2.2 Canada’s Landform Regions
Identify the Landform Regions using color. Also, write the name of the landform
region in the space provided. (pp. 27)
Yellow:
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Blue:
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Purple:
_______________________________
Grey:
_______________________________
Orange:
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Brown:
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Red:
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Green:
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Canadian Shield
 Has the oldest rock in Canada! (About 4 billion years old)
 Most of the shield has thin, acidic soil called podzols
 The soil here is fine for coniferous forests (evergreens!) but
not suitable for agriculture (farming)
 The Canadian Shield covers a lot of Canada! Parts of
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Labrador,
Northwest Territories, and Nunavut are all covered to some
degree by the Shield.
Appalachian Mountains
 The Appalachian Mountains are approximately 375 million
years old
 The mountains have been worn down by ice and water to
produce a landscape of rolling hills and broad valleys
 The forest vegetation of the region is mixed coniferous and
deciduous trees, with more coniferous trees in the northern
regions
 The Appalachian region includes most of Atlantic Canada
Western Cordillera
 The Western Cordillera is made up of a series of parallel
mountain ranges – the Coast, Columbia, and Rocky
Mountains
 The Rockies are described as ‘young’ mountains, many of
which are over 3000 meters high!
 In some regions, good soil has developed where rivers have

deposited sand and silt
The Western Cordillera includes British Columbia, Yukon,
and parts of Alberta.
Innuitian Mountains
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Located in the Far North of Canada
The mountains are over 2000m high with steep-sided valleys
The region includes Ellesmere Island
It is too cold for trees to survive
Arctic Lowlands
 A region of upland plateau surfaces and lowland plains
 It is a region of tundra (a treeless plain with a cold, dry
climate and poorly drained soil)
 It has a short growing season which means only sparse (little)
vegetation can grow
 Most of the Arctic Lowlands region is found in Nunavut
Interior Plains
 Located between the Shield and Western Cordillera, this is an
extensive area of plain (fertile, flat land)
 Erosion carved out these plains, and as a result it has very
rich, moist and well-drained soil called black earth or
chernozem
 The Southern Coastal area is semi-desert with sparse
vegetation that includes cactus plants
 The Interior Plains covers most of Alberta, and large sections
of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories.
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands
 It is another regions of plains (flat, fertile land), south of the
Shield.
 This area has experienced considerable faulting, fracturing,
and volcanism
 Due to deposits of sand and clay (left by the Ice Age), very
fertile soil remained called Brown Eart
 This area stretches from southwestern Ontario along the
Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River to the mouth of the
Saguenay River in Quebec.
Hudson Bay Lowlands
 It is located within the Canadian Shield
 It is mainly flat and poorly drained land
 The soil in this area is a mix of tundra and podzols, leading to
the development of swamp forests
 It is located in Northern Ontario and Manitoba