Transcript Canada - Methacton School District

Physical Geography
The Big Idea
Canada is a huge country with a northerly location, cold
climates, and rich resources.
Main Ideas
• A huge country, Canada has a wide variety of physical
features, including rugged mountains, plains, and
swamps.
• Because of its northerly location, Canada is dominated by
cold climates.
• Canada is rich in natural resources like fish, minerals,
fertile soil, and forests.
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Main Idea 1:
A huge country, Canada has a wide variety
of physical features, including rugged
mountains, plains, and swamps.
• Canada and the U.S. share many physical features.
– The mountains along the Pacific coast and the Rocky
Mountains extend north into western Canada.
– Broad plains stretch across the interiors of both countries.
– Both countries border the St. Lawrence River, which links
the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
– The Niagara Falls, located between Ontario and New York
State, plunge an average of 162 feet between Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario.
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Canada’s Physical Features
• Canada is the secondlargest country in the
world.
• Canada has a region of
rocky uplands, lakes, and
swamps called the
Canadian Shield, which
covers about half the
country.
• Canadian land bordering the
Arctic Ocean is covered with
ice year-round. Very few
people live here, but some
wildlife have adapted to the
harsh environment.
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Main Idea 2:
Because of its northerly location, Canada is
dominated by cold climates.
• Canada’s location greatly influences the country’s climate.
– Located far from the equator
– Cool to freezing temperatures year-round
– The farther north, the colder the climate.
• Much of central and northern Canada has a sub-arctic climate.
• The far north has tundra and ice cap climates.
• About half of Canada lies in these extremely cold climates.
• Central and eastern southern Canada is humid and relatively
mild.
• The coast of British Columbia is the mildest. The Pacific coast
brings rainy winters and mild temperatures.
• Inland southern Canada is colder and drier.
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Main Idea 3:
Canada is rich in natural resources like fish,
minerals, fertile soil, and forests.
Fishing
• Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters
are among the world’s richest fishing areas.
• Grand Banks
– Off the Atlantic coast
– Cold waters from the Labrador Sea meet the
warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
– Ideal for the growth of tiny organisms, or
plankton
– Large schools of fish gather to eat the plankton.
– Recent over-fishing
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Canadian Resources
Minerals
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Forest
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The Canadian Shield has many mineral deposits.
World’s main source of nickel, zinc, and uranium
Other resources: lead, copper, gold, and silver
Saskatchewan: potash, a mineral used to make
fertilizer
Alberta: oil and natural gas
Vast areas of forests from Labrador to the Pacific
coast provide lumber and pulp.
Pulp—softened wood fibers—is used to make paper.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan
get much of their newsprint from Canada.
Newsprint is cheap paper used mainly for
newspapers.
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History and Culture
The Big Idea
Canada’s history and culture reflect Native Canadian and
European settlement, immigration, and migration to cities.
Main Ideas
• Beginning in the 1600s, Europeans settled the region that
would later become Canada.
• Immigration and migration to cities have shaped Canadian
culture.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
Beginning in the 1600s, Europeans settled
the region that would later become Canada.
• The First Nations:
– The Cree hunted bison on the Interior plains.
Native
Canadians
– The Inuit hunted seals, whales, and walruses in
the far north.
• Today, Canada has about 400,000 Indians and
Inuit.
European
Settlers
• Vikings settled on Newfoundland in AD 1000,
but abandoned settlements.
• 1400s: Other European settlers arrived.
• Europeans traded metal goods like axes and
guns for furs that Native Canadians supplied.
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New France
• 1608: The French established Quebec City.
• At its height, New France included much of eastern Canada
and central United States.
• New France was part of the French Empire.
• To defend New France against the British, the French
established good trade and diplomatic relations with Native
Canadians.
• French missionaries also converted people to Christianity.
• After 150 years, the British defeated the French, but the
cultural legacy remained.
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British Conquest
British Conquest
• Mid-1700s: The British took
control of New France after
winning the French and Indian
War.
• Most French stayed.
• The British divided Quebec
into two colonies and
established part of the border
between today’s provinces of
Quebec and Ontario.
• Provinces are administrative
divisions of a country.
• Few English-speaking settlers
came to Quebec.
• Nova Scotia was divided.
• The new British colony of New
Brunswick was created.
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Creation of Canada
• Each colony developed
separately at first.
• 1867: Parliament created the
Dominion of Canada.
• 1885: The transcontinental
Canadian Pacific Railway was
built to connect British
Columbia, on the Pacific
Coast, with provinces in the
east.
• Canada acquired new lands in
the north, mainly by buying
them from the Hudson’s Bay
Company, a fur-trading
business.
• Canada also signed treaties
with Native Canadians.
Main Idea 2:
Immigration and migration to cities have
shaped Canadian culture.
Immigration
•
Late 1800s/early 1900s: Immigrants arrived from
Europe and the U.S. to farm and work in mines,
factories, and forests.
•
1897: Discovery of gold in the Yukon Territory lured
more immigrants.
•
Chinese immigrants came to work on the railroad.
•
Early 1900s: Economic boom
– Quebec, New Brunswick, and Ontario produced
wheat, pulp, and paper.
– British Columbia and Ontario supplied minerals
and hydroelectricity.
•
1940s: Canada enjoyed one of the highest
standards of living in the world.
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Migration
Movement
To
Cities
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After WWII: New immigration from Europe
•
Many settled in cities.
•
Toronto became one of the most culturally diverse
cities in the world with people from Europe, Africa,
the Caribbean, Latin American, and Asia.
•
Recently, Canadians have moved
– To cities in Ontario to find jobs
– To Vancouver, British Columbia for jobs and
climate
•
Political and economic centers are Ottawa, Toronto,
and Montreal.
Holt McDougal,
Canada Today
The Big Idea
Canada’s democratic government oversees the country’s
regions and economy.
Main Ideas
• Canada has a democratic government with a prime
minister and a parliament.
• Canada has four distinct geographic and cultural regions.
• Canada’s economy is largely based on trade with the
United States.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
Canada has a democratic government with a
prime minister and a parliament.
• Democratic government led by a prime minister who oversees
the parliament.
• Parliament: House of Commons and the Senate
• People elect members of the House of Commons.
• Prime minister appoints members of the Senate.
• Ten provincial governments are led by premiers.
• Provincial and central system is similar to U.S. state and federal
system.
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Main Idea 2:
Canada has four distinct geographic and
cultural regions.
• Canada’s physical geography splits the country into regions.
• Cultural differences between French-speaking and Englishspeaking Canadians also leads to regionalism.
• In Canada, most people speak English.
• In Quebec, most people speak French.
• Regionalism is the strong connection that people feel
toward the region in which they live.
• Some Canadians have a stronger connection to their region
than to the country as a whole.
Holt McDougal,
Canada’s Regions
The Eastern Provinces
• Includes Newfoundland,
Labrador, and the Maritime
Provinces
• Maritime means on or near the
sea.
• Short growing season, so
economy relies mostly on
forestry and fishing
• Both English and Frenchspeaking people
• Most people live in coastal cities.
• Cities are industrial, fishing, and
shipping centers.
• Halifax, in Nova Scotia, is the
region’s largest city.
Holt McDougal,
The Heartland
• Includes Quebec and Ontario
• Most urbanized region
• French-speaking Montreal in
Quebec is Canada’s second
largest city.
• Many residents of Quebec, or
Quebecois, argue that Quebec
should be independent or be
given special privileges.
• Ontario has a larger population
than Quebec and is the
manufacturing center.
• Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is
an industrial, financial,
educational, and cultural center.
• Ottawa, the capital of Canada,
is in Ontario.
Canada’s Regions, continued
The Western Provinces
• Includes the prairie
provinces of Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and Alberta
and British Columbia
• More people live in Quebec
than in all the prairie
provinces.
• Wheat, oil, and natural gas
production are important
industries.
• British Columbia
– Four million people
– Resources: forests,
salmon, and minerals
– Vancouver is a coastal
city that trades with Asia.
Holt McDougal,
The Canadian North
• Includes Yukon Territory,
the Northwest Territories,
and Nunavut
• Extremely cold due to
location near Arctic Circle
• Only 100,000 people
although this region covers
more than a third of
Canada.
• Nunavut is a new territory
for the 30,000 native Inuit
people who live there.
• Mostly forest, tundra, and
towns isolated by frozen
waters of the Arctic Ocean.
Main Idea 3:
Canada’s economy is largely based on trade
with the United States.
Industries
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One of world’s leading mineral producers: titanium,
zinc, iron ore, gold, and coal
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Iron and steel industry supports plane, car, and
household appliance manufacturing industries.
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Tourism is a fast-growing service industry.
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Canada’s economy depends on trade.
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Canada and the U.S. have the world’s largest trading
relationship.
– 60 percent of Canada’s imports are from the United States.
Trade
– 85 percent of Canada’s exports goes to the United States
•
Recent issues include a tariff on Canadian lumber and a
2003 case of mad cow disease.
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