Canada and the 5 Themes of Geography: A Study Guide Our neighbor to the north (for most Americans)…and east (for Detroiters)…and west (for Maine)…and.

Canada and the 5 Themes of Geography: A Study Guide

Our neighbor to the north (for most Americans)…and east (for Detroiters)…and

west (for Maine)…and south (for Alaska)…

The 5 Themes of Geography•Location

where places are•Place

characteristics of places and the people who live there

•Human/Environment Interaction relationships between people and their environments

•Movementmovement of material, people, or ideas among places

•Regionsareas sharing several characteristics

Geographers want to know•Where is it?

»Absolute Location (the address)»Relative Location (where is it in

relation to other places?)

Location

•Why is it located there?

Absolute Location and Canada

•Does Canada have an ‘address’?Cities and towns in Canada do!Each place in Canada has an address.

Geographers identify these addresses using:

Latitude AND Longitude

Windsor, Ontario, Canada’s address is:

42° 16' N Latitude

82° 58' W Longitude

Using latitude and longitude, we can identify the absolute location of any place on the globe!

Relative Location and Canada

Canada is west of ____________.Canada is east of ____________.Canada is south of ____________.Canada is north of ____________.

These statements are examples of Canada’s relative location!

More examples of relative location

• Canada is just a short drive from Detroit.

• Vancouver, Canada is southeast of Alaska.

• Canada is northeast of Hawaii.• Much of Canada is south of Alaska.• Canada is north of most areas of the

United States, but not all!• Toronto is southwest of Maine.• Can you think of another

example?

PLACE

What is it like?

EXAMINING PLACE Physical (natural)

Characteristics• What are Canada’s major

landforms?• What are Canada’s major bodies of

water?• What types of plants and animals

can be found in Canada?• Describe Canada’s climate.• Describe Canada’s soil.• Does Canada have any minerals?

EXAMINING PLACE Human Characteristics

• How large is Canada’s population?• What cultural characteristics are

found in the people of Canada?• How does Canada use its land?• What roads could you find in Canada?• What buildings could you find in

Canada?• What are Canada’s major economic

activities?

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

How do people interact with and change their environments?

Human Use people depend on the environment and its

resourcesWhat resources do Canadians

use?

It’s a big country…

Let’s try this…

Using the Resources of Canada

mining•animals•fish•minerals

THE TERRITORIES

•Yukon Territory•Nunavut•Northwest Territories

forest industry lumber processingprocessing lumber shippingpaper manufacturing hydroelectric power

•trees•lakes •rivers

•British Columbia

farming ranchingminingoil production

•fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)•fertile soil•trees•cattle

PRAIRIE PROVINCES

•Alberta•Manitoba•Saskatchewan

•St. Lawrence Seaway•Great Lakes (4 of 5)•minerals

manufacturing shippingsteel tourism

•Ontario•Quebec

fishing industryfarmingminingshippingtourism

•fish•Atlantic Ocean•minerals•land

ATLANTIC (MARITIME) PROVINCES

•Nova Scotia•Prince Edward Island•New Brunswick•Newfoundland and Labrador

How are these resources used?Examples of important resources

Provinces and Territories

Human Adaptation people change in response to different environments

How have Canadians adapted to their varied environments?

It’s a big country…

Let’s try this…

See if you can complete these sentences…

• Most Canadians live within 100 miles of Canada’s southern border because __________________________________.

• The shelters in northern Canada are different from the ones in southern Canada because _______________________________________________.

• The reason farming is a major industry in the Prairie Provinces is _____________________________________.

• The reason few farmers live in the Canadian Shield is _______________________________________________.

• The St. Lawrence Lowlands region is the home of many major industries because _______________________________________________________________________________________________.

Canada’s northern climate is too severe for most Canadians.

Canadians build shelters based on the environment and climate.

the Prairie Provinces have very fertile soil so farming is profitable.

there is very little soil for farming in the Canadian Shield.

The St. Lawrence Seaway provides a major shipping route making it profitable for many industries to locate there.

Human Impactpeople change the

environmentHow have Canadians changed

their environment?

It’s a big country…

Let’s try this…

• The St. Lawrence Seaway

• The Mining Industry

• The Timber Industry

• The Agriculture Industry

Explain how each of the following has changed Canada’s

environment.

The seaway added canals and locks to bypass the narrow and shallow parts of the St. Lawrence River.The land has been altered as minerals and fossil fuels have been removed from the ground.Forests have been cleared for timber. Roads have been built to transport the timber for processing.Land has been plowed and vegetation removed to make way for crops. Farming communities have used other lands previously empty.

MOVEMENT• Movement of Material• Movement of People and Other

Living Things• Movement of Ideas and Information

Transportation by nature

Transportation by people

Movement of Materials

MIGRATIONmovement of PEOPLE and other LIVING

THINGS•Movement of

People

•Movement of Other Living Things

•Movement of Ideas

•Movement of Information

DIFFUSIONmovement of IDEAS and INFORMATION

Which type(s) of movement?Can you tell the difference? Be prepared to explain your answers. (Note: There could be more than one

correct answer!)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT OF

MATERIAL

MIGRATION(people and other living

things)

DIFFUSION(ideas and

information)

French is spoken by almost all of Montreal’s citizens.

British Columbia’s ports link Canada to its Asian trading partners.

Canada’s earliest people came from Asia.

Separatists want Quebec to become an independent country.

The Canadian government is modeled on the British government.

REGIONS

• How can we generalize about areas of the world?

• Which places share similar characteristics or processes?

Types of Regions

• Natural or Physical Regions– Places (areas) that share a physical

characteristic or process (landforms, climate, other physical characteristics)

• Human Regions– Places (areas) that share economic,

political, or human characteristics

• Composite Regions– Places (areas) that share several characteristics

(culture regions and ecosystems)

IMPORTANT!!!!!A place might belong to

many different regions at the same

time.

• Example- Windsor, Ontario– Windsor is in the political

region of the province of Ontario.

– Windsor is in the economic region of Quebec/Ontario.

– Windsor is in the physical region of the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Canada’s Physical Regions

Canadian Shield

St. Lawrence Lowlands

Appalachian

Interior Plains

Western Mountains

Hudson Bay Lowlands

Arctic Islands

Canada’s Human Regions: Political

PROVINCES TERRITORIES

Nova Scotia Yukon Territory

Prince Edward Island Northwest Territories

New Brunswick Nunavut

Newfoundland and Labrador

Ontario

Quebec

Alberta

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

British Columbia

Canada’s Human Regions: Economic

Atlantic (Maritime) Provinces

Ontario and Quebec

Prairie Provinces

British Columbia

The Territories

The Atlantic (Maritime) Provinces

• The region’s provinces have at least one border on the Atlantic Ocean or one of its gulfs and seas.

• The fishing industry employs approximately 3% of the region’s workers.

• Most jobs in the region are in manufacturing, farming, mining, shipping, and tourism.

Quebec and Ontario• Region considered the ‘heartland of Canada’• An economic region that contains two separate cultural

(Composite) regions– Ontario

• English Canadian– Quebec

• French-Canadian• Region holds most of Canada’s population and two largest

cities– Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario

• Region produces most of Canada’s manufactured goods• Region produces a range of consumer goods and products

from other industries, including iron and steel• Region located near major waterways• St. Lawrence Seaway provides direct access to the Great

Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean• Region’s major centers of economic activity

– Quebec: Montreal– Ontario: The Golden Horseshoe (including Toronto)

The Prairie Provinces• Largest cities in the region:

– Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta– Winnipeg in Manitoba

• Fertile soil – great farming• Known as Canada’s ‘breadbasket’. Southern

portion of the region has many wheat farms and ranches.

• Northern portion of the region covered by forests.• Region supplies most of Canada’s fossil fuels

including– Coal– Oil

– Natural gas

British Columbia• Region includes a single province• Largest city is Vancouver

– Contains Canada’s busiest port– Links Canada to trading partners in Asia and the

United States

• Contains evergreen forests and many rivers and lakes

• Economic activities:• Cutting trees

• Processing lumber• Manufacturing paper

• Fishing• Recreation

• Hydroelectric power

The Territories• Region covers a huge area of northern Canada

(40% of Canada’s total land area!)• Very few people • No large cities• Most people meet their basic needs by

– Hunting– Fishing

• Little major economic activity other than– Mining

The 5 Themes of Geography…remember?

•Location

•Place

•Human/Environment Interaction

•Movement

•Regions