Geographic Places: More Than Dots on a Map
The Big Question:
How are the lives of Canadians influenced by their physical environment?
What is special about the natural environment where you live?
How do people interact with the environment?
The region you live in is different from other parts of the country. If you travelled from coast to coast across Canada, you would
experience a variety of unique environments. Canada’s regions are special because of their diverse physical geography and natural
environments. Human systems; communities, activities and events make other places distinctive.
Together the physical geography, the living organisms, including humans form the communities we live in. As humans interact with
the rest of our community, there are positive and negative outcomes. What will become clear is that everything in our community is
connected to everything else.
We all have a favourite place that holds special meaning for us. This place may be a scenic overlook, a lake or beach, a sports arena
or concert hall. The possibilities are as diverse and unique as the individuals in our class. Take a moment to think about your
favourite place. Answer the following questions and be prepared to share them with the class.
1. Where is your favourite place located?
2. What characteristics make this place unique?
3. How does this place make you feel?
Activity:
In this activity you will learn about other interesting places in Canada. Use the following web link to access the Canadian
Encyclopedia and learn about UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization, (UNESCO) is a global organization that aims to identify, protect and preserve cultural and natural places worldwide that
are considered important to humanity. There are 812 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the planet, 20 of these sites are in
Canada.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/united-nations-world-heritage-sites
Step 1: Creating a Map of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
1. Sign in to ArcGIS; ​https://onedu.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html
2. Click on ​HOME​ in the upper left corner of your screen. Click on ​CONTENT​ in the drop down window.
3. Open the map named ​Canada’s Natural Regions​. This is the map you used in the assignment on ecozones and landform
regions.
4. Click on ​ADD​ in the upper left of the map header. Select ​SEARCH FOR LAYERS​ from the drop down window. Click on the
black arrow by ​MY CONTENT​ to open the drop box. Select ​MY ORGANIZATION​. In the search window, type ​UNESCO
SITES​. Select the layer created by ​gmartin_onedu. ​Add this layer to your map.
5. Save your map.
6. Location: ​The location of the UNESCO Sites are indicated by the Stickpins on the map. Click on the ​MEASURE​ tool located
in the map header. Select the ​LOCATION​ tool in the pop up window. Move the tip of the mouse arrow to the bottom of the
stickpin for each UNESCO site and record the location in your table.
7. Ecozone: ​Click ​DETAILS​ in the map header. Check the box next to ​ECOZONES​. The map will now display the ecozones of
Canada. Record in your table which ecozone each UNESCO site is in.
8. Landform region:​ Uncheck the ecozones box and check the ​LANDFORMS​ box in the details window. The map will now
display the landform regions of Canada. Record in your table which landform region each UNESCO site is in.
Step 2: Collecting Information About UNESCO World Heritage Sites
1. Follow the web links provided in the table and internet research to complete the table.
Table 1: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada
World Heritage
Site
L’Anse aux
Meadows
Áísínai’pi
(Writing-on-St
one)
Head-Smashe
d-In Buffalo
Jump
SGang Gwaay
Pimachiowin
Aki
Year
Desig
-nated
Location
(Lat/Lon)
Distance from
Manitouwadge
Translation of the
Place Name
Cultural Significance
Ecozone
Landform
Region
Analysis of Our Data:
Using your recorded information along with additional internet research, answer the following questions.
1. For each World Heritage Site in your Table, write 2-3 sentences to explain why the site was designated and preserved.
2. If you could travel to one of these sites, which one would you visit? Justify your answer by referring to its cultural and or
natural features, ecozone, landforms, etc.
3. Use the web link provided to research threats human activities pose to UNESCO World Heritage sites in Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/unesco-world-heritage-sites-threats-oil-gas-1.3759713
A. What are the most common threats to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada?
B. How do human activities cause these threats?
C. How can these threats be eliminated?
Conclusion:
In this assignment you have studied the UNESCO sites. Four of the sites recognize indigenous culture. L’Anse aux Meadows
recognizes a Viking colony. All of the sites recognize how the landscape influenced the people who lived there. Explain how humans
are influenced by the physical geography, (landforms) and the natural environment, (ecozones), of an area. In your answer refer to
the data you collected from ArcGIS and internet research.