4+Boreal+Cordillera


 * Boreal Cordillera - Canada's Ecozones**  The Boreal Cordillera is one of Canada’s fifteen ecozones. The area of the Boreal Cordillera is 459 864 squared kilometres. The total population in this area is 30 690. The land is used for hunting, trapping, forestry, tourism and mining. Tourism is popular here because of the beautiful scenery. The most urbanized cities in the Boreal Cordillera are Whitehorse and Dawson. The Boreal Cordillera is found in the mid-section of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Map of Boreal Cordillera

Landforms The Boreal Cordillera is mountainous with rolling hills and small rivers in between. The Boreal Cordillera is located in the Western Cordillera. In area there are remaining glaciers from our last ice age (Wisconsin Glaciation) 100 000 – 15 000 years ago! They are some of the only glaciers left in Canada from this time except for the Arctic. Snow covers most of the mountain tops. Between the mountains there are small valleys with rivers flowing between. It was made by faulting in the earths crust. The Pacific and North American plate.

Rocks and Minerals In the Boreal Cordillera forestry is now starting to take over the mining industry. We still have some mines open including the Klondike, Cu, Telegraph Creek and Casiar. The minerals in this area are gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper. Some metals found in this area are cement,sand,gravel, stone, and some diamonds. Also some natural gasses in this area include crude oil and coal.

Vegetation and Soil

Soil in the Boreal Cordillera consists of two types: Tundra and Boreal forest. Tundra occurs mostly on the mountain tops because of the drier soil. The dry soil results in various fungi growing such as moss, lichen and algae. In the valleys between the mountains is where the large vegetation grows. Agriculture can be sustained in this part of the Boreal Cordillera because of the rich soil. Soil may not appear very nutritious because of the lighter top soil, but the nutrients are maintained in the depths of the soil.  The soil is very rich because of all the organic matter and minerals running off from the mountains. The Boreal Cordillera is known for some of the largest trees. The types of trees that grow in the Boreal Cordillera are white spruce, alpine fir, trembling aspen, white birch and lodgepole pine. The majority of the trees in our Eco-zone are coniferous. The coniferous trees make the soil very acidic because of the acidic pine needles that shed.


 * Layers of soil ||
 * Layers of soil ||

 Climate

The Boreal cordillera is a maritime location. It experiences a wind tunnel because It’s at the beginning of the jet stream. There are long cold winters getting at -20 degrees Celsius. The summers are short and stay relatively cool at an average of 12 degrees Celsius. Rainfall in the boreal shield occurs very little. In an average year there is 300 to 500 mm of precipitation, 100 to 300cm of snowfall yearly and about five to ten thunderstorms per year.



 Fun Facts

The most urbanized city in the Boreal Shield is Whitehorse. It has a population of 23,272. The boreal Shield also include 4 major mining areas, 6 areas of epicentre and one of Canada’s National Parks called The Kluane. Our eco-zone was mainly developed in the Precambrian Era. Some of the eco-zones native birds include the willow, rock tailed ptarmigan, white tailed ptarmigan and the spruce grouse. More native animals to the land are woodland caribou, moose, Dall’s sheep, mountain goat, black bear, grizzly bear and marten lynx.

QUESTIONS

1. Name three minerals that are found in the Boreal Cordillera. A- zinc, copper, cobalt B- stone, cement, silver C- iron ore, cobalt, gold <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">D- Lead, copper, uranium <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">2. Which Landform region is the Boreal Cordillera found in? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">A- Innuition Mountains <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">B- Canadian Shield <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">C- Interior Plains <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">D- Western Cordillera <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">3. Is the Boreal Cordillera continental or maritime climate? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">4. What type of trees are found in this area? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">A- Coniferous <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">B- Deciduous <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">C- Maple <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">D- Oak <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">5. True or False. White Horse and Dawson are the most urbanized areas? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 32px;">Answers <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">1 - C  <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">2 - D   <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">3 - Maritime <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">4 - A  <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 22px;">5 - True

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