Canada | Print Article | World Book Advanced Page 1 of 7 Back Print this page Canada The land Map Canada provinces Canada covers most of the northern half of North America. It borders Alaska on the northwest and the rest of the continental United States on the south. From east to west, Canada extends 3,223 miles (5,187 kilometers) from the rocky coast of Newfoundland and Labrador to the St. Elias Mountains in Yukon. Canada has six time zones. At noon in Vancouver, the time in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, is 4:30 p.m. From its southernmost point, Middle Island in Lake Erie, Canada extends 2,875 miles (4,627 kilometers) north to Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island. Of all the world's land areas, only the northern tip of Greenland lies nearer the North Pole than does Cape Columbia. Canada has the longest coastline of any country—151,019 miles (243,042 kilometers), including island coasts. Canada faces the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Arctic Ocean on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and James Bay form a great inland sea. Hudson Bay remains frozen for about eight months of the year. But in the summer, it provides a waterway to Canada's vast interior. Forests cover almost half of the land area of Canada. Mountains and Arctic areas make up 41 percent of the land. Most Canadians live in southern agricultural areas and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Land regions. Canada has eight major land regions. They are the Pacific Ranges and Lowlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Arctic Islands, the Interior Plains, the Canadian Shield, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and the Appalachian Region. Picture Athabasca glacier The Pacific Ranges and Lowlands form Canada's westernmost land region. They make up most of British Columbia and the southwestern part of Yukon. The region includes the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. All these islands are the upper portions of a mountain range that is partly covered by the Pacific Ocean. The Coast Mountains rise along the coast of British Columbia. The St. Elias Mountains in Yukon include Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan, near the Alaskan http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/printarticle?id=ar090380&st=canada&sc=s5 2/6/2012 Canada | Print Article | World Book Advanced Page 2 of 7 border. It towers 19,551 feet (5,959 meters) above sea level. Glaciers cover many of the higher slopes in the St. Elias Mountains. The coastline of British Columbia has many long, narrow inlets called fiords. The fiords provide a water route to Canada's most valuable forests. These dense forests consist of tall redcedars, hemlocks, and other evergreen trees that grow on the lower slopes of the mountains. Black bears, foxes, and other animals live in the forests. The Interior Plateau is an area of plains, river valleys, and smaller mountains. It lies east of the Coast Mountains. This area has valuable mineral resources, including Canada's largest deposits of the metals bismuth and molybdenum. The southern part of the Interior Plateau has many farms and orchards, as well as large grasslands where cattle graze. Forests grow in the northern part of the plateau area. Picture Jasper National Park The Rocky Mountains rise east of the Pacific Ranges and Lowlands. These two regions together are part of the Cordillera, an immense group of mountain ranges that extends from Alaska through Mexico. In Canada, the snowcapped Rockies vary in height from 7,000 to more than 12,000 feet (2,100 to 3,660 meters) above sea level. The tallest peak, Mount Robson in eastern British Columbia, is 12,972 feet (3,954 meters) high. Millions of people visit the Rockies every year to view the magnificent scenery and to enjoy such activities as camping, hiking, and skiing. The Rocky Mountain Chain extends for more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) from New Mexico to northern Alaska. The Canadian portion of the chain includes several separate ranges. The major range, the Canadian Rockies, stretches from Canada's southern border to the Liard River in northern British Columbia. Railroads and highways cross the Canadian Rockies at Crowsnest, Kicking Horse, Vermillion, and Yellowhead passes. Between the Liard River and the Alaskan border are several other ranges, including the Selwyn Mountains and the Mackenzie Mountains. A long, narrow valley called the Rocky Mountain Trench separates the Columbia Mountains in southern British Columbia from the Canadian Rockies to the east. The Rockies have large deposits of coal, lead, silver, zinc, and other minerals. Forests of juniper and pine grow on the lower slopes. Firs and spruces thrive at higher elevations. Bears, deer, minks, mountain lions, and other animals roam the forests on the upper slopes. Rocky Mountain goats and bighorn sheep live above the timber line, the elevation above which trees cannot grow. Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, grayling, and other fish swim in the swift mountain streams. The Arctic Islands lie almost entirely within the Arctic Circle. They include about a dozen large islands and hundreds of smaller ones. All the islands are barren, and most remain unexplored. Two of the largest islands, Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, have many glaciers, tall mountains, and deep fiords. Victoria Island and the other western islands are extremely flat. The seas surrounding the islands remain frozen most of the year. http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/printarticle?id=ar090380&st=canada&sc=s5 2/6/2012 Canada | Print Article | World Book Advanced Page 3 of 7 Picture Canadian tundra The Arctic Islands are tundras, places too cold and dry for trees to grow. The subsoil of the islands is permanently frozen, and only a thin surface layer of soil thaws during the brief, cool summers. Only simple organisms called lichens grow on the northernmost islands. The other islands have lichens, mosses, grasses, and grasslike plants known as sedges. Herds of caribou and musk oxen graze on the tundras. Other wildlife includes Arctic foxes and hares, lemmings, polar bears, ptarmigans, seals, walruses, and whales. Insects thrive on the Arctic Islands during the summer. Deposits of petroleum and natural gas, as well as such minerals as lead and zinc, have been discovered in the western Arctic Islands. However, most of this mineral wealth remains untapped because of high production costs and the difficulty of transporting the products to distant markets. Picture Interior Plains of Canada The Interior Plains include the northeastern corner of British Columbia, much of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the southwestern part of Manitoba. The region extends north through the Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean. Grasslands form the natural cover of the vast prairies in the southern Interior Plains. Farmers have plowed most of the grasslands to grow wheat and other grains in the fertile black soil. Ranchers graze cattle on the remaining grasslands in the drier areas of southern Alberta. Farther north, evergreen forests form part of the great northern forest that covers Canada from Alaska to the coast of Labrador, the mainland part of Newfoundland and Labrador. White spruces and jack pines are the most common trees in these forests. Deer, elk, moose, and many other animals live there. Near the Arctic Ocean, the forests gradually give way to tundras that are covered by snow for more than half the year. The Interior Plains have many mineral resources. Large deposits of petroleum, natural gas, and coal have made Alberta a major mining area. One of the world's largest known deposits of bituminous sands or tar sands (sands that contain oil) lies along the Athabasca River in Alberta. Saskatchewan has important deposits of petroleum and uranium. The largest potash deposits in the world lie mainly in southern Saskatchewan. The Northwest Territories has petroleum and deposits of diamonds, lead, and zinc. The Canadian Shield is a vast horseshoe-shaped region. It curves around Hudson Bay from the Arctic coast of Nunavut to the coast of Labrador. The Canadian Shield covers about half of Canada and is made up of ancient rock. Much of the region lies from 600 to 1,200 feet (180 to 370 meters) above sea level. The eastern part of the region is called the Great Laurentian Uplands. http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/printarticle?id=ar090380&st=canada&sc=s5 2/6/2012 Canada | Print Article | World Book Advanced Page 4 of 7 Picture Spruce Woods Provincial Park The Canadian Shield consists largely of low hills and thousands of lakes. These lakes are the sources of rivers that break into great rapids and waterfalls at the edge of the region. Many of these rivers have hydroelectric plants. The plants provide power for pulp and paper mills and other industries, as well as towns and cities of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Few people live in the Canadian Shield. The region generally has poor soil and a cold climate. Only a few areas near the southern edge of the region have soil that is good enough for farming. Picture Lake Louise, Alberta, ski resort The southern part of the Canadian Shield is close to Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Many people of these cities have vacation houses near lakes or ski slopes in the southern Canadian Shield. The northern areas of the Canadian Shield are tundras. Evergreen forests cover most of the rest of the region. Deer, elk, moose, wolves, and many smaller animals live in the forests. The Canadian Shield has much of Canada's mineral wealth. The border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador has huge deposits of iron ore. Deposits of cobalt, copper, gold, nickel, and uranium are mined near Greater Sudbury, Ontario, a major smelting center.