CGC1P Unit 1: Canada – All Systems GO! – REVIEW NOTES
ANSWERS
Theme 1: Systems Alert! Protecting Our Environment
1. When we study the geography of Canada we look at it from three points of view: a
sense of place, connections and sustainablitiy.
2. Sustainable = a system or practice that can be maintained into the future. For
example using selective logging practices and not clear-cutting so that forest
resources can be available for future generations.
3. Biodiversty = A measure of the number and variety of species of living things in a
particular region. A undisturbed forest in Southern Ontario would have a high
biodiversity, whereas an area of cold desert tundra in the Innuitian Mountains
would have a very low biodiversity.
4. NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard. This attitude exists for any unwanted
development like new landfill sites, cell phone towers, new rapid transit lines, and
wind turbines to name a few.
5. Consumer Society = An economy based on people acquiring or buying goods and
services for their own use. It involves a waste of resources, overpackaging and
high levels of waste.
6. The aboriginal peoples of Canada (Inuit and Indians) lived a subsistence life
before the Europeans immigrated here. What is a subsistence lifestyle?
A subsistence lifestyle means you find or produce all of the things you need for
survival. Your daily work is all about survival.
7. Conservation = The wise use of natural resources including protection and or
management of the resource.
8. Some places in Canada have water quantity issues, other places have water
quality issues.



i)
In Ottawa we have some water quality problems. Explain.
Drinking water bans in some buildings or areas
Sewage overload going into the Ottawa River
Farm chemicals getting into the rivers (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides)
ii)
Where in Canada might people have water quantity problems?
Explain why?
 Southern Alberta & Saskatchewan often have very dry
summers and little snow accumulation in the winters.
9. Here at SCHS we get our water from a well that is drilled into an aquifer (which
is an underground layer of porous rock that stores water).
10. The following is a food chain that might experience biomagnification in Canada:
Algae  Zooplankton  Minnows  Walleye  Humans
What is biomagnification and what sort of biomagnification might be found in this food
chain? When concentrations of a toxic substance increase in the tissues of organisms
in a food chain. Mercury could be the substance that is affecting this food chain.
11. Natural gas, oil and coal are all examples of fossil fuels. They take thousands of
years to form in sedimentary deposits that we consider them non-renewable
resources.
12. When fuels combust with oxygen they give off carbon dioxide gas.
13. Draw a simple diagram of the Greenhouse Effect in the space below.


Sunlight (full spectrum of light) enters the earth’s atmosphere and heats up the surface of
the earth
The heat energy (infrared, longwave radiation) radiates into the atmosphere and heats
up the molecules there (especially carbon dioxide)
14. Many species are at risk in Canada. Species at risk can be of Special Concern,
Threatened or Endangered. Most serious of these situations is if a species is
declared endangered. List five species that are endangered in Canada:
Right Whale, Killer Whale, Beluga Whale, Whooping Crane, Eastern Cougar, Sea
Otter, Eastern Wolverine, Harlequin Duck, Blanchard’s Cricket Frog.
15. Plants or animals living in their natural habitats are called native species.
16. Exotic species are also called invasive species. These plants or animals are not
native to an ecosystem and are often introduced either on purpose or accidentally
by humans. Examples include: Zebra Mussels, Purple Loosestrife and the Asian
Longhorned Beetle.
CGC1P Unit 1: Canada – All Systems GO! – REVIEW NOTES
Theme 2: Systems Thinking – Ecozones in Canada
1. Ecozones = large regions in Canada in which living things, including people and the
physical environment work together as a system. There are 15 terrestrial ecozones and 5
marine ecozones.
2. The three main types of rock are: 1. Igneous Rock, 2. Sedimentary Rock, and 3.
Metamorphic Rock.
3. What type of rock are the following examples?
i) Limestone, Sandstone and Shale - Sedimentary Rock
ii) Granite, Obsidian, Basalt and Pumice - Igneous Rock
iii) Marble, Slate, Schist, and Gneiss - Metamorphic Rock
4. Climate is the average weather conditions over a long period of time for a geographic
location including temperature, precipitation and winds.
5. Weather is the state of the atmosphere for a particular place on a given day including
the temperature, humidity, precipitation, winds and cloud cover.
6. How do the following climate factors have an impact on a location’s climate? (Pg. 29)
i)
Latitude: The closer to the poles you are the less solar radiation you get and
it is less concentrated on the ground
ii)
Elevation: The higher you are above sea level the colder you get. 100m up =
1 degree Celcius colder.
iii)
Air Masses: Large volumes of air with similar temperature and humidity
characteristics. When they come into an area they change the weather.
Examples: Cold Air Mass, Warm Air Mass, Dry Air Mass, Humid Air Mass
iv)
Prevailing Winds: In Canada the wind usually comes from the west. Our
prevailing winds are called the “Westerlies”. These winds bring air masses
with them.
v)
Nearness to Large Water Bodies: If a place is close to a large body of water,
it has higher precipitation and a smaller temperature range.
vi)
Ocean Currents: Warm and Cold ocean currents affect locations near the
coast.
Landforms (mountains): Mountains can block or funnel winds. Mountains
cause precipitation by forcing warm, humid air masses to rise over them and
cool. This causes condensation, cloud formation and precipitation.
vii)
7.
Another term for native species of plants would be Natural Vegetation.
8.
The Pacific Maritime Ecozone is located in coastal British Columbia. This region
is the warmest (the temperature rarely goes below 0 Degrees Celcius) and wettest (annual
precipitation of more than 2000mm) in Canada.
9.
The temperate rainforest in the Pacific Maritime Ecozone has been heavily
deforested. In the past century over two million acres have been clear-cut and not many
untouched, old-growth forests remain.
10.
The boreal forest of Canada is the largest forest region in the world and is
composed mainly of coniferous trees such as black spruce, jack pine, and balsam fir.
11.
Canadians make a lot of money in the Boreal Shield Ecozone in extraction
industries such as mining and forestry as well as in hydroelectricity production on rivers.
12.
Ottawa is in the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone.
13.
List 5 ways that humans have dramatically changed the landscape of the ecozone
around Ottawa.
i) Old-growth forests are all cut down
ii) Towns and cities were built.
iii) Land was turned over to agriculture (lots of farms)
iv) Cities expand (urban sprawl) and industries grow
v) Water, soil and air pollution
vi) Drainage patterns changed by road construction & land development
14.
The two ocean currents off the coast of Canada’s Maritime provinces are called
the Labrador Current (cold) and the Gulf Stream (warm). What does the cold current
bring south with it? Icebergs What happens when these two currents mix? Fog (low
cloud)
15.
The staple fish on the Pacific coast of Canada is the salmon. The fish that was
once the staple food source on the Atlantic coast was the cod. Now both of these fish are
in short supply due to over-fishing and habitat destruction.
16.
Why is the Northern Arctic Ecozone (it contains Iqaluit) considered an arctic
desert? It is very cold, and there is very little precipitation (dry, not much snowfall).
There are very few species of organisms that can live in this harsh environment.
17.
Any place above the arctic circle in Canada does not see the sun for a couple of
months in the winter. Why does this happen? The Earth is tilted 23.5 Degrees on it’s
axis and in the winter the sun never rises at these locations.
18.
How long have the Thule Inuit inhabited Canada’s arctic? 1500-2000 years.
About 80% of the Northern Arctic Ecozone’s population is Inuit.
CGC1P Unit 1: Canada – All Systems GO! – REVIEW NOTES
Theme 3: Systematic Protection – Endangered Spaces
1. Canada has a lot of space, but much of that space is endangered by development and resource
extraction. Sustainable interaction with our natural environments must occur at all levels. Give a
specific example of conservation and protection of natural spaces at the following levels:
i) Local (municipal): Leave some space as parks. We have rules about protecting
wetlands.
ii) Regional (provincial): Provincial Park System & Conservation Areas
iii) National: National Park System
iv) International: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
2. The government of Canada owns a lot of land away from the urban and agricultural
areas. This government owned and managed wilderness is called crown land.
3. The government department in Ontario that manages all of the provincial parks is
called the Ministry of Natural Resources.
4. There are 250 provincial parks in Ontario. Each park is unique and has been developed for a
particular purpose. The MNR has four main objectives for its provincial parks:
i) Protection
ii) Heritage Appreciation
iii) Recreation
iv) Tourism
5. What is the difference between conservation and preservation?
Conservation: using something slowly or sustainably
Preservation: keeping the environment in its natural, unaltered state.
6. Ontario Provincial Parks Classification System (see handout)
Type of Provincial Park
How the Park May Be Used
7. On the map of Southern Ontario below, locate at least 5 provincial parks within a 3
hour drive from Ottawa.
Sandbanks, Bon Echo, Bonnechere, Fitzroy, Murphy’s Point, Charleston Lake, Frontenac
8. The first national park in Canada was Banff National Park in Alberta. It was
established in 1885, the same year that Canada’s transcontinental railway was completed
from Halifax to Vancouver.
9. a) What is a Carolinian forest?
A special forest region along the north shore of Lake Erie with trees from the north
Carolina area. Mostly deciduous trees like walnuts and cherries.
b) Where is Canada’s only Carolinian forest? (describe the geographic relative location)
North shore of Lake Erie
c) What national park protects some of this forest?
Point Pelee National Park
10. Why are the Prairie Grasslands one of the most endangered spaces in Canada?
Most of it has been easily turned into farmland.
11. Fathom Five National Park was Canada’s first national marine conservation area. It
is located in the clear waters of Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) on the tip of the Bruce
Peninsula.
12. Where could you find a cold desert in Canada? In Nunavut
13. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization. UNESCO is an international organization that helps countries preserve
their natural and cultural heritage. Canada now has 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
They are:
1. Kluane/Wrangell - St.Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek (Yukon and British
Columbia)
2. SGang Gwaay (British Columbia)
3. Nahanni National Park Reserve (Northwest Territories)
4. L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (Newfoundland and Labrador)
5. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (Alberta)
6. Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta)
7. Wood Buffalo National Park (Alberta and Northwest Territories)
8. Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (Alberta and British Columbia)
9. Historic District of Old Québec (Quebec)
10. Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland and Labrador)
11. Old Town Lunenburg (Nova Scotia)
12. Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (Alberta)
13. Miguasha National Park (Quebec)
14. The Rideau Canal (Ontario)
Which one of these sites would you want to visit? Why?
14. Biosphere reserves are areas designated for protection by UNESCO in order to
support biological diversity and sustainable use of the ecosystem. Using the diagram
below, explain what activities can happen in the various areas of the Clayoquot Sound
Biosphere Reserve.
Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve and the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation
The 5 marine Ecozones are named: Pacific, Arctic Archipelago, Arctic Basin, Northwest
Atlantic and Atlantic
Question:
Do you know all of the meanings of the words used to make the Ecozone names?
Cordillera: a chain of mountains or mountain ranges
Boreal: relating to the north or relating to the forest areas of the northern North
Temperate Zone, dominated by coniferous trees such as spruce, fir, and pine.
Taiga: the coniferous evergreen forests of subarctic lands, covering vast areas of
northern North America and Eurasia.
Maritime: relating to or next to the sea / ocean (salt water).
Prairie: an area of relatively flat grassland.
Archipelago: a large group or chain of islands