SECTION

1 Physical
TEKS 3A, 3B, 3C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 5A, 5B,
5C, 6A, 6B, 21B, 21C, 22D
Geography
What You Will Learn… If YOU lived there...
Main Ideas You live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in central Canada. Your hiking club
1. A huge country, Canada has is trying to decide where to go on a trip this summer. Since you live
a wide variety of physical
on the plains, some people want to visit the rugged Rocky Moun-
features, including rugged
mountains, plains, and tains in the west. Others want to travel north to Hudson Bay to see
swamps.
polar bears and other wildlife. Others would rather hike in the east
2. Because of its northerly loca-
tion, Canada is dominated by near the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls.
cold climates.
3. Canada is rich in natural Which place will you choose for this year’s trip?
resources like fish, minerals,
fertile soil, and forests.

The Big Idea

Building Background A long international boundary sepa-
Canada is a huge country rates Canada and the United States. With the exception of the St.
with a northerly location, cold
Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, there is no actual physical
climates, and rich resources.
boundary between the two countries. Rivers, lakes, prairies, and
mountain ranges cross the border.
Key Terms and Places
Rocky Mountains, p. 170
St. Lawrence River, p. 170
Niagara Falls, p. 170 Physical Features
Canadian Shield, p. 171
Did you know that Canada is the second-largest country in the
Grand Banks, p. 172
pulp, p. 173 world? Russia is the only country in the world that is larger than
newsprint, p. 173 Canada. The United States is the third-largest country in the
world and shares many physical features with Canada.
Locate Canada on the map on the following page and see
if you can find the physical features that the United States and
Use the graphic organizer online to Canada share. You may notice that mountains along the Pacific
take notes on the physical geogra- coast and the Rocky Mountains extend north into western Can-
phy of Canada.
ada from the western United States. Broad plains stretch across
the interiors of both countries. In the east, the two countries
share a natural border formed by the St. Lawrence River. An
important international waterway, the St. Lawrence links the
Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The United States and Canada also share a spectacular physi-
cal feature called Niagara Falls. The falls are located on the Niag-
ara River between the province of Ontario and New York State.

170 Chapter 7
 Created by the waters of the Niagara River, Farther north, Canada stretches all the
the falls flow between two of the Great way up to the Arctic Ocean. The land here
Lakes—Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The is covered with ice year-round. Ellesmere
falls here plunge an average of 162 feet (50 Island is very rugged with snow-covered
m) down a huge ledge. That is higher than mountains and jagged coastlines. Very
many 15-story buildings! few people live this far north, but wildlife
Canada has a region of rocky uplands, such as the polar bear and the Arctic wolf
lakes, and swamps called the Canadian have adapted to the harsh environment.
Shield. See on the map how this feature
curves around Hudson Bay. The Shield R eading C heck Summarizing What are the
covers about half the country. major physical features of Canada?

Canada: Physical

ARCTIC OCEAN Ellesmere

Island
°W Greenland

Cir tic
0
16

cle
Place Canada is located between the

Arc
(DENMARK)
W
0°
W

15 United States and the Arctic Ocean.

°
120
°W

MG7FVS canmap003ba
°W
0

1. Locate What mountain range has

14

HRW-MS Geography Maps

13

Beaufort Baffin the highest elevation?

Canada: Physical
Sea Bay
2. Draw Conclusions How does
Locator Baffin
Island Canada’s northerly location affect
Final pass--7/7/05 Victoria
its climate?
Yukon R.

Island
Mack
Mackenzie Mts.

60
°W

50
°N °W
enz

60
80°

Mt. Logan Great

i

Labrador
e R.

19,524 ft Bear Hudson Strait ELEVATION

(5,951 m) Lake Sea
Feet Meters
Great
°N
90°W
COAST

Slave 50
13,120 4,000
ROC

CA

Lake LABRADOR Newfoundland 6,560 2,000

Hudson Island 1,640 500
INT

NA

Bay
KY
MOUN

656 200
ER

A
D

(Sea level) 0 0 (Sea level)

N Grand
I
MO

IO

James
SH Banks Below Below
R
Fraser R.
TAINS

IEL Bay
PL

Gulf of St. sea level sea level

UN

R.

N D
AI

S Lawrence
0 500 1,000 Miles
nce

Lake
TA

Vancouver
Saskatchewan Winnipeg
INS

0 500 1,000 Kilometers

re

Island Laurentian
River
aw

Plateau N
PACIFIC Lake E Projection: Lambert
.L

Azimuthal Equal-Area
Huron Bay of
OCEAN
St

Lake Ottawa Lake Fundy W

Superior S
Lake Ontario
UNITED STATES Michigan Niagara ATLANTIC OCEAN
Falls HRW-MS World Geography
Lake Erie
Mist rises over Niagara Falls where MG7FVS canmap003ca
the Niagara River forms a natural Canada: Physical
boundary between the United Legend
States and Canada. Final pass –-7/7/05

Canada 171
 Climate Resources
F OCUS ON Canada’s location greatly influences the Canada is incredibly rich in natural
R EADING country’s climate. Canada is located far resources such as fish, minerals, and for-
What climates
from the equator at much higher latitudes ests. Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific coastal
would you
include in a list than the United States. This more north- waters are among the world’s richest fish-
of the climates erly location gives Canada cool to freezing ing areas. Off the Atlantic coast lies a large
of Canada?
temperatures year-round. fishing ground near Newfoundland and
The farther north you go in Canada, the Labrador called the Grand Banks. Here,
colder it gets. The coldest areas of Canada cold waters from the Labrador Sea meet
are located close to the Arctic Circle. Much the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. These
of central and northern Canada has a sub- conditions are ideal for the growth of tiny
arctic climate. The far north has tundra and organisms, or plankton, that fish like to
ice cap climates. About half of Canada lies eat. As a result, large schools of fish gather
in these extremely cold climates. at the Grand Banks. However, recent over-
The central and eastern parts of south- fishing of this region has left many fishers
ern Canada have a much different climate. in Canada unemployed.
It is humid and relatively mild. However, Minerals are also valuable resources
the mildest area of Canada is along the in Canada. The Canadian Shield contains
coast of British Columbia. This location on many mineral deposits. Canada is a main
the Pacific coast brings rainy winters and source of the world’s nickel, zinc, and
mild temperatures. Inland areas of south- uranium. Lead, copper, gold, and silver
ern Canada are colder and drier. are also important resources. Saskatchewan
has large deposits of potash, a mineral used
R eading C heck Categorizing What are to make fertilizer. Alberta produces most of
Canada’s climates? Canada’s oil and natural gas.

Banff National Park

Some of Canada’s most spectacu-
lar scenery is found here in the
Rockies at Banff National Park.

172 Chapter 7
 The city of Windsor,
Ontario, lies across Agriculture in Ontario
the Detroit River from In this satellite image, crop fields in different stages of growth
Detroit, Michigan. appear scattered throughout the province of Ontario. These
rectangular fields of vegetation appear red at their height of
growth and white after the crops are harvested. Rich soils and a
mild climate in this region, which lies north of Lake Erie, make it
one of Canada’s most fertile regions. Crops grown here include
wheat, soybeans, corn, and a variety of vegetables. Some of these
crops are exported to the United States through the Canadian port
of Windsor to Detroit, Michigan, just across the Detroit River. Both
cities appear in this image as shades of blue and brown.

Drawing Conclusions What is the economy of southern Ontario

based on?

Vast areas of forests stretch across

most of Canada from Labrador to the   
SUmmary and PReview In this sec-
Pacific coast. These trees provide lumber tion, you learned that Canada shares
and pulp. Pulp —softened wood fibers—is many physical features with the United
used to make paper. The United States, the States. However, Canada’s geography is
United Kingdom, and Japan get much of also different. Due to its northerly loca-
their newsprint from Canada. Newsprint is tion, Canada has a cold climate. Fish,
cheap paper used mainly for newspapers. minerals, fertile soil, and forests are all
important natural resources. In the next
R eading C heck Drawing Conclusions How section, you will learn about the history
do Canada’s major resources affect its economy? and culture of Canada.

Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ

Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places Critical Thinking

1. a. Recall What river links the Great Lakes to the 4. Generalizing Using Resources Location
Atlantic Ocean? your notes on Canada’s
b. Explain What physical features does Niagara resources, identify the
Falls flow between? location of each type
c. Geographic Questions Look at the map in this of resource.
section. Pose and answer a question about Cana-
da’s physical geography. Focus on Speaking
2. a. Describe How is Canada’s climate related to its
northerly location? 5. Writing about Physical Geography What infor-
b. Draw Conclusions Locate Canada on the map mation about Canada’s physical features, climate,
in this section. Where would you expect to find and resources might visitors find appealing? Jot
Canada’s coldest climate? Why? down what descriptions you want to include in
3. a. Define What is the Grand Banks? your radio ad.
b. Interpret How are Canada’s forests a valuable
resource?
Canada 173