Geography of Canada

Objective 1: to understand the climate and main geographic features of Canada.

Objective 2: to understand how Canadians interact with their environment.

Quick Facts• Majority of population live near the U.S. border.• 2nd largest country (by landmass)• Most populous region is the St. Lawrence River

Valley• Arctic Archipelago – within the Arctic Circle • Canadian Shield – rocky area dotted with

thousands of lakes is largest physical region (2.8 million square miles! Over ½ of the country!

Climate Regions

• Climate depends on temperature, elevation, wind patterns and precipitation.

• Precipitation – amount of rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls in an area.

• Great temperature extremes in the summer and winter in interior plains (land heats up and cools off more quickly than bodies of water).

Canadian Shield • Minnesota to the

St. Lawrence River to Arctic Circle

• Produces minerals like copper, iron, and nickel.

• Large deposits of lead, gold, and silver

Geographic Areas cont..• Arctic Archipelago :– Permafrost – most soil remains permanently frozen. – Made up of thousands of islands i.e. Baffin islands.

• St. Lawrence River – helps to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

• Atlantic Coast – Grand Banks by Newfoundland and Labrador. – Mixing Zone created in this area with warm waters

from the Gulf Stream and cold water of the Labrador Current.

Canadian Cordillera

• Cordillera “chain of mountains” in Spanish.• Canadian portion of the Rocky Mountains

Natural Resources

Environmental Concerns• Over forestation, over development and over

extraction of minerals have hurt the Canadian environment

• Melting of Arctic ice caps and global warming a key concern

• Canada – United States Air Quality Agreement has reduced acid rain

• Border Air Quality Strategy helps to reduce smog between U.S. and Canada

• Climate Change Plan (Canada) – guidelines to help reduce global warming.