The Cordillera
The Cordillera is Canada’s western-most region, bordering the Interior Plains to the east, and the Arctic
to the North. The northernmost point of the Cordillera is at 69°38'47.19"N, 141° 0'1.91"W. These
Coordinates are also the most northern point of Yukon, at the Alaskan border.
The southernmost point of the region is at 48°59'52.82"N & 113°37'47.41"W,
which is just past the border between British Columbia and Alberta, bordering
the United States. The westernmost point of the Cordillera is on Queen
Charlotte Island at 53° 5'9.93"N, 132°34'53.89"W. And the most eastern point
of the Cordillera is at 65°23'0.14"N, 125°12'3.18"W in the North West
Territories.
The Cordillera’s landscape is unique, as almost no other landscape has the
same kinds of land formation as the Cordillera. The Cordillera is very rocky
and mountainous. And this is seen all throughout British Columbia, Yukon,
and even Vancouver Island, which has many mountains and valleys, even for
such a small Island. In the middle of the Cordillera there are some plateaus,
however the majority of this region is made up of Mountains, Fold Mountains,
Valleys, and Trenches.
This region’s famous mountains were formed via years and years of erosion.
Most of the mountains are made up of sedimentary rocks, which were
created after many years of faulting and folding, and erosion. As well as
erosion, the tectonic plates also had a heavy influence in this region’s
formation. Two tectonic plates have been colliding, causing the rock to jut
upwards in a mountain formation.
A tourist favorite in this region is Vancouver. A city that will leave you breathless because of its
everlasting beauty. People from all around the world hold Vancouver in their hearts as their favorite
tourist destination. The very safe city is known for its very nice people, vibrant night-life, activities, and
value. As well as being a place
where you can easily experience a
variety of cultures from around the
world, the landscape is beautiful,
and depending on the time of year
you go, absolutely breathtaking.
Vancouver is located at 49.2827° N,
123.1207° W. and is the
westernmost city in the lower
mainland, also the most populated.
(This is an image of Woss, on Vancouver Island.)
The Cordillera’s main resource it
has to offer to the rest of the world
is Forestry. However, the region also has a healthy mining, fishing, and agriculture industry. The
Cordillera’s main mining export is iron, lead, zinc, silver, copper and nickel. And the main export for
fishing is Salmon, which is more popular on the west coast than anywhere else in the Cordillera. The
amount of trees in this region is good for Canada’s economy, since buyers from all around the world are
eager to grab at the trees that grow in this region. As well, many buyers in Canada will be quick to buy
trees that grow in this area. This region provides 12.50% of Canada’s total GDP, and about 232,224
million dollars in 2013.
Above are two maps of Canada, one showing population density, and another showing elevation and
topography. As you can see, the Cordillera is the most mountainous region of Canada. You can also see
that in the southern areas of the Cordillera, you can see that the population density rises quite a bit. This
proves that there is a correlation between topography and elevation, and population density. More
people want to live where there are less mountains, and these two maps show that perfectly.
Compared to the density map, we can see
that most people in Canada tend to like to
live where it is warmer, and more temperate.
And while the southern Cordillera is the
warmest area in Canada, it is not the most
populace. However it needs to be taken into
account that the most populace areas of
Canada, were also the first to be colonized in
Canada.
Bibliography
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http://geography.ridley.on.ca/CGC1D/Students/BC2Webpage/Landforms.html
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http://westerncordilleralandformregion.blogspot.ca/2012/10/how-western-cordillera-was-formed.html
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