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Boreal Forest

The Foothills

The Grasslands
Region

The Parkland
Region

The Rocky Mountain
Region

The Canadian
Shield

The Canadian Shield

The natural region known as the Canadian Shield is huge. It makes up nearly half of Canada’s total area. The region is made up of very old rounded rocks called Precambrian rocks. These rocks are the foundation for most of the North American continent, and are some of the oldest rocks on the planet.

The shield covers an area from Newfoundland to Alberta. It begins in Labrador, Newfoundland and slices through the northern part of Quebec, Ontario, eastern and northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, and into the northeastern corner of Alberta. The landscape of the Canadian Shield consists of bare areas and outcroppings of Precambrian rock, sand dunes, jack pine forests, lakes and marshes.

The area of Canadian Shield in the northeast corner of Alberta experiences very short summers, followed by long winters. This area can receive up to fifty or sixty inches of snow in the winter, with temperatures dropping to as low as 30 degrees Celsius at times. The cold air streams coming in from across the Arctic influence the climate, and some areas are frozen year round. This is called permafrost. Due to the permafrost, vegetation is limited. Small shrubs, lichen, mosses, and ferns grow out of the rocks, and in the forests.

There is not much human settlement in the Canadian Shield due to the environment. Northern indigenous tribes such as the Woodland Cree and the Chipewyan historically settled this region. Europeans explored the region for centuries looking for ways to exploit the resources but lacking the technology. Today, improvements in transportation have opened the region up to increased human activity. Forestry, mineral exploration and hydroelectricity are important resources in the region. People also visit the area to hunt, fish and camp.

The Canadian Shield has two sub-regions that are quite different. To learn more about the Kazan Upland and the Athabasca Plain follow the link below to the page and choose a sub-region listed above from the menu at the bottom of the page.

http://www.abheritage.ca/abnature/shield/shield.htm

All content was adapted from:

Information provided by and printed with the permission of Alberta Community Development, Provincial Parks and Protected Areas.

Alberta Natural Regions Poster Series Manual (Alberta Environmental Protection)