Physical Regions of Canada

1. The Arctic Physical Regions of Canada

2. Location • Located in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Quebec and the most extreme tip of Labrador and Newfoundland. • This is the only region where there is permafrost (the ground is frozen all year). 

3. Landscape • Ice caps or glaciers, tundra, pingos, (huge mounds of solid ice ), treeline, northern lights, (aurora borealis), and the polar ice pack, (permanently frozen sea ice), are just a few of the unique features found in this landscape. • The southern part of this area has small hills; the northern part has mountains, glaciers, plains, and islands. • Very little vegetation grows in this area. • In the summer the top layer of the landscape ( a few centimeters) may thaw and this often forms lakes or swamps . The permafrost directly effects the types of housing or shelter and transportation.

5. Climate • Short, cool summers and long, cold winters help to maintain permafrost on the land. • The unique tilt of our Earth's axis gives this region 6 months of constant sunlight and then 6 months of continual darkness. It would be very confusing to look at clock during the summer months. It would read midnight but the sun would still be shinning.

6. Resources and Industry • The oil and gas industry is located on land and in the water in the Arctic. Huge off shore drilling rigs may be found off the coastal regions. • Hunting, trapping and fishing are also crucial to the people who live in the Arctic Region. • In the north, zinc, lead, diamonds and gold are some of the minerals that we find.

7. Population • Due to the unique landscape and climate conditions this area of Canada has the lowest human population in Canada. • The majority of the people live where the land is level and/or where there is a water source nearby. Water is a source of food, communication, recreation as well as transportation. • More and more people are moving up to this beautiful region of Canada.

8. Facts • This region of Canada celebrates the beauty of our aboriginal cultures( Past and Present). • The Aboriginal people show us the elegance and extreme harshness of this northern landscape in their celebration of the arts. • This regions diversity, uniqueness and water formations strengthen our Canadian economy.

9. Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights • The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. • The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north. • Auroraldisplays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.