Regions MID 1

What is a region

concept referring to a segment of the Earth surface; it can be any size

Regional Geo

physical and human geography

Physical geo

natural environment (glaciers, geology)

Why are regions used

Simplify the study of large portions of the Earth's surface by breaking them up into manageable pieces which, because of their uniformity, allow for generalizations to be made about their geographical character

Intended to capture the personality of particular areas

How are regions defined

On the basis of features that allow us to differentiate a given region from other regions. Regions can be conceptualized based on size and on criteria

Regions based on size

• Mega-regions (world regions)

• Meso-regions (segments of countries)

• Micro-regions (areas within a locale)

What do all regions have

Location, area, boundaries, and hierarchy

Regional Criteria

- Functional – A central place that serves the surrounding area. (Example: Pearson Airport connects people from nearby regions.)

- Formal – A region defined by shared physical or cultural characteristics. (Examples: climate, language, religion.)

- Perceptual / Vernacular – A region based on people's opinions, feelings, or how they see a place. (Example: thinking of Southern Ontario as a particular region.)

- Administrative / Political – A region defined by government boundaries. (Examples: cities, provinces, countries.)

6 Candian Regions and criteria

1. Atlantic Canada – fishing, economically depressed, 

2. Quebec – language

3. Ontario – manufacturing

4. Western Canada – resource base similar, oil and pot ash, agricultural

5. British Columbia – physically, mountains, 10 different chains of mountains, forestry

6. Territorial North – climate similar, cool short summers, sparsely populated, mega-projects, economy similar

What factors cause Canada and its regions to change over time?

Culture, demography, economy, immigration, politics, and technology.

What is Canadian regionalism?

Differences between regions caused by geography, history, economy, and social, cultural, and racial makeup.

Four major faultlines (tensions) that change national unity

1.  Centralist/Decentralist

2.  English-speaking and french-speaking

3.  Aboriginal and non-aboriginal

4.  Newcomers and old-timers

Centralist/Decentralist Faultline

Conflict over how much power the federal government versus provinces should have, especially over natural resources, national interests, and provincial disputes.

English-Speaking/French-Speaking

Quebec seeks to protect its French language and culture. Conflicts include language laws, Quebec independence (1980 and 1995 referendums), Bill 21, and debates over Quebec’s future within Canada.

Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal

Indigenous peoples have faced land and resource loss, discrimination, and limited opportunities due to colonialism. Changes to the Indian Act, the end of residential schools, and political activism led to greater opportunities and a shift toward reconciliation rather than assimilation.

Newcomers/Old-timers

Immigration brings population growth, cultural diversity, and economic benefits, but can create concerns about cultural identity, accommodating different traditions, settlement costs, and Canada's ability to support newcomers.

When was the division of power between the federal and provincial government established

British North American Act (1867) 

Federal Power

defense; external affairs; criminal law; banking; trade; citizenship and Indian affairs

Provincial Power

education; health; welfare; highways; civil law; local government; natural resources.

What powers are shared between provincial and federal government

agriculture, immigration and taxation.

Sense of place

refers to two distinct but related ideas about the nature of particular locations on the Earth surface

First “Place”

The unique characteristics of a particular location (its character), which give meaning to people, even if they have never been there

Second “place”

refers to the attachments which people have to a particular location as a result of their direst experiences, memory and interaction (home)

What is nordicity, and how is it measured?

Nordicity measures how “northern” a place is. Louis-Edmond Hamelin created the Global Nordicity Index using 10 factors, including latitude, temperature, ice, precipitation, vegetation, accessibility, air service, population, and economic activity.

What is the Core-Periphery Model?

The economically powerful core (heartland) dominates the less powerful periphery (hinterland). The model explains how economic power and human activities are distributed across a region.

A regional version of the Core-Periphery Model, Friedmann’s construct divided countries into:

1. The core region – the focus of economic, political, and social activity (Ontario, Quebec)

2. The upward transitional region – a growing economy and a transition from primary to secondary and tertiary industries (BC, Western Canada)

3. The downward transitional region – characterized by a declining economy and dwindling population (Atlantic Canada)

4. The resource frontier – sparsely populated with little development (Territories)

Landforms that actively shaped and reshaped by various processes

• Denudation: Wearing down the Earth's surface.

• Weathering: Breaking rocks into smaller pieces.

• Erosion: Moving broken-down rock and material.

• Deposition: Dropping and settling transported material, often in oceans.

How are the rock cycle and plate tectonics related?

Plate tectonics moves Earth's plates, causing processes like melting, pressure, and volcanic activity that create and change rocks. These processes help drive the rock cycle, which transforms rocks between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic types.

Tectonic (Igneous Rocks)

No plants grow, toxic for them

Table lands – NFL

How can mountains form?

Through faulting, folding, tectonic forces, and volcanism.

What are orogenies?

Processes that build mountains through tectonic forces and rock deformation.

What processes are associated with mountain building?

Mass wasting (landslides), glaciers, and running water.

What shapes and carves mountain peaks?

Erosion wears away rock and shapes mountain peaks.

How does water contribute to rock breakdown on mountains?

Water enters cracks, freezes and expands, breaking pieces of rock off. The fallen rock fragments can form talus at the base of a slope.

physiographic region

A large area of the Earth’s crust that has three characteristics: 

•  It extends over a large, contiguous area with similar relief features

•  Its landform has been shaped by a common set of geomorphic processes

•  It possesses a common geological structure and history 

How does geology shape Canada's regions?

Different geological structures, topography, and mineral and energy resources shape regional economies and create different opportunities and challenges for human activity. Glaciation has shaped nearly all of Canada's topography.

7 physiographic regions of Canada

•  The Canadian Shield

•  The Cordillera 

  • Mountains in the west, BC

•  The Interior Plains

  • Arctic to USA to gulf of mexico

•  The Hudson Bay lowlands

  • Upper Ontario, little bit of Quebec 

  • Newer, from the last ice age, icesheets 2-3KM thick, all weight pushed down crust; when ice melted, water rushed in, sediments trickled down, ice rebound,

•  The Arctic lands

  • No vegitation

•  The Appalachian uplands

  • From NFL to about Georgia, same rocks on the other side of the Atlantic, worn-down rock

•  The Great lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands 

  • We are here: limestone, use to be above the ocean

The Canadian Shield

Canada's largest physiographic region, covering nearly half the country. It has ancient, rugged granite rock shaped by glaciers, which created lakes, scratches, and landforms like drumlins and eskers. It has poor agricultural potential but is rich in minerals such as nickel, copper, zinc, and gold.

The Cordillera

A region covering over 16% of Canada, stretching from southern BC to Yukon and including the Rocky Mountains. Plate tectonics formed its mountains, while glaciers shaped the landscape, creating cirques, horns, and tarns. It contains sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks and has earthquake and tsunami risks.

The Appalachian Uplands

An ancient region extending into the United States, weathered over about 500 million years. It has varied geological structures and topography, including folded and flat-lying rocks, igneous intrusions, and rocks also found in North Africa.

The Arctic Lands

Covers over 20% of Canada and includes coastal plains, plateaus, and mountains. It has permanently frozen ground (permafrost), patterned ground from freeze-thaw cycles, and pingos formed by underground ice.

The Interior Plains

A stable sedimentary plain covering nearly 20% of Canada, lying over the Canadian Shield. It was partly covered by glacial lakes, including Lake Agassiz, about 12,000 years ago. Rivers have exposed older rock layers, and sedimentary basins contain major oil and gas deposits. During the Late Cretaceous, the Western Interior Seaway covered the region, and today bedrock is covered by glacial deposits.

The Hudson Bay Lowlands

Canada's youngest physiographic region, covering about 3.5% of the country. It formed around 10,000 years ago from marine sediments exposed by isostatic rebound after the Laurentide Ice Sheet melted. It has widespread permafrost, muskeg (peat), and small human settlements.

Great Lakes — St. Lawrence Lowlands

Canada's smallest physiographic region, with surface materials from marine, river, and glacial deposits. Its favourable location makes it home to Canada's main ecumene (area of permanent human settlement) and manufacturing core. It has more varied topography than the Great Lakes Lowlands.

Climate

Describes average weather conditions for a specific place or region based on past weather over a very long period of time

Weather

The current state of the atmosphere with a focus on weather conditions that affect people living in a particular place for a relatively short period of time 

Two climatic types of Canadas territory

the Arctic and Subarctic zones

• Extremely long and cold winters

Climatic zone

An area of the Earth’s surface where similar weather conditions occur

• Extent determined by long-term data of annual, seasonal, and daily temperatures and precipitation

4 dominat factors of Canadas climate

1. Solar energy/latitude 

2. Global circulation system: winds, air masses, and ocean currents 

3. Marine and continental air masses 

4. “Continental effect”: air masses change temperature quickly over continental expanses

Solar energy/Latitude

• The amount of radiation entering the atmosphere is a function of latitude 

• Low latitudes have a net surplus of energy 

• High latitudes have a net deficit of energy 

• Since Canada occupies a lot of territory, it experiences great variations in the amount of solar radiation received

Polar Ice Melting

• Loss of more than 2 million square kilometers (800,000 square miles) of Arctic sea ice in last decade 

• Loss of ice = enhanced warming due to lower albedo (positive feedback)

Five air masses

Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Southwest US, and Arctic

Global Circulation System

Redistributes heat energy from low to high latitudes through air circulation and ocean currents

• Winds, air masses, and ocean currents

• Warm Japan current warms the Pacific coastal waters

• The cold Labrador current cools Atlantic Canada’s summer weather 

• Marine air masses bring mild and moist weather to adjacent land areas 

• Continental air masses are quite dry and vary in temperature according to the season

Precipitation

• As an air mass rises, its temperature drops 

  • Triggers condensation of water vapour within the air masses

Three types of precipitation

• Convectional precipitation results when moist air is forced to rise because the ground has become particularly warm (associated with thunderstorms)

• Frontal precipitation occurs when a warm air mass is forced to rise over a colder (and denser) air mass

• Orographic precipitation results when an air mass is forced to rise over high mountains 

  • As the same air mass descends along the leeward slopes of those mountains, the temp rises and precipitation is less likely to occur (rain shadow effect)

Permafrost

• Relic from Pleistocene climate 

• Permanently frozen ground with temps at below 0 for at least 2y

• Permafrost has been retreating from global warming

• Exists in the arctic, subarctic climatic zones and occurs at higher elevations in the Cordillera zone 

• Found in over two-thirds of Canada’s land mass 

• Warming of permafrost changing northern landscape

Four types of Permafrost

• Alpine permafrost is found in mountainous areas and taken on a vertical pattern as elevations of a mountain increase 

•  Continuous permafrost occurs in higher latitudes of the Arctic climatic zone, where at least 80% of the ground is permanently frozen

  • Associated with low mean annual temperatures of -15C or less

•  Discontinuous permafrost occurs when 30-80% of the ground is permanently frozen 

  • Subarctic climates where temp is -5C to -15C

• Sporadic permafrost is mainly in the northern parts of the provinces, where less than 30% of the area is permanently frozen

  • 0 to -5C

Melting of permafrost has caused:

roads to cave in, airport runways to fracture, railroad tracks to buckle, and buildings to crack, tilt, or collapse.

Broadleaf forest

• Extends into Canada only in the southernmost Ontario 

• Temperature is a major factor in limiting the northward: 8°C (46°F) isotherm 

• Located in southern Ontario contributes to its warmer climate, but "lake effect" is even more important. 

• One of the largest natural areas lies within the boundaries of Point Pelee National Park

Mixed Forest

• The northern needle- trees (conifers) extend south and the southern broad leaved (deciduous) trees extend north. 

• Contains 19% of Ontario's forests 

• Communities controlled by climate and soils

Boreal Forest

Canada contains about 30% of the world's boreal zone, which holds nearly three-quarters of Canada's forests and woodlands. Over 2.5 million people live there. Threats include fires, insects, disease, and industrial development, which damage habitats and threaten wildlife such as woodland caribou, wolverines, grizzly bears, and wolves. At least half the boreal forest should be protected, with the rest carefully managed.

Tundra

Tundra is located north of the treeline, where sub soils are permanently frozen. Tundra is a treeless area with dwarf shrubs and miniature wildflowers adapted to a short growing season.

Polar Desert

• A prominent feature of the polar desert is the complete absence of sunlight over a period of nine to ten months. 

• In a polar desert the vegetation is scarce and well-spread

Grassland

• At least 80% of our native prairie has been lost 

• Grasslands National Park contains over 70 different species of grass and over 50 different species of wildflowers

Costal Rain Forest

• Rain, and lots of it (or other precipitation, i.e. snow, drizzle, mist, fog....). The area must receive a minimum of 250cm of moisture (100 inches) per year. 

• Moist maritime climate 

• The Sitka spruce commonly grows to 70 metres tall and 2 metres in diameter and may live 800 years.

What is a drainage basin

land that slopes towards the sea separated by topographic ridges

Four major drainage basins

1. The Atlantic Basin 

• 3rd largest, 2nd greatest streamflow

2. The Hudson Bay Basin 

• Largest drainage basin in Canada

• Precipitation varies greatly across this basin

3. The Arctic Basin 

• 2nd largest basin

• Largest coastline

4. The Pacific Basin

• Smallest basin

• 3rd highest volume of water draining into sea

Ontario superlatives

• Canada’s most populous Province 

• Over 93% of province’s population lives in Southern Ontario 

• Canada’s second-largest Province (over 1,000,000 sq. km) 

• Is the heart of Canada’s economy 

• The most politically influential Province

Ontario and the economic downturn of 2008

• Manufacturing and the automobile industry are stalled

• Whats required

  • Fresh directions and investments 

  • Recovery of the US economy (on track) 

  • US policies in trade

• Considered a “have-not” province

Two sub-regions of Ontario

• Northern Ontario

• Southern Ontario

Northern Ontario

• Candian shield and Hudson Bay Lowlands

• Agricultural opportunities are severely limited by

  • Climate, soil, physiography

Southern Ontario

• Consists of the Great Lakes— St. Lawrence Lowlands

• Agricultural opportunities from

  • Long growing season

  • Ample precipitation

  • Fertile soils

• Weather variety

Ontatio: Impacts of global economic turmoil

• Decline of US market following 2008 economic crisis 

• Chinese manufactured goods displacing local manufacturers 

• Western provinces outpacing Ontario growth rates 

• No help from provincial government due to debt

Ontario: Decline of US market following 2008 economic crisis 

• US is Ontario’s principal market; recession has dented Ontario’s exports 

• Modest increase in exports in 2012 

Ontario: Globalization of trade has resulted in the “China Syndrome”

Manufacturing shifts to low-cost countries (e.g., China) → developed countries cannot compete with production costs → manufacturing plants in developed countries forced to close

Ontario: Loss of low Canadian dollar

• Low Canadian dollar kept price of exports to US at low levels 

• In 2010, CAD reached parity with USD; in 2013, CAD slightly below par (Cross- border manufacturing now more costly) 

Ontario: Missed opportunity

• Has Ontario missed economic boom in Western Canada and BC? 

• Foreign firms supply largest share of high-value manufacturing products in AB, SK, and BC 

Ontarios physical geography: Physiographic regions

• Great Lakes–St Lawrence Lowlands 

• Canadian Shield 

• Hudson Bay Lowlands

Ontarios physical geography: Climate Zones

• Arctic 

• Subarctic 

• Great Lakes–St Lawrence

Climate of Southern Ontario

• Long, warm summer (May to Sept) 

• Frigid winter (mid-Nov to March) 

Three specialized agriculture zones of west of Toronto

• Essex – Kent Vegetable Area

• Norfolk Tobacco Belt

• Niagara Fruit belt

Essex — Kent Vegteable Area

• Formerly know as the ‘corn belt’ 

• Currently Canada’s biggest producer of soy beans 

• Corn, wheat, and soybeans dominate production 

• Vegetables and fruits are important ‘high value’ alternative crops 

• Home to about ¼ of all vegetable processing 

• Leamington has the highest concentration of greenhouses in Canada 

• Tobacco was formerly of importance; vineyards are of growing importance 

• Windsor, Chatham and Leamington are the main service centers' in the region

Norfolk Tobacco Belt

• Has sandy (deltaic and other lacustrine) soils 

• Has poor soil fertility relative to other areas 

• Farm failure and abandonment were common in the 19th Century 

• In the 1920s, demand for tobacco stimulated agricultural production 

• Farm prosperity has declined with the demand for tobacco 

• Five crops currently dominate: corn, soy beans, wheat, hay, and oats 

• No major service centre exists in the region; higher-order goods and services are obtained in London and Brantford

Niagara Fruit Belt

• Fruit and vineyard production are concentrated on the Lake Ontario plain, north of the Niagara Escarpment 

• Grapes, cherries, peaches, plums, and pears dominate production in the north

• The upland south of the escarpment is dominated by a hay-pasture-dairy economy 

• Soils vary: lacustrine soils dominate in the north, glacially deposited soils in the south 

• Lake Ontario moderates the climate of the area, particularly on the plain 

• Agricultural land in the region is under considerable population pressure

Farming operations in Southern Ontario vs Western Canada

• Ontario

  • Avg. size of farms: 244 acres 

  • Diversified crops such as grain corn, barley, winter wheat, soybeans, grapes, vegetables, and tobacco

• Western Canada

  • Avg. size of farms: 1,668 acres (SK) 

  • Dominated by grain farming and cattle ranching

Ontario: Concerns regarding urban sprawl

• Farmland now part of urban landscape 

• Price of farmland well below that of urban land 

• Mismatch between value of farmland and other commercial uses 

  • e.g. Highland Companies seeking to convert Class I soil into a quarry for high-quality Amabel dolostone bedrock

Urban Sprawl

• Southern Ontario has over half of the highest quality agricultural land 

• Urban sprawl – between 1976 to 2006, nearly 200,000 acres have been lost. 

• land for growing vegetables or raising cattle might fetch $2,000 an acre, developers are ready to offer farmers $40,000 an acre, knowing they can flip it for twice that when the property becomes part of a new subdivision.

Ontario: Lake Effect Snow

As that air moves across the warm water of the Great Lakes, heat and moisture from the lake rises up into that air mass. That moisture eventually condenses out into snowflakes.

Ontario: Air Pollution

• Caused by automobile dependency 

  • More efficient engines reduce exhaust fumes, but this is not enough 

  • Number of electric vehicles increasing yet still small 

  • Ontario is behind BC and Quebec with the amount of electric vehicles 

  • In 2018, the Ontario government removed consumer subsidy to purchase electric vehicles 

• In 2014, Ontario ceased to produce electricity from coal 

• The Ontario government’s decision to move away from fossil fuels and into higher-cost energy has pushed some Ontarians into “energy poverty” 

  • It has also increased the cost of doing business in Ontario

Ontario: Water Pollution

• Highlighted by Walkerton incident and pollution of Great Lakes 

• Caused by industrial effluents, farm chemicals, and livestock waste 

• Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and US is commitment to restore and maintain integrity of Great Lakes Basin

• A serious problem in Indigenous communities across Canada 

• Drinking water on reserves falls under the federal government 

• Boil-water advisories are common 

Ontario: Other problems facing Great Lakes Basin

• Declining water levels due to global warming lead to retreating shorelines and threat of water erosion 

• Introduction of exotic species(e.g. sea lampreys, zebra mussels) push out native species and have negative impact on domestic fisheries

Southern Ontario: Energy and Power

• Prior to 1940, Southern Ontario was generally lacking in electrical capacity. 

• This became particularly problematic during the 1950s, when rapid industrial expansion outstripped power supplies. 

• The demand for electricity is increasing each year.

• The energy consumed in Ontario (electrical and otherwise) is currently from five sources:

  • Hydroelectricity

  • Coal-based thermal power

  • Petroleum and Natural Gas from the Interior Plains

  • Nuclear Energy

  • Renerable Resources

Ontario: Hydroelectricity

• Internal water power 

  • Power dams constructed along the Niagara River, and rapids in the St. Lawrence Seaway at Cornwall 

• Canadian Shield Water Power 

  • Dams built along the Ottawa River during the 1950s 

  • Damming of the tributaries of the Moose River

Ontario: Coal based thermal power

• Use of thermal sources increased after 1950 

• Power plants were built along the shores of the Great Lakes 

• Plants use mostly imported American coal

• The Liberals (Provincial) passed the Green Energy Act (2009) to turn the province in a new direction of clean, renewable energy sources. 

• Coal plants produced 25 per cent of Ontario’s power in 2003. 

• Significant health and environmental benefits - 

• Ontario is replacing coal with a mix of emission-free energy sources like nuclear and renewables, along with lower-emission energy sources like natural gas.

Ontario: Petroleum and Natural Gas from the Interior Plains

• Prior to the 1950s, most of the petroleum products consumed in Ontario were refined at Sarnia using American oil 

• The opening of the oil fields on the prairies allowed oil (and natural gas) to be transported to the Ontario market via pipeline

Ontario: Natural Gas

• Natural gas emits nearly 70 per cent less particulate matter than coal and virtually eliminates mercury and sulphur dioxide emissions. 

• The Liberals pulled the plug on the plants in the Toronto suburbs of Mississauga and Oakville in what was widely seen as a political play to save the party’s local candidates from defeat in the 2011 election 

• Cancellation of these plants - $1 billion

Ontario: Nuclear Energy

• Energy requirements in the growing industrial and residential markets could not be met through the increases in capacity resulting from other methods of generation 

• Nuclear power appeared to offer an ‘unlimited’ source of electrical energy 

• Number one energy source 

• Generating plants initially utilized uranium mined from the Canadian Shield

• Nuclear power meets more than 50 per cent of Ontario's electricity needs. Produces no emissions that lead to smog, acid rain or global warming. 

• Ontario plans to deal with tonnes of nuclear waste: Bury the problem

• Radioactive material leaked into Lake Ontario from the Pickering nuclear plant in 2011. 

• Aging infrastructure. 

• This thermal pollution forms a barrier which alters the aquatic balance, changes the habitat for fish, plants, and parasites, and causes fatal heat shock in billions of passing fish.

• Even heat is considered pollution

Ontario: Renewable Resources — Wind and Solar

• Ontario is moving away from fossil-fuel based, non-renewable energy sources, and toward natural sources that generate less pollution and will help improve Ontario's air quality. 

• Renewable resources account for only ~ 6% on Ontario’s energy output. 

• Opposition against wind turbines (?)

• Disadvantages: bird mortalities (EU, pain one wing a different colour, 70% better), aesthetic value (people don't like it), might have water issues (they go down deep and disturb rock and water table)

Ontarios Automobile Industry

• Heart of Ontario’s manufacturing economy 

• Expansion is highly unlikely as new plants in North America move to low-wage countries, such as Mexico 

• The automobile industry in Ontario has dwindled 

• New investment into the industry will slow but not reverse the trend 

• Experts do not see a bright future 

  • Robotics technology and government support have kept industry alive

  • Expansion is highly unlikely as new plants move to low-wage countries, such as Mexico

Expanded greatly following Canada—US Automotive Products Agreement (1965) which:

• Guaranteed that Canadian auto plants would not close

•  Provided advantage of economic of scale

•  Reduced price of cars for Canadian customers

•  Resulted in higher wages and benefits for workers