Name: ______________________
Date: _______________________
Class: _______________________
Physical Characteristics of Canada
Canada has an area of 9 970 610 km², making it the largest country in the Western
Hemisphere, covering almost half of North America. In fact, Canada is the second largest country in the world. Canada stretches 5 187 km from east to west and extends southward from near the North Pole to the United States border. Its coastline extends 243 791 km.
When looking at the physical features of Canada, it is easiest to divide the country into six geographic regions. Each region can be described individually much more easily than describing the country as a whole unit. There are six geographical regions in Canada.
The Atlantic Region in the east includes the Atlantic Provinces and the southeastern part of Quebec. The area is covered with rolling hills and undulating plains. Small fishing villages line the shores.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands Region is the smallest in size but the largest in population. It is an area of fertile, low-lying land bordering the Great
Lakes and the St. Lawrence River in southern Ontario and Quebec. The area contains good farmland and the largest concentration of cities in Canada.
The Canadian Shield is an area of very ancient rock covering about 1.8 million square miles centred on the Hudson Bay. This horseshoe shaped region extends over half of Canada. It is a region of rounded hills, numerous lakes and swamps. The
Shield contains a wealth of minerals. Geologists estimate that the rock formations that make up most of this region are about 600 million to 5 billion years old.
The Plains Region of North America extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic
Ocean. In Canada, the Shield forms their eastern limit and the Cordillera their western limit. In the southern part of the Prairie Provinces, the Plains are unforested and are devoted largely to a grain-growing economy. Wheat is a major product of this region. North of the prairies, the plains are forested. The rocks of the Plains contain very important deposits of oil, gas and coal.
The Cordillera Region is a strip of mountainous terrain that includes most of British
Columbia, the Yukon and part of Western Alberta. The Canadian Rockies and the
MacKenzie Mountains form its eastern ranges. In the west are the St. Elias and the
Coast Ranges. Between these areas are rugged plateaus. This region is known for the forestry industry and fishing, including salmon, trout, grayling and others.
The Northern Region is found in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut,
Northern Quebec and the most extreme tip of Labrador. Sometimes when people think of Canada they picture our northern region. In fact our northern region is the entire landscape of Canada which is north of the 60 N parallel. It also includes the
Arctic islands which almost all lie within the Arctic circle. All of the islands are barren and many still remain unexplored.. This area is very unique compared to the rest of
Canada
.

Homework:
Read each paragraph below and decide which physical region of
Canada each person described should visit. Write the name of the region in the blank provided.
1.
Tonya enjoys living in large cities. She wants to be able to ride on subways and shop in malls. Watching other people as they move through busy streets is a favourite pastime. She has heard that in some cities underground passages allow you to shop without going out in the cold weather.
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2.
Jeff is a farmer who is considering moving to Canada. Jeff has raised corn for most of his life, but now wants to specialize in wheat production.
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3.
Michelle has always wanted to visit a land of extreme climate conditions. She wants to experience walking on glaciers and observing an ocean that is frozen much of the year.
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4.
Jay loves to go hiking in the high mountains and rafting on swift mountain streams. He loves to eat seafood, especially salmon.____________________________________________
5.
Mary Kathryn is a forestry graduate from Duke University. She wants to study the effects of open pit mining on surrounding forest lands. Her study should be done at an isolated mining camp. ______________________________________________
6.
As a child, Matthew watched his father work as a commercial fisherman. He has decided to do the same kind of work. One of his dreams is to fish on the Grand Banks off Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland.
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7.
Catherine has read about cowboys in Canada and the huge rodeos held there. She especially want to see the Calgary
Stampede and the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics.
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8.
Bobby wants to observe the operation of the locks along the St.
Lawrence Seaway, as huge ocean ships pass through. He wants to ride on one of the ships along the seaway from Montreal as far as Toronto.
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