Transcript The Geography of Canada

The Geography
of Canada
Unit 1 Chapter 1
What is Geography?
 Explores how people interact with the world around
them
 Involved climate, geology, economics, biology, history,
sociology, anthropology . . .
 How humans interacts with each other and how they
affect and are affected by the land
The 5 Themes of
Geography
Chapter 1 (Geography)Lesson 01
Goal
 To identify and understand the 5 themes of geography
and how they help us study the geography of Canada
5 Themes
 Location
 Place : Physical & Cultural Landscapes
 Regions
 Movement of People, Ideas & Objects
 Human/Environmental Interaction
 The 5 themes will help you develop a way of looking at
and understanding the world (geographic perspective)
Location
 Where are people and places located?
 Absolute location  latitude and longitude
 Ex: Abbotsford :
 Relative location described by time, direction or
distance form one to another
 Ex: Abbotsford is about 1 hour from Vancouver
 What is the significance of the location?
 Ex: Vancouver is the cultural central of BC. Serves as a
transportation, business hub, cultural hub.
Place: Physical &
Cultural Landscapes
 How do physical characteristics of a place affect how
we live?
 Cultural landscape
 Visible results of human activity
 How do we affect the landscape?
(Positively/Negatively)
Regions
 Areas that have common characteristics
 Government, land forms, climate
 “The coast”, “The interior”, “Middle East”
 Formal Regions
 Functional Regions
 Perceptual Regions
Movement of People,
Ideas & Objects
 How do we interact today?
 Globalization
 Everything today spreads quickly
 Information, products, people
Human/Environmental
Interaction
 What brings change in the natural landscape?
 We depend on the environment. We adapt to it. We
alter it.
 How do our actions change the natural environment?
 Dams?
 Roads?
 Industry?
 Housing development?
The Physical Regions of
Canada
Chapter 1(Geography) Lesson 02
Goal
 To identify the 7 physical regions of Canada and to
understand the characteristics of each.
Canada
 It is the second largest land mass of any country
 We have a variety of landscapes
 Divided into 6 main physical regions
 Each region has different geological features,
landforms, climate and vegetation.
 Formed by different geological processes
6 Physical Regions
 Arctic Region
 Cordillera Region
 Interior Plains Region
 Canadian Shield Region
 St.Lawrence Region
 Appalachian Region
Canadian Shield
 Large masses of rock, known as shields, are the oldest
parts of the Earth.
 Hard , rigid blocks around which the younger areas of
the continents have formed
 Volcanic mountains ranges
 Originally was made up of igneous rock
 Now metamorphic rock
 Storehouse of : minerals such as copper, gold, lead and
nickel
 Unsuitable for agriculture and large-scale settlement
Appalachian Region
 Rolling hills and river valleys
 Mineral resources : coal, petroleum, natural gas, zinc
and iron
Arctic Region
 Largest part of Canada
 Endless permafrost and tundra
 Agriculture virtually impossible
St.Lawrence Lowlands
 Rich sedimentary plains
 Consisted of mixed forests, before urbanization
 Mostly flat with a couple of mountain ranges
 Has precious minerals
The Interior Plains
 From the Canadian shield to the Rocky Mountains
 Covers almost all of Alberta
 Were formed as eroded material from the Canadian
shield was deposited in layers at its edges
 Horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks (made up of
sediment laid down in layers)
 Deposits of plants and animals
 Fossil fuels- old and natural gas
 Evaporites- potash
The Cordillera
 Most of BC
 Large range of mountains
 Mountains, plateaus, valleys , basins and trenches
 Formed through plate tectonics
 Erosions from rivers and glaciers sculpted the rugged
landscape
 Sediments carried off by rivers formed fertile river
valleys- Fraser River Valley
 Rich in minerals- copper, gold, coal
Natural Regions of
Canada
Lesson 03
 Natural Regions are defined as the condition under
which plants and animals live in relation to each other
and with the non living parts of the environment.
 Natural environment of Canada is made up of a
number of large ecosystems, or biomes. Each has its
own characteristic type of vegetation and animal
species.
 Biome = contain a number of smaller ecosystems
Subarctic
 Scattered coniferous trees
 Tundra vegetation
 Arctic wildlife caribou, lemmings, snowy owl
Tundra
 Permafrost
 Low shrubs
 Mosses
 Lichens
 Polar bears, seals, walruses, muskox, Arctic foxes
Open Woodland
 Scattered evergreen trees
 Shrubs
 Grass
 Caribou, martens, bears, geese, beavers, lynx
Coniferous Forest
 Spruce, fir, pine, aspen
 Deer, moose, black bears, hawks, eagles, wild ducks
 Soil is not fertile
Coast and Interior Forest
 Coniferous forest
 Wet and mild climate
 Mountains  above tree line tundra & arctic
 Short grass and plants
 Cougars, mountains, sheep, bears, moose
Mixed Forest
 Softwood trees – hemlock and cedar, maple, birch, oak
and ash
 Deer, moose, black bears, hawks, eagles
 Soil is fertile
Parkland
 Transitions between the dry southern prairies and
coniferous forest
 Long grasses and clumps of aspen and cottonwood
trees
 Deer, moose, black bears, antelope, gophers, wild fowl
Grasslands
 Short grasses
 Antelope, gophers, wild fowl
 Bison(over hunted)
 Soils are fertile
The Climates of Canada
Lesson 04
Climates of Canada

West Coast Marine

Northern Alpine

Southern Alpine

Northern Interior

Prairie

Great Lakes

Laurentian

Boreal

Tundra West

Tundra East

East Coast
The Climates
 (1)Continental Climate – temperature extremes and
low precipitation (the interior)
 (2)Maritime Climates – mild temperatures and high
precipitation. A coastal climate
Factors Affecting
Temperature
 Latitude
 Altitude
 Distance from the Sea
 Wind Direction
 Ocean Currents
 Precipitation

Factors Affecting
Temperature
1)Latitude
2)Altitude

 The distance of any
point north or south
of the equator
 Distance of an area
from the equator
determines the
amount and intensity
of sunlight it receives
 Angle of the sun in
the sky determines
how intense the sun
will heat the land
 The higher the
altitude, the colder the
temperature

Factors Affecting
Temperature
(3)Distance from the
(4)Wind Direction
Sea
 Land heats and cools
more quickly
 Surface of water takes
much longer, water is
always moving
 West Coast of
Canada, moderated
by water- the summer
and winter
temperature

 Winds blowing from
the Ocean increase the
moderating effect of
wind
 Winds blowing off
land are much harsher
Factors Affecting
Temperature
 (5)Ocean Currents
 Currents are either
warm or cold
 Warm or heat the
wind blowing over
them
 (6)Precipitation
 Distance from the sea
 Wind
 (1)Orographic
 (2)Convectional
 (3)Frontal
The Cultural Landscape
Lesson 05
What is ‘cultural
landscape’
 It is a part of the geographical study
 It is landscape that has been changed by human
societies
How have people shaped
the land?
 The way one thinks about land
 Impacts of land
 Uses of land
Settlement & Population
 20th century, we saw settlers coming to eastern Canada
 With the development of the railway, settlement began in
the west
 Due to the Laurier era, large scale settlement began in
Canada and this would change the physical and cultural
landscape of Canada
 Newcomers settled in those areas the felt most comfortable
 Each brought their own cultural background into Canada,
trying to recreate it in their new home land
Why people settle where
they
do
Physical environment

 Climate
 Economic opportunities
 Leads to:

Urbanization- process of becoming an area with a large,
concentrated population
 Boom or bust – resource is developed and then depleted.
Boundaries
 Physical, Natural, Economic, Political
 Aboriginal Peoples
 Did not have a say in the boundaries
 First Nations land titled began being recognized in BC
after the Constitution Act of 1982