum
 Extracting oils and
gasses
 Cariboo or deer
hunting
 Commercial fishing
Environmental
concerns
 Climate change
 Changes in
biodiversity, over
harvesting
 Use of toxic
substances threatens
lives of people

10. WORK CITATION
"appalachian economy." arc government. N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/AppalachiasEconomy.asp>.
"environmental issues." organization. N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://earthreform.org/category/environmental-issues/>.
"coastal plains region." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/tif/gulf/ecodevo.php>.
"coastal plains." . organization. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<www.texaslegacy.org/bb/regions/coastalplain.html>.
"economic activity great lakes st lawrence lowlands." . N.p..
Web. 17 Feb 2014. <http://abishop4.tripod.com/>.
"economic activity ." . wiki. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://canadianregions.wikispaces.com/Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Lowlands>.
"great lakes st lawrence issues." . org. Web. 17 Feb
2014. <http://partner.galileo.org/schools/gibson/45_fp/geography/issue/st_lawrence_i/st_lawrencei_1.ht
m>.
"economic activity interior plains." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://interiorplains.weebly.com/economic-activities.html>.
"economic activity in canadian shild." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.chacha.com/question/what-are-the-main-economic-activitiesin-the-canadian-shield>.
"environmentall issues in the canadian shield." canadas issues. N.p.. Web. 17 Feb
2014.
<https://gcps.desire2learn.com/d2l/lor/viewer/viewFile.d2lfile/6605/8957/Canada
sEnivronmentalIssuesL12_print.html>.
"western cordillera economic activity." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/ict/2learn/kdwajda/canada/studentwork/cordillera.htm>.
"environmetal issue, western cordillera." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/canada.htm>.
"intermountain economic activity." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://egwg.colostate.edu/content/new-egwg-initiativeintermountain-west>.
"intermountain environmental concerns." intermountain web, about us.
N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.azmag.gov/archive/intermountainWeb/aboutUs.html>.
"arctic economic activity." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/arctic/page/2670.asp&xgt;.
"arctic economic activity." arctic facts. N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://arctic.ru/arctic-facts>.
"arctic evironment issues." . N.p.. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/pr
b0804-e.htm>.

11. IMAGE CITATION
appalachian region. N.d. Photograph. bing imagesWeb. 17 Feb
2014. <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=appalachian region
mountains&go=&qs=bs&form=QBIR&id=C8E0CDCB3568D197
1D1C1FBC7B090C74B8BA0335&selectedIndex=4
coastal plains. N.d. Photograph. bing.com imagesWeb. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=coastal
plains&FORM=HDRSC2&id=AF95B59F03CBA068037C8FA4087BFFF
BE869599B&selectedIndex=2
candia. shield. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian shield
region&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian shield region&sc=8-22&sp=-1&sk=
st lawrence . N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/st-lawrence-lowland/>.
canadian shield. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian shield
region&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian shield region&sc=8-22&sp=-1&sk=
cordillera. N.d. Photograph. blogspotWeb. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://wcordillera.blogspot.ca/>.
arctic . N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/debs-arctic-environmentpollution-496.htm>.
arctic. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.riams.org/2013/11/04/arctic-warmest-in-120000-years/>.
arctic. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=canadian arctic region
&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=canadian arctic region &sc=4-23&sp=1&sk=