CANADA AND GREENLAND

Match the term below with the letter that represents it on the map.

A. Appalachian Mountains B. Atlantic Provinces C. Canadian Shield D. Lake Ontario E. St. Lawrence River

Natural Resources of Greenland

Although the soil of Greenland is fertile, it does not support the growth of crops. The waters that surround the country provide valuable catches of fish, seals, and whales. Other resources include minerals, oil, and natural gas.

What are the borders of Canada?

Arctic Ocean Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean United States Alaska

What are the borders of Greenland?

Atlantic Ocean Arctic Ocean

British Columbia

British Columbia is Canada's most western province. Its scenic beauty makes it valuable for tourism. Additionally, its abundant natural resources, which include salmon, forests, and minerals, have helped to make British Columbia one of Canada's richest provinces. This province boasts the Inside Passageway, a waterway that connects the offshore islands with British Columbia. The Rocky Mountains and Coast Mountains cover nearly half of British Columbia. Therefore, most of the population of this province is centered in and around the city of Vancouver.

In which country is farming more profitable? Canada or Greenland

Canada

Lakes in Canada

Canada is home to approximately two million lakes, which cover more than seven percent of Canada's land. Four of the five Great Lakes—Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario—lie both in the U.S. and Canada. Canada's largest lake is Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories. Its deepest lake is Great Slave Lake.

Northern Territories

Canada's three territories, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory, and the Nunavut Territory cover 40 percent of the country. These cold, barren landscapes are rich in mineral deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron ore, zinc, uranium lead, petroleum, and natural gas. Because of the harshness of both the climate and terrain, mining and transportation in this area is difficult. Therefore, much of the wealth of this area remains buried.

Greenland's Landscape

Except for its outer edge, Greenland is actually covered with a huge, thick cap of ice. Greenland is located in the northern portion of North America. As the world's largest island, it is roughly the same size as the portion of the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is situated between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, northeast of Canada. Most of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle. In the west, it is separated from Canada by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. In the east, it is separated from Iceland by the Denmark Strait. On the north coast of the island, Cape Morris Jesup is closer to the North Pole than any other piece of land. More than 80 percent of Greenland is covered by thick ice, roughly 1,000 feet thick, and the northern two-thirds of the country is permafrost. Mountains surround the edge of the country. This physical feature, combined with the weight of the ice, form a bowl-like formation that holds the ice to the land. Greenland's ice also affects its people's lifestyles. Most of Greenland's population lives along the mountainous, ice-free coast. Ice restricts travel to places like Qaanaaq and the Disko Bay region at certain times of the year, and travel between cities is typically done by plane, boat, or snowmobile. Peary Land is the northern part of Greenland. The coast is rugged and this area is ice-free. How is this possible? The dry air of this region prevents the formation of ice.

River Systems in Canada

In addition to mountains, Canada has important river systems. The two main river systems are: the Mackenzie, located in the west, The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada. and the St. Lawrence, located in the east. The Yukon, the Columbia, the Nelson, the Churchill, and the Fraser are other important rivers found throughout Canada.

Canada's Landscape

It contains 7 percent of the world's total land mass -- more than 3.8 million square miles (or 10 million square kilometers). Canada is larger than the United States, and if you include its bodies of water, it's the second largest country in the world. Canada and the U.S. share the longest unguarded border in the world; its borders also stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. To the north lies the Arctic Ocean. Take a moment to use a map or a globe to locate Canada. Canada's political divisions are called provinces. It has ten provinces: Alberta British Columbia Prince Edward Island Manitoba New Brunswick Nova Scotia Ontario Quebec Saskatchewan Newfoundland Labrador and three territories: Northwest Territories Nunavut Territory Yukon Territory landscape ranges from fertile plains, to steep rugged mountains, to frozen tundra. Much of this tundra is permafrost, permanently frozen soil. Permafrost has prevented major development of the northern regions. The mountains in Canada mirror the ranges found in the U.S. In the eastern portion of Canada, you find the Appalachian, Torngat, and Laurentian Mountains. In the west, you find the Rocky, Coastal, and Mackenzie Mountains. Mount St. Elias and the Pelly Mountains are found in the north. The highest mountain in Canada, Mount Logan (at 19,850 feet), is found in the Yukon Territory.

Natural Resources of Canada

Nine percent of the world's freshwater supply lies within its borders. Canada's other natural resources include: minerals fish timber wildlife coal petroleum natural gas

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield is centered on the Hudson Bay. It extends for 8 million square km (3 million square miles) over eastern, central, and northwestern Canada from the Great Lakes to the Canadian Arctic. This area of bare rock covers most of the Ontario and Quebec Provinces and extends into the U.S. and Greenland. The geology of the area indicates that at one time sheets of ice depressed the landscape, scooped out thousands of lakes, and eroded the soil. Drainage here is poor. The southern part of the shield has thick forests, and the north is covered with tundra. While its soil is poor, it has a wealth of minerals, including gold, silver, zinc, copper, and uranium.

Grand Banks

The Grand Banks extend about four hundred kilometers off the east coast of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Here, ocean currents created one of the most valuable fishing areas in the world.

Prairie Provinces

The Prairie Provinces in southwestern Canada include Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. They extend from the Canadian Shield to the Rocky Mountains. The landscape of these regions varies. The southern portion is flat grassland that is able to support the farming of wheat and other grains. Moving farther north, the landscape changes, becoming semi-arid grassland, and finally, treeless tundra. The interior continental plain, covering southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and most of Alberta, is home to the main farming areas in Canada. These plains are separated by a forested plateau bordering the Great Lakes Superior and Huron.

Which statements describe the St. Lawrence Seaway?

The St. Lawrence Seaway connects the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Lawrence Seaway is important for Canadian and U.S. trade.

Climate of Greenland

The closer a country is to the North or South Pole, the colder it is. This is because the earth is tilted on its axis, causing the sun's rays to hit most directly at the equator. As you move farther away from the equator, the sun's rays are more slanted when they strike the earth and its atmosphere. The same amount of sunlight ends up being spread over a larger surface area, generating less heat in a single location. Additionally, when the sun's rays are slanted, more heat energy is absorbed by the gases in the atmosphere, and less heat energy is available to heat the earth. This means that the poles are much colder than the equator. Because of its location near the North Pole, Greenland's climate is cold and dry. It ranges from arctic to subarctic. Its summers are cool and its winters cold. It receives little precipitation. Its coasts are constantly cooled by cold ocean currents, which combine with the ice that covers the inland areas to give the nation its arctic climate.

Ontario and Quebec Provinces.

The provinces of Ontario and Quebec share many common features. The fertile soil of the St. Lawrence plain, which covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario, is one of Canada's principal farming regions. The Ontario Province is home to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. This system connects the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean, providing an important trading route for both Canada and the U.S. The Appalachian Mountains extend along the southeastern border of the province of Quebec. Tundra covers most of the northern area of this province. Here you will find hills, the Laurentian Mountains, rivers, numerous lakes and bogs, and thick forests.

Atlantic Provinces

The southeastern provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick are known as the Atlantic Provinces. These provinces are often referred to as the Maritime Provinces because all have an eastern border along the Atlantic Ocean. The Appalachian Mountains extend south through these provinces into the U.S. These mountains create an irregular coastline full of bays and inlets—a boon for the fishing industry. Forested hills, thousands of lakes, and small ponds are scattered across the landscape of these provinces. The glaciers that were present in this area years ago left the soil here rough, rocky, and thin.

Canada's Climate

When you think of Canada's climate, you probably think of cold and snow. Canada, however, isn't cold all the time. In fact, the southwestern area along the coast has a temperate climate, and weather conditions are relatively mild. Coastal areas in the east are colder as a result of the Labrador Current that flows along the shores. In summer, the southern provinces have high humidity, and the temperatures often are above 86 degrees (30 degrees C). The western and southeastern areas receive much precipitation, while the prairies are dry. In the winter, temperatures fall below freezing all over Canada. Near the Arctic Circle, temperatures do not rise above freezing for seven months of the year. The climate of Canada varies from temperate in the south to subarctic and arctic in the north.

Which terms describe Canada's climate?

arctic subarctic temperate

Why do the poles have the coldest climates on Earth?

because the sun's rays fall most directly on the equator, not on the poles because of the angle (the slant) of the sun's rays

Which areas of Greenland are not covered in ice?

coastal regions Peary Land

subarctic

cold, snowy winters and cool, rainy summers

temperate

mild, moderate

maritime

on or near an ocean or sea

permafrost

permanently frozen soil beneath the surface in polar and near-polar areas

province

the political division used in Canada and some other countries

arctic

very cold