Unit 2 · 8 lessons
Physical Geography of Canada
Canada's landform regions and the geological, glacial and climatic processes that shaped them; climate, ecozones and water; natural hazards and climate change; and how the land shapes Canadian life, identity and stewardship.
- 59 practice questions
- 70 flashcards
- 2 interactive lessons
Lessons
- 1Canada's Landform RegionsWhat a landform region is, the characteristics (rock, relief, origin, drainage, soils) used to tell regions apart, and a tour of Canada's regions: the Canadian Shield, Western Cordillera, Interior Plains, Hudson Bay Lowlands, Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, Appalachian Region and the Arctic lands.8 questions
- 2Rock Cycle, Plate Tectonics and GlaciationHow the rock cycle makes and recycles igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock; how moving tectonic plates build mountains and cause earthquakes in BC and the Ottawa–Montréal area; and how ice sheets, weathering and erosion carved Ontario's landscape, from the Great Lakes to the Oak Ridges Moraine.8 questions
- 3Climate and Its Factors; Reading Climate GraphsThe difference between weather and climate, the six LOWERN factors that control a place's climate (latitude, ocean currents, winds and air masses, elevation, relief, nearness to water), continental versus maritime climates, the jet stream, and how to read and calculate from a climate graph.Interactive8 questions
- 4Ecozones: Vegetation, Soils and WildlifeHow climate, landforms, soils, vegetation and wildlife fit together into ecozones; Canada's main natural vegetation regions from tundra to temperate rainforest; key soil types; permafrost and the treeline; and Ontario's three ecozones.7 questions
- 5Water: Drainage Basins, Lakes, Rivers and Ocean CurrentsHow drainage basins and divides organize Canada's rivers into five ocean drainage areas, why the Great Lakes and Canada's fresh water matter, how watersheds are managed, and how ocean currents and the El Niño and La Niña cycle shape Canada's climate and weather.7 questions
- 6Natural Hazards and Disasters in CanadaThe difference between a hazard and a disaster, the idea that risk depends on both the hazard and how vulnerable people are, Canada's main hazards and where they strike, patterns and trends in their frequency and severity, case studies such as the 1998 ice storm and Hurricane Fiona, and how communities reduce risk.7 questions
- 7Climate Change in Canada: Consequences, Mitigation and AdaptationHow fast Canada is warming and why the North is warming fastest; the environmental, economic, social and political consequences across Canada's regions; the difference between mitigation and adaptation; and how to assess local and regional strategies such as Toronto's green roof bylaw.Interactive7 questions
- 8People and the Land: Livelihoods, Identity and StewardshipHow each physical region supports particular human activities and communities, how Canada's landscapes became national symbols (the maple leaf, the loonie, the North, the Rockies, the Group of Seven) and whose stories those symbols leave out, and how different communities, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit, value and protect the land through stewardship, Indigenous Guardians and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas such as Thaidene Nëné.7 questions