Editing Geography of Canada (section)

==Physiography {{anchor|Physical geography}}==
{{further|List of regions of Canada#Primary, secondary, and local geographic}}
{{see also|Geological history of North America}}
[[Image:Canada-satellite.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions: the [[Canadian Shield]], the [[interior plains]], the [[Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands]], the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian region]], the [[Pacific Cordillera (Canada)|Western Cordillera]], [[Hudson Bay Lowlands]], and the [[Arctic Archipelago]].]]
Canada covers {{convert|9984670|km2|abbr=on}} and a panoply of various geoclimatic regions, of which there are seven main regions.<ref name=Atlas/> Canada also encompasses vast maritime terrain, with the world's longest coastline of {{convert|243042|km|mi}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2012000/chap/geo/geo-eng.htm|title=Geography|website=www.statcan.gc.ca|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The [[physical geography]] of Canada is widely varied. [[Taiga|Boreal forests]] prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in [[Northern Canada|northerly Arctic regions]] and through the [[Canadian Rocky Mountains]], and the relatively flat [[Canadian Prairies]] in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture.<ref name="McColl2005">{{cite book|author=R. W. McColl|title=Encyclopedia of world geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA135|access-date=22 November 2011|date=September 2005|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-5786-3|page=135}}</ref> The [[Great Lakes]] feed the [[St. Lawrence River]] (in the southeast) where lowlands host much of Canada's population.

The [[National Topographic System]] is used by [[Natural Resources Canada]] for providing general purpose [[topography|topographic]] maps of the country. The maps provide details on landforms and terrain, lakes and rivers, forested areas, administrative zones, populated areas, roads and railways, as well as other man-made features.<ref name=Topographic >{{cite web|url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/topographic-information/maps/national-topographic-system-maps/9767|title=National Topographic System Maps|website=www.nrcan.gc.ca|date=29 May 2007}}</ref> These maps are used by all levels of government and industry for [[wildfire|forest fire]] and [[flood control]] (as well as other environmental issues), depiction of crop areas, right-of-way, real estate planning, development of natural resources and highway planning.<ref name=Topographic />

===Appalachian Mountains===
The [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian mountain range]] extends from [[Alabama]] in [[southern United States]] through the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] and the [[Atlantic Canada|Atlantic Provinces]], creating rolling hills indented by river valleys.<ref name="Haggett2001">{{cite book|author=Peter Haggett|title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vbBzHuDQssMC&pg=PA78|access-date=22 November 2011|date=July 2001|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7289-6|pages=78–}}</ref> It also runs through parts of southern [[Quebec]].<ref name="Haggett2001"/>

The Appalachian Mountains (more specifically the [[Chic-Choc Mountains|Chic-Choc]], [[Notre Dame Mountains|Notre Dame]], and [[Long Range Mountains]]) are an old and eroded range of mountains, approximately 380 million years in age. Notable mountains in the Appalachians include [[Mount Jacques-Cartier]] (Quebec, {{convert|1268|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), [[Mount Carleton]] ([[New Brunswick]], {{convert|817|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}), [[The Cabox]] ([[Newfoundland]], {{convert|814|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref name="DiPietro2012">{{cite book|author=Joseph A. DiPietro|title=Landscape Evolution in the United States: An Introduction to the Geography, Geology, and Natural History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZWWAA-USoUC&pg=PA400|year=2012|publisher=Newnes|isbn=978-0-12-397806-6|page=400}}</ref> Parts of the Appalachians are home to a rich [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] flora and fauna and are considered to have been [[nunatak]]s during the last [[glaciation]] era.

===Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands===
[[File:Sub-basins Great Lakes Basin.png|thumb|right|upright=1.4|A map of the [[Great Lakes Basin]] showing the five sub-basins within. Left to right they are: [[Lake Superior|Superior]], including [[Lake Nipigon|Nipigon]]'s basin, (magenta); [[Lake Michigan|Michigan]] (cyan); [[Lake Huron|Huron]] (pale green); [[Lake Erie|Erie]] (yellow); [[Lake Ontario|Ontario]] (light coral).]]
{{excerpt|Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands| hat=no}}

===Canadian Shield===
{{further|Canadian Shield}}
[[File:Canada geological map.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Canadian Shield]] is a broad region of Precambrian rock (pictured in shades of red)]]
The northeastern part of [[Alberta]], northern parts of [[Saskatchewan]], [[Manitoba]], Ontario and Quebec, all of [[Labrador]] and the [[Great Northern Peninsula]] of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], eastern mainland [[Northwest Territories]], most of [[Nunavut]]'s mainland and, of its [[Arctic Archipelago]], [[Baffin Island]] and significant bands through Somerset, Southampton, Devon and Ellesmere islands are located on a vast [[bedrock|rock base]] known as the [[Canadian Shield]].<ref name="britannica">{{Cite web|title=Canadian Shield|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Canadian-Shield|author=Encyclopædia Britannica|author-link=Encyclopædia Britannica|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624232123/https://www.britannica.com/place/Canadian-Shield|archive-date=24 June 2015|access-date=10 February 2009}}</ref> The Shield mostly consists of eroded hilly terrain and contains many lakes and important rivers used for [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] production, particularly in northern Quebec and Ontario. The Shield also encloses an area of [[wetlands]] around the [[Hudson Bay]]. Some particular regions of the Shield are referred to as [[mountain range]]s, including the [[Torngat Mountains|Torngat]] and [[Laurentian Mountains]].<ref name="SonPress2002">{{cite book|author1=George Philip and Son|author2=Oxford University Press|title=Encyclopedic World Atlas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UD0kOEb1XIC&pg=PA68|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-521920-3|page=68}}</ref>

The Shield cannot support intensive agriculture, although there is subsistence agriculture and small dairy farms in many of the river valleys and around the abundant lakes, particularly in the southern regions. [[Boreal forest]] covers much of the shield, with a mix of [[conifers]] that provide valuable timber resources in areas such as the [[Central Canadian Shield forests]] [[ecoregion]] that covers much of [[Northern Ontario]].

The Canadian Shield is known for its vast [[mineral]] reserves such as [[emerald]]s, [[diamond]]s and [[copper]], and is there also called the "mineral house".<ref name="SonPress2002"/>

===Canadian Interior Plains===
{{further|Interior Plains}}[[File:Palliser's Triangle map.png|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Palliser's Triangle]], delineating prairie soil types in the [[Prairie provinces]].]]
{{excerpt|Canadian Prairies| hat=no}}

===Canadian Arctic===
{{Main|Arctic Archipelago}}
While the largest part of the Canadian Arctic is composed of seemingly endless [[permafrost]] and [[tundra]] north of the [[tree line]], it encompasses geological regions of varying types: the [[Arctic Cordillera]] (with the [[British Empire Range]] and the [[United States Range]] on [[Ellesmere Island]]) contains the northernmost mountain system in the world. The [[Arctic Lowlands]] and Hudson Bay lowlands comprise a substantial part of the geographic region often designated as the Canadian Shield (in contrast to the sole geologic area). The ground in the Arctic is mostly composed of permafrost, making construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible.<ref name=James>Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "[https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/arctic-archipelago Arctic Archipelago]" ''[[Canadian Encyclopedia|The Canadian Encyclopedia]]''. Toronto: Hurtig Publishers.</ref>

The Arctic, when defined as everything north of the tree line, covers most of [[Nunavut]] and the northernmost parts of Northwest Territories, [[Yukon]], Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador. The archipelago consists of 36,563 islands, of which 94 are classified as major islands, being larger than {{cvt|130|km2}}, and cover a total area of {{cvt|1400000|km2}}.<ref name=James/>

===Western Cordillera===
{{further|Pacific Cordillera (Canada)}}
[[File:Canadian Rockies HartRanges.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Map of the [[Hart Ranges]] in British Columbia]]
The [[Coast Mountains]] in [[British Columbia]] run from the lower [[Fraser River]] and the [[Fraser Canyon]] northwestward, separating the [[Interior Plateau]] from the Pacific Ocean.<ref name=Wilson>Wilson, Robert J.  ''Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada'', p. 26 (Geological Survey of Canada, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1976).</ref>  Its southeastern end is separated from the [[North Cascades]] by the [[Fraser Lowland]], where nearly a third of [[Western Canada]]'s population reside.

The coastal flank of the Coast Mountains is characterized by an intense network of [[fjord]]s and associated islands, very similar to the [[Norway|Norwegian]] coastline in [[Northern Europe]]; while their inland side transitions to the high [[plateau]] with [[dryland]] valleys notable for a series of large [[alpine lake]]s similar to those in southern [[Switzerland]], beginning in deep mountains and ending in flatland. They are subdivided in three main groups, the [[Pacific Ranges]] between the Fraser River and [[Bella Coola, British Columbia|Bella Coola]], the [[Kitimat Ranges]] from there northwards to the [[Nass River]]<!--or Skeena?-->, and the [[Boundary Ranges]] from there to the mountain terminus in Yukon at [[Champagne, Yukon|Champagne Pass]] and [[Chilkat Pass]] northwest of [[Haines, Alaska]].<ref name=Wilson /> The [[Saint Elias Mountains]] lie to their west and northwest, while the [[Yukon Ranges]] and Yukon Basin lie to their north. On the inland side of the Boundary Ranges are the [[Tahltan Highland|Tahltan]] and [[Tagish Highland]]s and also the [[Skeena Mountains]], part of the [[Interior Mountains]] system, which also extend southwards on the inland side of the [[Kitimat Ranges]].<ref name=Wilson />

The terrain of the main spine of the Coast Mountains is typified by heavy [[glaciation]], including several very large [[icefield]]s of varying elevation. Of the three subdivisions, the Pacific Ranges are the highest and are crowned by [[Mount Waddington]], while the Boundary Ranges contain the largest icefields, the [[Juneau Icefield]] being the largest. The Kitimat Ranges are lower and less glacier-covered than either of the other two groupings, but are extremely rugged and dense.

The Coast Mountains are made of [[igneous]] and [[metamorphic rock]] from an episode of [[volcanic arc|arc volcanism]] related to [[subduction]] of the [[Kula Plate|Kula]] and [[Farallon Plate]]s during the [[Laramide orogeny]] about 100 million years ago.<ref>Rogers, John.  ''A History of the Earth'', p. 281 (CUP Archive, November 18, 1993).</ref> The widespread [[granite]] forming the Coast Mountains formed when magma intruded and cooled at depth beneath volcanoes of the [[Coast Range Arc]] whereas the metamorphic formed when intruding magma heated the surrounding rock to produce [[schist]].

The [[Insular Mountains]] extend from [[Vancouver Island]] in the south to the [[Haida Gwaii]] in the north on the [[British Columbia Coast]]. It contains two main mountain ranges, the [[Vancouver Island Ranges]] on Vancouver Island and the [[Queen Charlotte Mountains]] on Haida Gwaii.<ref>Solski, Ruth. ''Canadian Provinces & Territories Gr. 4-6'', p. 91 (S&S Learning Materials 2003).</ref>

===Hudson Bay Lowlands===
[[File:Southern Hudson Bay Taiga map.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Hudson Bay Lowlands approximately coincide with the [[Southern Hudson Bay taiga]] [[ecoregion]] of North America.]]
{{excerpt|Hudson Bay Lowlands |hat=no|only=paragraphs}}

====Extreme points====
{{Main|Extreme points of Canada}}
{{See also|Extreme points of Canadian provinces}}
[[Image:Canada topo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Topographic map]]
The northernmost point of land within the boundaries of Canada is [[Cape Columbia]], [[Ellesmere Island]], [[Nunavut]] {{Coord|83.111|N|69.972|W|name=Cape Columbia, Nunavut}}.<ref name = Toporama>{{cite web|url = http://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html|title = Toporama|website = Atlas of Canada| date=12 September 2016 |publisher = Natural Resources Canada}}</ref> The northernmost point of the Canadian mainland is [[Zenith Point]] on [[Boothia Peninsula]], Nunavut {{Coord|72.002|N|94.655|W|name=Zenith Point, Nunavut}}.<ref name = Toporama/> The southernmost point is [[Middle Island (Lake Erie)|Middle Island]], in [[Lake Erie]], Ontario (41°41′N 82°40′W); the southernmost water point lies just south of the island, on the Ontario–[[Ohio]] border (41°40′35″N). The southernmost point of the Canadian mainland is [[Point Pelee National Park|Point Pelee]], Ontario {{Coord|41.909|N|82.509|W|name=Point Pelee, Ontario}}.<ref name = Toporama/> The lowest point is sea level at 0 m,<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Canada| date=21 June 2022 }}</ref> whilst the highest point is [[Mount Logan]], [[Yukon]], at 5,959 m&nbsp;/&nbsp;19,550&nbsp;ft {{Coord|60.567|N|140.405|W|name=Mount Logan, Yukon}}.<ref name = Toporama/>
 
The westernmost point is [[Boundary Peak 187]] (60°18′22.929″N 141°00′7.128″W) at the southern end of the [[Yukon]]–[[Alaska]] border, which roughly follows 141°W but leans very slightly east as it goes North {{Coord|60.301|N|141.010|W|name=Boundary Peak 187}}.<ref>{{cite web
  | title = 141st Meridian Boundary Points
  | publisher = International Boundary Commission
  | url = http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/coordinates/141st.htm
  | access-date = 20 December 2010
  | archive-date = 17 July 2011
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717054610/http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/coordinates/141st.htm
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref><ref name =Toporama/> The easternmost point is [[Cape Spear]], Newfoundland (47°31′N 52°37′W) {{Coord|47.523|N|52.619|W|name=Cape Spear, Newfoundland}}.<ref name = Toporama/> The easternmost point of the Canadian mainland is Elijah Point, [[Cape St. Charles]], Labrador (52°13′N 55°37′W) {{Coord|52.217|N|55.621|W|name=Elijah Point, Labrador}}.<ref name = Toporama/>

The Canadian [[pole of inaccessibility]] is allegedly near Jackfish River, [[Alberta]] (59°2′N 112°49′W).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/toporama?center=-988148.64891657,1235111.2884945&zoom=9|title=Jackfish River, Alberta|website=Natural Resources Canada|publisher=[[Atlas of Canada]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140924185755/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/toporama?center=-988148.64891657,1235111.2884945&zoom=9|archive-date=24 September 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref> The furthest straight-line distance that can be travelled to Canadian points of land is between the southwest tip of [[Kluane National Park and Reserve]] (next to [[Mount Saint Elias]]) and Cripple Cove, [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] (near [[Cape Race]]) at a distance of {{convert|3005.60|nmi|km mi}}.