Grade by Grade
B. Physical Geography and Physical Processes in Canada · Canada's Physical Environment: Landforms, Climate, Hazards and People

Canada's Physical Regions: Landscapes and Landforms

B1.1 B1.2 A1.4 A1.6About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify Canada's eight physical (landform) regions and locate them on a map.
  • I can describe the characteristics (rock, relief, elevation, soils and landforms) that make each region different.
  • I can explain how geological and glacial processes produced each region's characteristics.
  • I can read a relief profile and use evidence to identify a region from its characteristics.

Words to know

physical region (landform region)
A large area with similar rock, relief and landforms that set it apart from neighbouring areas.
landscape
The overall look of an area: its landforms, water, vegetation and (often) the marks people have made.
landform
A natural feature of the Earth's surface, such as a mountain, plain, valley or plateau.
relief
The difference in elevation between the high and low points of an area; high relief means rugged land.
elevation
Height above sea level.
plateau
A large area of fairly flat land at a high elevation.
escarpment
A long, steep slope or cliff separating two fairly level areas, like the Niagara Escarpment.
muskeg
A boggy wetland with deep layers of moss and peat, common in the Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Shield.
relief profile (cross-section)
A side-view drawing showing how elevation changes along a line across the land.

Eight regions, one country

Drive west from Winnipeg and the land is so flat you can see a grain elevator for kilometres. Drive east from Winnipeg and within a couple of hours you are among pink granite rock, pine trees and lakes. You have crossed from the Interior Plains into the Canadian Shield. The change is not about provinces or roads. It is about rock, relief and history.

Geographers divide Canada into physical regions (also called landform regions): large areas with similar rock and landforms. In Grade 4 you learned their names. In Grade 9 you will explain why each one looks the way it does, using what you learned about rocks, plates and glaciers.

How geographers decide where one region ends

Physical regions are based on:

  • Bedrock: ancient Shield rock, flat sedimentary layers, or folded mountain rock.
  • Relief and elevation: flat or rugged, low or high.
  • Landforms: plains, mountains, plateaus, escarpments.
  • Surface materials and soil: bare rock, glacial till, lake clays, muskeg.

Boundaries between regions are zones of change, not sharp lines. Different atlases also group the regions in slightly different ways (for example, some combine the Hudson Bay and Arctic Lowlands). This course uses the eight regions you see below.

123456778HudsonBayPacificAtlantic1 Western Cordillera2 Interior Plains3 Canadian Shield4 Hudson Bay Lowlands5 Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands6 Appalachian Region7 Arctic Lowlands8 Innuitian MountainsPhysical regionsUnshaded land with nonumber is also Shield.Schematic diagram map: NOT to scale. Shapes and borders are simplifiedand approximate. Use an atlas for the real outlines.
Canada's eight physical regions on a schematic diagram map (not to scale, simplified shapes). The Canadian Shield wraps around Hudson Bay like a horseshoe; the sedimentary lowlands and plains sit around its edges; the mountain regions are at the west, east and far north.
RegionCharacteristicsHow it formedExamples
Western CordilleraYoung fold mountains, plateaus and valleys; Canada's highest peaksPlates converging and lifting rock; alpine glaciers carving valleysRockies, Coast Mountains, Mount Logan (5959 m)
Interior PlainsFlat to rolling land, sloping down from west to east; deep soilsFlat sedimentary rock from ancient seas; glacial deposits and lake bedsPrairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba; Mackenzie River valley
Canadian ShieldRolling, rocky land; thin soils; countless lakes, rivers and wetlandsAncient Precambrian rock worn down; scraped by glaciersNorthern Ontario and Quebec, Labrador, much of Nunavut
Hudson Bay LowlandsVery flat, poorly drained; muskeg and wetlands; permafrost in the northFlat sedimentary rock; land rising after glaciationShores of Hudson and James bays in Ontario and Manitoba
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence LowlandsLow, gently rolling; deep fertile soils; the Niagara EscarpmentSedimentary rock covered by glacial deposits and lake claysSouthern Ontario and the St. Lawrence valley in Quebec
Appalachian RegionOld, rounded mountains and hills; valleys; rocky coastsAncient mountain building, then long erosion and glaciationMaritime provinces, Gaspé, island of Newfoundland
Arctic LowlandsFlat to gently rolling islands; tundra; permafrostFlat sedimentary rock; glaciationVictoria Island and other southern Arctic islands
Innuitian MountainsRugged, ice-covered mountains in the far northFolding of the crust (younger than the Appalachians); glaciersEllesmere Island and nearby islands
Summary of Canada's eight physical regions. Use it as a study sheet.

Patterns to notice

The concept of patterns and trends helps you remember the regions as a system rather than eight separate facts:

  1. The Shield is the core. It is the oldest region and covers roughly half of Canada, shaped like a horseshoe around Hudson Bay.
  2. Flat lowlands and plains surround the Shield. They are made of flat sedimentary rock laid down in seas around the Shield's edges (Interior Plains, Hudson Bay Lowlands, Arctic Lowlands, Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands).
  3. Mountains are at the edges of the continent. The Cordillera (west), Appalachians (east) and Innuitian Mountains (north) formed where crust was squeezed during plate collisions.
  4. Age controls height. The young Cordillera is high and sharp; the old Appalachians are low and rounded.
  5. Elevation drops from west to east across the plains. The Interior Plains slope from about 1000 m near the Rockies to a few hundred metres in Manitoba, in a series of broad steps.
Western Cordillerahigh, rugged peaksInterior Plainsstep down to the eastCanadian Shieldlow, rolling rockGL–SLLowlandsAppalachianrounded hillsCalgary ~1050 mRegina ~580 mWinnipeg ~240 mWest → East relief profile across southern Canada. Schematic: heights exaggerated, not to scale.
A schematic relief profile across southern Canada (heights exaggerated, not to scale). Notice how the land steps down across the Interior Plains, from Calgary (about 1050 m) to Regina (about 580 m) and Winnipeg (about 240 m).

🔎 Geographer's toolkit: using a relief profile

A relief profile is a side view of the land along a line. To read one:

  1. Check the direction (which end is west or east) and the vertical exaggeration (heights are usually stretched so changes are visible).
  2. Look for high and low areas and steep and gentle slopes.
  3. Link the shapes to regions: jagged peaks suggest young mountains; a long, gentle slope suggests plains; a low, bumpy surface suggests the Shield.

You can make your own profile from a topographic map, as you did in Grade 7, or from an online elevation tool. Geographers often use GIS (geographic information systems) to draw them automatically from elevation data.

Worked example

Modelled example: Name that region

A field report says: "Flat land, very poorly drained, with bogs of peat and moss. No farms. Permafrost in some places. The land is slowly rising. Rivers flow into a large salty bay." Which physical region is this? Give your evidence.

  1. Flat and poorly drained suggests a lowland, not the Shield or mountains.
  2. Bogs of peat and moss = muskeg, which is typical of the Hudson Bay Lowlands.
  3. Land slowly rising = isostatic rebound, fastest around Hudson Bay.
  4. Rivers flowing into a large salty bay = Hudson Bay or James Bay.
  5. Rule out others: the Arctic Lowlands are islands in the Arctic Ocean, and the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands are well drained and heavily farmed.

The Hudson Bay Lowlands: flat, wet, muskeg-covered, rising land around Hudson and James bays.

Worked example

Worked example: Average slope across the Plains

Calgary is about 1050 m above sea level and Winnipeg is about 240 m. They are about 1200 km apart. What is the average drop in elevation per 100 km?

  1. Total drop: 1050 − 240 = 810 m.
  2. Number of 100 km sections: 1200 ÷ 100 = 12.
  3. Average drop per 100 km: 810 ÷ 12 = 67.5 m.

The land drops on average about 68 m every 100 km, a gentle slope you would hardly notice while driving, which is why the Prairies feel flat.

Hands-on activity

Build a physical region relief model

You need: modelling clay or play dough (or folded towels and cloths), a baking sheet, toothpicks and small paper flags, a pencil.

  1. On the baking sheet, build a strip of land about 40 cm long from west to east across southern Canada: tall, sharp ridges (Cordillera), a long gentle slope down (Interior Plains), a low bumpy surface with small hollows for lakes (Shield), a flat low area (Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands), and low rounded hills (Appalachians).
  2. Make a flag for each region with one characteristic and one process that formed it.
  3. Slice the model along its length with the side of a ruler, or look at it from the side at eye level. Sketch the relief profile you see.
  4. Explain your model to someone at home in two minutes, using the words relief, elevation, sedimentary and glaciation.

What to look for: the correct order west to east; the Cordillera clearly highest and most rugged; the Plains sloping down eastward; flags that link characteristics to processes.

Just for fun

Why don't the Appalachians brag about their height anymore?

They've been worn down by hundreds of millions of years of criticism from wind, water and ice.

Your turn

1

Which region is the oldest, and which covers about half of Canada?

2

Name the four lowland or plains regions made mainly of flat sedimentary rock.

3

Name the three mountain regions and where each is.

4

Why is the Western Cordillera much higher and more rugged than the Appalachians?

5

Which region has the most fertile soils and the most people, and why are its soils good?

6

Describe how elevation changes as you travel east across the Interior Plains.

7

Why are boundaries between physical regions shown as lines even though they are really zones of change?

More practice: warm-up

1

In which region is Mount Logan?

2

Which region surrounds Hudson Bay like a horseshoe?

3

What is muskeg?

4

Which region includes the island of Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces?

5

What is relief?

More practice: on your own

1

Field report: "Pink and grey rock at the surface, thin acidic soil, many lakes linked by rivers, mining towns, forests." Name the region and explain.

2

Field report: "Treeless islands in the far north, mostly flat sedimentary rock, ground frozen all year a short way down." Name the region and explain.

3

Why is the Hudson Bay Lowlands so poorly drained?

4

Using the profile, which city is higher: Regina or Winnipeg? By about how much?

5

How do the Shield and the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands show the interrelationship between bedrock, glaciation and soil?

Challenge

1

The Niagara Escarpment is a long, steep slope in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands. It is made of layers of sedimentary rock with a hard dolostone cap on top of softer shale. Explain why a steep cliff forms there instead of a gentle slope.

2

Some atlases show seven regions (combining the Hudson Bay and Arctic Lowlands); others show eight. Give one argument for combining them and one for keeping them separate.

3

Explain, using spatial significance, why most Canadians live in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands even though it is one of the smallest regions.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which physical region forms a horseshoe around Hudson Bay?

2.

Which region has Canada's highest mountains?

3.

Flat, poorly drained land with muskeg beside a large saltwater bay describes:

4.

The Interior Plains slope gently down toward which direction?

5.

Why are the lowlands and plains mostly flat?

6.

Relief describes:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation B1.1 asks students to identify the characteristics of Canada's landscapes and landforms and explain how these differentiate the physical regions. This lesson pulls together the previous three (rocks, plates, glaciers) to explain each region. It also practises strand A skills: reading a relief profile and communicating with correct terminology.

Common difficulties:

  • Memorising without understanding. Encourage the patterns: Shield in the middle, flat sedimentary lowlands around it, mountains at the edges, young = high, old = low.
  • Confusing political and physical regions. Physical regions cross provincial borders (the Shield is in several provinces).
  • Reading exaggerated profiles literally. Remind your teen that heights are stretched on profiles.

How to help: Use a printed atlas or the Atlas of Canada online to compare a physical map with a political map. Quiz each other: "Describe a region and I'll name it." On trips, ask "Which region are we in? What evidence can you see?"