Canada
Lesson 1: The Physical Geography of Canada, continued
Ab Defining
1. Define province and
territory
Canada's Physical Landscape
Guiding Question How is Canada's physical geography similar to
and different from that of the United States?
Canada is a very large country with an area of 3.86 million square
miles (10 million sq. km). However, it also has a low population.
Most people live in the southern part of the country.
Canada is divided into 10 smaller units, or parts, called
provinces. A province is an administrative unit similar to a state.
Administrative means "managed" or "governed" Each province has
its own government. Canada also has three territories. Territories
are lands administered by the national government.
Canada is divided into five regions, as shown below.
Canada
Quebec
and
Ontario
Prairie
Provinces
Atlantic
Provinces
British
Columbia
Northern
Lands
Marking the
Text
2. Read the text on the
left. Highlight the text
that describes
the climate of the
Atlantic Provinces in
one color. Then
highlight the text that
describes the climate
of Quebec and Ontario
in another color.
Ab Determining
Word Meaning
3. What is the difference
between a coniferous
tree and a deciduous
tree?
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The Atlantic Provinces include Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. They
border the Atlantic Ocean. Newfoundland and Labrador are
covered by highlands. The other Atlantic Provinces have lowlands
and plateaus. Most of this area has a humid continental climate.
Winters are cold, summers are warm, and rainfall is high.
Quebec and Ontario start in the south at the St. Lawrence River
and the Great Lakes and extend into northern Canada. The
southern area of this region is a lowland plain. It has a humid
continental climate with a lot of rainfall and mild temperatures.
This gives it a long growing season.
In the north, there is a large plateau called the Canadian Shield.
A shield is a large area of flat land with ancient, hard rock. The
climate is subarctic. It has long, cold winters and mild summers,
Forests cover much of the northern area. These forests include
two types of trees: coniferous and deciduous. Coniferous trees
are evergreens, which stay green all year. They have cones that
hold seeds. They also have needles instead of leaves. Deciduous
trees lose their leaves in the fall.
The Prairie Provinces are Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta,
This land is covered by plains, which rise higher in Alberta than in
Manitoba. The region slopes down from west to east.
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