Geo CPT: Natural Diversity Part 1 by Claire

Pictures of The Western Cordillera

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(Figure 1.2)Map showing the Western Cordillera and areas of ice, high elevation, and low elevation. It also points out the major cities in the Cordillera. On the right top corner is the Cordillera in the general map of Canada ("EnviroStats: Map 1 — Location of Featured Glaciers – Western Cordillera.")

(Figure 1.1) Map Of the Location of the Western Cordillera in Canada ("The Western Cordillera.")

(Figure 1.3) Diagram of how the Cordillera Mountains were formed ("The Western Cordillera.")

(Figure 1.4) Map of the volcanoes areas in the Cordillera, showing the small volcanoes and large volcanoes ("Volcano Story of the Western Cordillera.")

(Figure 1.5) Diagram of the different landforms in the region ("Landforms of Canada.")

Geo CPT: Natural Diversity Part 1 by Claire

Canada’s Natural DiversityThe Western CordilleraThe Western Cordillera is a region in Canada with rugged high mountains. (See Fig.1.1) The re- gion also has

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(Figure 1.6) Chart of the elevation of the Mountains in the Cordillera "Geography of British Columbia.")

(Figure 1.7) Picture of the Western Cordillera ("The Western Cordillera.")

Geo CPT: Natural Diversity Part 1 by Claire

wet rain forests. Since the region is located between fault lines, earthquakes can happen in the Cordillera. (See Fig. 1.3) It is one of the world’s strongest earthquake region. (See Fig 1.4) On August 22, 1949, a powerful earthquake happened at the Queen Charlotte Islands. The West-ern Cordillera is named after the Spanish word meaning “a chain of mountains.” The Cordillera is located along the Western Canada edge, in British Columbia, Yukon, parts of Alberta, and Northwest Territories. (Mader, et al. 2-6) The Western Cordillera has an area of 1,600,000 km squared. (Ryder) The largest cities in the region is Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, and Richmond. Most populated areas are located in B.C. There are many mountain regions such as the Eastern Mountains, the Interior Mountains, and the Western Mountains. The Cordillera Mountains are formed by the earthquakes. Ice erosion also causes many different landforms such as valleys, fjords, and plateaus. (See Fig. 1.5) The Cordillera consists of many ocean and waterways, and mountains. (Mader et al. 2-6) These landscape provides food for people, beautiful views for tourism, industries, and avalanches. (Ryder) There are dangers in the Cordillera too such as earthquakes, and volcanoes. These hold a threat to the citizens there but it did not stop the peo-ple from living and visiting there. Transportation is sometimes hard since the mountains act as a barrier to roads and railways. However, despite the threats of natural disasters, the Western Cordillera is a beautiful region to visit. (Mader et al. 2-6)

Western Cordillera & Canada’s DiversityThe Western Cordillera contributes to Canada’s diversity by having different natural resources that makes the region unique. The natural resources are minerals (zinc, coal, gold), forests (fast growth and taller trees), fishing (salmon), and land (ranching and flat lands). (Mader et al. 2-6) Cattle glazing contributes to Canada’s farming diversity. Tourism also makes the Cordillera unique. The biodiversity of the Cordillera is great, with many species such as plants (tall spruce and pine trees), animals such as mammals (deer, goat, and caribou), birds (owl, hawks, geese), reptiles (frogs and snakes), and fishes. ("Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Montane Cordillera.") These different species contribute to the biodiversity of the region. The Cordillera is unique since the climate varies. The North side is often cooler with .5 degrees Celsius as aver-age temperature, and the South side is 7.5 degrees Celsius as the average. This climate change is due to its mountains and elevations, which contribute to the diversity of landforms and climate. ("Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Montane Cordillera.") This region is unique and dif-ferent from other areas is because of the mountains. Since the Western Cordillera’s Mountains are formed by sedimentary rocks and faulting, they create different landforms. Therefore, they create a range of mountains. It contributes to Canada’s diversity since the Canada’s large area, there are many different landforms and the Western Cordillera contributes the most with its high elevated mountains up to 3000 meters, rocky mountains, beautiful sceneries. (See Fig. 1.6) ("Canada." Encyclopædia Britannica.)The Cordillera is famous for its rocky mountains, Fraser River, and Mount Logan (highest mountain in the region). ("The Western Cordillera.") The to-pography of the Cordillera is now mostly shown to be affected by erosion. (See Fig. 1.2) The Cordillera is special and contributes to Canada’s diversity because of its irregular landforms, and the diversity of climates, soils, and vegetations. The forests also make up part of Canada’s diverse natural resources. Overall, the Western Cordillera makes up a scenic part of Canada. (See Fig. 1.7) ("The Western Cordillera.")

Works Cited

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Geo CPT: Natural Diversity Part 1 by Claire

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