Atlantic Canada’sEcozones

Emily Kocsis, Sara Jones and Mariam Soliman

Ecozones in Atlantic Canada

• -In Atlantic Canada there are 4 different ecozones

• -They are: Atlantic Maritime, Taiga Shield, Boreal Shield and even a bit of Arctic Cordillera

• -Each ecozone is different from the next.

Atlantic Maritime

• -Area: 196 000 km2

Landforms:Hills and Coastal Plains

Climate:Long, mild winters and moderately warm summers.Precipitation 1000 to 1400mm; growing season approximately 180 to 210 days

Vegetation: Coniferous trees mixed with deciduous trees.

Soils: Leached, wet climate soils, because of precipitation

Human Activities: Total population is 2 150 000; GDP: 39.9 billion; forestry,agriculture, fishing, tourism and urbanization.

Major Cities: Halifax, St Johns, Fredericton, Saint John, Charlottetown.

Taiga Shield

Area: 1 289 000 km2

Landforms: Plains and hills of Canadian ShieldClimate: Moderately long, cold winters;moderately short

summers; precipitation 300 to 900mm; growing season 100 to 140 days

Vegetation: Black Spruce, jack pine, paper birch, trembling aspen trees.

Soils: Thin, highly leached soilsHuman Activities: Total population 34 000; GDP 1.1

billion; tourism, mining, hunting, trappingMajor Cities: Yellowknife, Uranium City, Happy Valley

Goose Bay

Boreal ShieldArea: 1 174 000 km2

Landforms: Plains and rolling hills; Great Lakes

Climate: Cool, short winters; relatively long, mild summers; precipitation 700 to 1000 mm; growing season 180 to 260 days

Vegetation: Coniferous mixed with deciduous; little vegetation still remains, due to urbanization

Soils: Leached, wet climate soils

Human Activities: Total population 14 016 000; GDP 325.2 billion; urbanization, agriculture, recreation

Major Cities: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Hamilton,Windsor, London

Arctic Cordillera

Area: 239 000 km2

Landforms: Innuitian Mountains

Climate: Long Winters, short summers; precipitation less than 200 mm, no growing season

Vegetation: Mostly just tundra

Soils: Permafrost, tundra soils; bare rock

Human Activities: Total Population: 1 000; GDP 0.12 billion; hunting and tourism

Major Cities: Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Broughton Island

Conclusion

Therefore, Atlantic Canada has four different ecozones, each with their own, very different, characteristics.

BibliographyClarke, Bruce, Wallace, John K. MakingConnections. Scarborough, Ontario:Prentice Hall Ginn Ontario, 1999.