The document summarizes the 8 physical regions of Canada: 1) The Appalachian region has rolling mountains and fertile plateaus used for farming and mining. Environmental concerns include destroying ancient mountains and polluting the air when mountains are blasted. 2) The Coastal Plains have flat or rolling land near the coast used for agriculture and oil/gas extraction. It is prone to hurricanes and flooding given its low elevations. 3) The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland has fertile soil and mixed forests, supporting agriculture, mining, and forestry. It has over half of Canada's population and resulting environmental issues like pollution.

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
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11. IMAGE CITATION
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coastal plains. N.d. Photograph. bing.com imagesWeb. 17 Feb 2014.
<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=coastal
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