Canada’s
Landforms
Feb. 21, 2014
CGC1D
A landform is any natural
feature on the Earth’s surface.
Which types of landforms
exist in Canada?
White Pine by AJ Casson
Hillside, Lake Alphonse by William Goodridge Roberts
No Grass Grows on the Beaten Path by William Kurelek
The Glacier by Arthur Lismer
Canada’s
Landforms
Canada is made up of 3 types of landforms:
shield, highlands, and lowlands.
Canadian Shield
 More than half of Canada is covered by the Shield.
 Some of the world’s oldest rocks are located in the
Shield near Great Slave Lake (NWT)
 The Shield is full of rich mineral deposits
 Very thin soil makes for poor farming
 Glaciers carved out the landscape – bedrock (ancient
eroded mountains), lakes
 Ideal for recreation, hydroelectric power
The Interior Plains
 Ancient seas
 Ancient coral reefs are now
thousands of metres beneath
the surface of the land (OIL!)
 Mostly rolling hills
 Deep, fertile soil: “Canada’s
breadbasket”
 Also popular for cattle farms
Great Lakes- St.
Lawrence Lowlands
 Southwestern and Eastern Ontario
 Canadas 2 largest cities: Toronto and Montreal
 Excellent soil for farming
 Flat plains, deep river valleys
 Most well-known feature:
Hudson Bay- Arctic
Lowlands
 Hudson Bay/ James Bay
 Low, flat, swampy
 Ground remains frozen most of the
year
Appalachian Mountains
 Canada’s east coast
 Formed 300 million years ago
 Formed when North America
collided with Europe and N.
Africa during the formation of
Pangaea!
 Millions of years of erosion have
caused the hills to appear
rounded
Innuitian Mountains
 In Canada’s far north
 Over 2500 m. high in some points
 Younger than the Appalachians, not as eroded (yet)
 Barren of vegetation
Western Cordillera
 All along the western edge of N.
America
 Geologically “young”
 Several mountain ranges, 700 km
wide
 Run North to South- an obstacle to
transportation
 Lightly populated, thrive on tourism
 Awesome skiing and snowboarding!
Map It!
 Label a map of Canada, indicating where all the
landform regions are (use map on p. 130
 Don’t forget to include the 6 map essentials!