4+Pacific+Maritime

4

= Ecozones: Pacific Maritime = = Introduction: =

 The pacific maritime is a great place to live for many reasons, such as the fantasti c view of the large Rocky Mountains, and the warm Pacific Ocean. It could be because of the spectacular forests with record breaking trees, height and age, it is home to the largest trees in Canada. Maybe someone would want to live here due to the lack of pollution and all of the amazing jobs that are there. The Pacific Maritimes is located in the landform region of Canada called the Western Cordillera. It is filled with coniferous forests that support plenty of flora and fauna. The Rockies and the temperate rain forests are one if Canada's best tourist attractions. The warm wet climate and the type of soil and the rocks and minerals found here, make this one of the best places to live in Canada.

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=Landforms:=
 * The landforms are, mountains with small areas of costal plains.
 * The mountains cover about 1600 km long and 200 km wide.
 * Fiords. A fiord is an inlet of sea between high cliffs. There are many of those here.
 * There are glaciers, Hot springs, Flat plains and beaches in this ecozone.

Vegetation:
=Rocks and Minerals:= =Climate:= =Soil:=
 * The land varies in elevation because of the mountains.
 * A wide range of coniferous trees such as, western red cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce.
 * There are 5 main forests in this ecozone.
 * They are, Western Hemlock forests-low lying costal areas.
 * Mountain Hemlock Forests-High elevations.
 * Douglas fir forests-Small dry areas on the leeward side of the mountain.
 * Arbutus and Garry oak woodland forests-It is one of the most uncommon forests in British Columbia.
 * There is a 200-260 day growing season and all the soil is rich and there is much rain. All these factors contribute to the massive size of the trees.
 * Rocks you will be able to find in the Pacific Maritime are, Igneous rock, Metamorphic rock, Sedimentary rock and there is 4.4% of unknown rock.
 * Igneous rock takes up 70.57% of the areas rock. Metamorphic takes up 6.28% and sedimentary takes up 18.68%.
 * The reason this ecozone has so much Igneous rock is because, while the maritimes were forming, there was volcanic activity and the volcanoes spewed out lava. Which over a period of time, cooled to make Igneous rock.
 * Gold, silver, zinc, lead, copper and pumice are all the minerals that are mined in the Pacific Maritime.
 * The climate is a maritime climate since it is so close to the Pacific Ocean.
 * This climate is one of the wettest and warmest climates in all of Canada.
 * The north of the ecozone gets most of the precipitation with about 3000 mm.
 * Most of the precipitation occurs in the winter.
 * The soil in this ecozone is rich and full of humus. Which explains the height of the trees.
 * The pacific Maritime is formed of complex mountain soil.

=Wildlife:= > >
 * Birds, fish, mollusks, amphibian and reptiles are a few of the many creatures you can find.
 * Many large herbivores can be found in the Pacific Maritime.
 * Mule, Deer, Grizzly bears, Mountain lions and wolves.
 * Aquatic animals can also be found. Such as, northern sea lions, elephant seals, giant beaked whales, sperm whales and blue whales.
 * The moist climate of the Pacific Maritime permits amphibians such as garter snakes, redback salamanders, and sharp-tail snakes to live there.

**Environmental Issues:**
 * There is one main environmental issue in the pacific maritime ecozone. It is the contamination of seafood. The seafood has come in contact with viruses, bacteria and toxins. The more healthy the sea food is, the healthier the water is. This is a meathod they use to determine how healthy the water is. The viruses are coming from boat sewage, septic seepage and red tide occurrence.

=Fun Facts:=
 * The population of this ecozone is 3,000,000.

=Summary Of the Ecozone:= The Pacific Maritime Ecozone is probably one the most diverse of them all. With its breath taking trees, and amazing steep Coast mountains.
 * This ecozone is the home of many natives.
 * Forestry, fishing, and agriculture are the most important jobs in this ecozone.
 * 60 billion dollars is earned annually.
 * Second highest IQ level in Canada.

=Sources:= http://generalpatton.wikispaces.com/pacific+maritime http://pacific-maritime0.tripod.com/