Geog 2RC3- Physiographic regions- Jan 10/14
Interior Plains- p.38-39
20 % of Canada’s land mass
Sedimentary rocks
Low relief
Elevation increases from east to west

Hudson Bay Lowlands- p- 39-41
3.5 % of landmass
Low lying, poorly drained landscape (muskeg)
Underlain by sedimentary rocks

Arctic Lands- 41-42
Archipelago
10 % of Canada’s landmass
Pre-Cambrian crystalline (igneous) rock overlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rock
Ellesmere Island

Appalachian Uplands- p.42
2% of Canada’s land mass
Very old, heavily eroded mountains (Taconic mountains)
Geologically complex (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks, as a result of 2 periods of orogenesis (440 million years ago to 350 million years ago)

Great Lakes-St Lawrence Lowlands- p 42-44
Less than 2% of landmass (1.8%)
Smallest- 110 000 sq km
60% of all Canadians live here
Underlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks

Summary
Given Canada’s enormous size- considerable variation in physical environment
All of Canadian landscape influenced by glaciation
Links between physical and human geographies
Next- the Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment
Dominant physiographic landform feature in Great Lakes-St Lawrence Lowlands
Designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1990 (12 total in Canada)
1st large scale environmental land use plan in Canada (The Niagara Escarpment Plan)

Formation in 2 stages 1. Deposition of sediments by eperic (seas during Ordovician (435-400 mya) oldest sediments eroded from Taconic mountains. Then seas reappeared several times up to the end of the Paleozoic era (245 mya) 2. Erosion of eastern North America before Pleistocene ice ages

Geologic Structure 1. Upper layers comprised of hard erosion resistant rocks (e.g. dolomite, limestone) 2. Lower layers comprised of softer rocks (less resistant to erosion)-