Unit Two – Geographical Influences on Identity

 

Canada’s physical geography, its landforms and climate have a profound influence on Canadians’ sense of identity.  The poem “Unity” by Michael O. Nowlan captures an amazing sense of what it means to be Canadian.

 

Building Landforms

Planet Earth

The earth is made up of many different rocks of various ages.  Canada has some rocks as old as four billion years, some of the oldest on record.  Scientists believe that the earth formed in layers.   The denser materials settled in the earth’s center, while lighter materials, including gases formed the outer layers and the atmosphere.

 

The core, the earth’s center has two layers: a solid inner core which is very hot due to pressure, and a liquid outer core.  The earth’s crust is the surface layer and it is solid.  The mantle or middle layer is made up of a type of melted rock known as magma.  Magma is a hot, dense and slow moving fluid.

 

Movement of the Crust

A German scientist named Alfred Wegener developed the theory of continental drift.  This theory proposed that the earth’s crust is not continuous.  Instead it is divided into a number of plates that move due to currents in the earth’s mantle. Pangaea, the name given to the Supercontinent is made up of all the earth’s continents.  Over 100 million years ago, Pangaea began to split apart. The continents are still moving today.

 

Evidence for Wegener’s theory includes:

  • The fit of continental land masses
  • The presence of similar fossils in rocks now separated by oceans
  • Matching magnetic bands in the  rocks on either side of the mid-Atlantic Ridge
  • The fact that fossils of sea animals have been found high in the rocks of the Himalayas

 

Canada’s Crust

Canada is located on the northern part of the North American Plate.  This plate moves westward at 2cm to 4cm each year.  Canada’s Pacific Coast is the western edge of the North American Plate.  The Pacific Plate moves in a northeasterly direction.  This creates a subduction zone – an area of the earth’s crust where one plate slides beneath another.  This creates volcanoes and potential earthquakes.  Thus, each year British Columbia experiences approximately 1/5 (200) OF Canada’s thousand or so earthquakes.  Plate movement also means the distance between Atlantic Canada and Europe increases each year.

 

What are Landforms?

Landforms are the topography or the natural features of the land’s surface.  A landscape is an area’s landforms together with its cover of vegetation, water, ice and rock.  Landscape also includes the activities of humans and other animals.  Cities are often referred to as urban landscapes, while agricultural areas are called rural landscapes.  Landscapes can also have an effect on people’s lives, influencing what they eat, how they earn a living, who they do business with and many other factors of daily life.

 

Topography may be described using the following terms:

  • Elevation – used to describe the height of a landform, from sea level
  • Relief – the difference in elevation between points on the earth’s surface
  • Gradient – refers to the steepness of slopes
  • Geology – types and history of rock

 

How are Landforms Shaped?

Canada’s topography is the result of four forces:

  • Mountain building
  • Weathering
  • Erosion
  • Deposition

 

See figure 2.8 on page 25 of your textbook.

 

Canada’s Landform Regions

Canada is so large that geographers divide it into regions to make it easier to study.  Geographers classify landform regions based on a combination of characteristics:

·        Age of rock

·        Type of rock

·        Relief

·        Gradient

·        Process that has shaped the area

 

Geographers agree on the following eight regions in Canada:

·        Canadian Shield

·        Appalachian Mountains

·        Western Cordillera

·        Innuitian Mountains

·        Arctic Lowlands

·        Interior Plains

·        Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands

·        Hudson Bay Lowlands

 

See figure 2.11 on page 27 of your textbook.

 

 

 

 

Climate and Weather

Weather is another major factor of Canada’s geography.   Weather affects all Canadians and their sense of identity.  Meteorology, the science of weather was one of the first sciences to develop.  Climate is how we describe the patters of weather conditions over the long term.

 

What are the Elements of Climate?

The temperature or climate of any giver room can be controlled by adjusting the thermostat, or opening a window.  The earth also has controls that act upon the elements to produce different types of weather and climate.  There are two main sources which influence weather; global and regional location.

 

Global Factors

  1. Latitude – the further away one is from the equator, the less intense is the solar radiation (sunshine).  For example, solar radiation is the most intense along the equator, and it lessens as you move towards the North or South Poles.
  2. Air masses and Winds- if a volume of air remains in a place long enough it will take on some of the characteristics of that place.  There are four traditional air masses all having different characteristics.  They are:

i.                     Maritime Tropical – warm water makes the air warm and moist

ii.                   Maritime Polar – cold water makes the air cold and moist

iii.                  Continental Arctic – cold land makes the air cold and moist

iv.                 Continental Tropical – desert makes the air hot and dry

 

Storms are the result when two or more air masses clash.

  1. Ocean Currents – move immense amounts of heat and cold around the world.  Air passes over an ocean current is influenced by the temperature of that current.

 

Regional Factors

  1. Altitude – air temperature drops as altitude increases and air pressure decreases (the higher you go, the colder it gets).
  2. Bodies of Water – water heats up more slowly than land but retains its heat for a longer period of time.  Thus bodies of water such as lakes and oceans influence climate.
  3. Mountain Barriers – as the name implies mountain ranges block weather patterns, usually creating high amounts of precipitation, both snow and rain.

 

Climate Regions of Canada

There are five climate types generally accepted world wide:

  1. Tropical Climates- Canada does not have any tropical zones
  2. Dry Climate – when the rate of evaporation exceeds the amount of precipitation.  Canada’s dry climate zone has an annual temperature of less than 18*C
  3. Warm, Moist Climate – warm humid summers and mild winters
  4. Cool, Moist Climate – this is the climate of over 70% of Canada
  5. Polar Climates – Canada’s north, very cold and dry, covers about 25% of our country.