Unit 7: Western Canada 낱말 카드 | Quizlet

What are the main themes of Western Canada's geography?

Changing circumstances, economy, technology, crop shifts, and oil sands under pressure.

What is Western Canada's economic strength based on?

Vast agricultural lands and energy resources like oil, gas, and potash.

What major event devastated Fort McMurray in 2016?

A catastrophic wildfire.

Which province in Western Canada continued steady growth unaffected by oil fluctuations?

Manitoba.

What trade conflict hurt Western Canadian agriculture in 2018?

China banned Canadian canola and meat products after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

How does geography challenge Western Canada's economy?

Being landlocked increases transportation costs for exports.

What is western alienation?

The perception that federal policies disadvantage the Western provinces, especially Alberta and Saskatchewan.

What climatic feature challenges farming in Western Canada?

A dry continental climate leading to water deficits and droughts.

What rivers supply drinking water to major Western Canadian cities?

The North and South Saskatchewan Rivers.

What is evapotranspiration?

The sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere.

What natural region is most vulnerable to drought in Western Canada?

Palliser's Triangle.

Which countries are Western Canada's major trading partners?

The United States, Pacific Rim countries, and the European Union.

Why was Keystone XL controversial?

It would carry oil sands bitumen to the US, opposed by environmentalists.

What percentage of Canada's GDP did Western Canada contribute in 2016?

24.7%.

What percentage of Western Canada's population identifies as Indigenous?

9.1%.

Name Western Canada's three major cities.

Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg.

What are the four physiographic regions of Western Canada?

Interior Plains, Canadian Shield, Cordillera, Hudson Bay Lowlands.

What parklands provide recreation for Calgarians?

Kananaskis Country Provincial Park.

What is the Great Sand Hills?

A semi-arid region of sand dunes in southwest Saskatchewan.

What is the Fertile Belt?

A zone of rich black soil ideal for agriculture stretching through parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

What soil types dominate the Prairies?

Black, dark brown, and brown chernozemic soils.

What is the Western Sedimentary Basin?

A massive geological structure containing oil, gas, and potash deposits.

What is coking coal used for?

Steel production, mainly exported to Asia.

What are Alberta's oil sands?

Huge reserves of bitumen located in the Athabasca region.

What environmental problems are caused by oil sands?

Greenhouse gas emissions, landscape scarring, toxic tailing ponds.

What are tailing ponds?

Massive ponds storing toxic water used in oil sands extraction.

What major city downstream of oil sands development reports higher cancer rates?

Fort Chipewyan.

What is a chinook?

A warm, dry wind that flows down the eastern slopes of the Rockies into southern Alberta.

What is an Alberta clipper?

A fast-moving, cold wind system that brings severe blizzards.

What is Palliser's Triangle?

A semi-arid region historically seen as unsuitable for agriculture.

What year did the Red River Settlement begin?

1812, by Scottish settlers led by Lord Selkirk.

What Indigenous leader led the Red River and North-West Resistances?

Louis Riel.

What was Rupert's Land?

Land granted to Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, later ceded to Canada in 1870.

What was the Dominion Lands Act of 1872?

A law offering settlers cheap farmland in Western Canada for $10 after meeting settlement requirements.

What was Clifford Sifton known for?

Promoting immigration from Central and Eastern Europe to settle Western Canada.

What year was the Canadian Pacific Railway completed?

1885.

What was the importance of the CPR?

It united Canada, opened the West to settlement, and enabled grain exports.

What are primary-sector activities?

Resource extraction industries like agriculture, mining, and forestry.

What technological advance improved oil production in the Bakken Formation?

Horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

What environmental risks are associated with fracking?

Contaminated groundwater and increased earthquakes.

What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)?

Technology that traps CO2 emissions and stores them underground.

What is the Quest Project?

A CCS facility in Alberta reducing Shell's CO2 emissions at the Scotford upgrader.

What is the Red River Floodway?

A man-made channel that diverts floodwaters around Winnipeg, protecting the city from Red River floods.

What sector was the original economic spearhead of Western Canada?

Agriculture.

What industry replaced agriculture as Western Canada's primary economic driver?

Natural resource extraction, especially oil and gas.

What are the five critical trends in Western Canadian agriculture?

Larger farms, fewer and older farmers, advanced technology adoption, rural depopulation, and foreign market growth for pulses and specialty crops.

What was the average Canadian farm size in 2016?

Over 1,000 acres.

What percentage of Canada's field crop area is in Western Canada?

86%, with Saskatchewan alone at nearly 47%.

What trend describes the number of farmers in Western Canada?

Decreasing numbers with an aging demographic.

What is the Fertile Belt?

A region of rich black soil ideal for various crops, stretching from Manitoba to Alberta.

What are the main crops of the Fertile Belt today?

Canola, pulse crops (peas, lentils), and specialty crops.

What is the Dry Belt?

A semi-arid region focused on cattle ranching and grain farming, with dry conditions and large ranches.

What is a major natural hazard for Dry Belt farmers?

Drought, summer frosts, hail, grasshoppers, and plant diseases like stem rust.

What solution mitigates drought in the Dry Belt?

Irrigation systems, particularly in southern Alberta.

What is the Peace River Country?

A northern agricultural subregion on the Alberta Plateau focused on grain, hay, and pasture farming.

What are pulses?

Edible seeds from pod plants like lentils, peas, and chickpeas.

Which crop replaced spring wheat as the Prairie staple?

Canola.

What was the Crow Rate?

A federal subsidy for grain exports, cancelled in 1995.

How did cancelling the Crow Rate affect Prairie farming?

It made wheat less profitable, pushing farmers towards canola and pulse crops.

What happened to Canadian canola exports to China in 2018?

They were cut by nearly 50% due to political tensions.

What are two advantages of canola for Prairie farmers?

Higher profitability and proximity to local crushing plants.

Where is the largest canola crushing facility in North America located?

Clavet, Saskatchewan.

What province leads beef exports in Western Canada?

Alberta.

What country is the main importer of Canadian beef?

The United States (70% of exports).

What sector dominates Alberta's economy?

Oil sands and hydrocarbons.

What are Alberta's three oil sands regions?

Athabasca, Peace River, and Cold Lake.

What is cyclic steam stimulation (CSS)?

A method of extracting bitumen by injecting steam to melt and pump it out.

What was the Frontier oil sands project?

A cancelled $20.6 billion project withdrawn due to climate concerns.

Why are pipelines controversial in Canada?

Environmental concerns vs. economic benefits from oil exports.

What was the Trans Mountain Expansion Project?

A federally purchased project to twin an existing pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby.

Which major pipeline project was rejected due to Indigenous consultation failures?

Northern Gateway.

What is the Energy East pipeline?

A cancelled project that would have transported oil from Alberta to New Brunswick.

What resource is Saskatchewan the global leader in?

Potash production and exports.

What is potash used for?

Potassium-based fertilizers and industrial products.

Where is Saskatchewan's potash deposit found?

In the Prairie Evaporite formation beneath southern Saskatchewan.

What is uranium mining's significance to Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan produces most of Canada's uranium, mainly from the Athabasca Basin.

What is yellowcake?

A uranium concentrate (U3O8) produced from mined uranium ore.

What minerals are mainly mined in Manitoba?

Copper-zinc and nickel.

Which Manitoba town is famous for nickel mining?

Thompson.

What forest region supports Western Canada's forestry industry?

The boreal forest.

Which Western Canadian province has the most forested area?

Alberta (41.5% of Western Canada's forest area).

What caused a decline in Western Canadian forestry exports?

The US housing crisis and lumber trade disputes.

What is the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor?

A highly urbanized region driving Western Canada's knowledge economy.

Which Western Canadian city has the largest Indigenous urban population?

Winnipeg.