Arctic

VOCABULARY

muskeg: a swamp or bog formed from the buildup of moss, leaves and other plants

GENERAL INFORMATION

Even though the Canadian Shield is the largest region in Canada it contains only 10% of Canada's population.  This "storehouse" is rich with natural resources. 

This region is located north of the Arctic Circle and the tree line. Short, cool summers and long, cold winters help to maintain permafrost on the land. 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. Oil, gas, lead, zinc, and silver can be found in this region.

Location

The Arctic Region is contains the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, parts of Northern Quebec and the most northern parts of Labrador and Newfoundland. Many people think that the Arctic Region is only Nunavut, the Yukon and Northwest Territories when really, the Arctic is everything that is north of the 60 N parallel (latitude). This is a very unique and beautiful region.

Natural Resources/Industry/Jobs

As more and more people move up to this beautiful region of Canada the more varied its economy becomes. More people moving in means more jobs. The strong influences of the oil and gas industry is evident in the surroundings on land and in the water (Huge off shore drilling rigs may be found off our coastal regions). Hunting, trapping and fishing are also crucial to the Northern population as well as other Canadians. 

Since the Cordillera and the Canadian Shield are also 2 regions found in the North, remember these are rocks and we always mine our rocks to produce useful minerals which we use in our everyday life. In the north, zinc, lead, diamonds and gold are some of the minerals that we find.

CLIMATE

First of all, the Northern Landscape is a combination (mix) of the Cordillera, Plains and the Great Canadian Shield. Remember when you are studying the North to include the main features found in these 3 regions and apply them to this region.

Secondly , this is the only landscape where there is permafrost (the ground is frozen all year). 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.

Thirdly icecaps or glaciers, fjords, barren 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.

Fourthly, 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. How would this climate affect people in the North? How would it affect the structure of their shelters??