3+Pacific+Maritime

The Pacific Maritime ecozone is found on the west coast of Canada and includes Vancouver Island and all the other islands on the west coast as well as the coast of British Columbia. This ecozone is also home to part of the Western Cordillera and the capital of British Columbia, Victoria. It is a beautiful ecozone with much to see any many economic purposes.
 * __Pacific Maritime Ecozone__**




 * Landforms**

The Pacific Maritime ecozone is apart of the Western Cordillera landform region. The Coast mountains rise up sharply from the fjords and channels along the coast line, and glaciers can be found at higher altitudes. The mountains found in this area are still very young in geologic terms, and even though they may not be tall, the mountains are incredibly rugged. The Pacific Maritime ecozone is a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and as a result magma is close to the surface. However, instead of volcanoes, hot springs are common here. This ecozone was created when the Pacific Plate and The North American collided causing mountains.




 * Rocks and Minerals**

In the Pacific Maritime Ecozone the underlying rock can vary. On the mainland igneous rock is what is found but on the islands just off the mainland such as Vancouver Island it is sedimentary rock. Metallic minerals such as gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc are mined in this area.


 * Climate**

The climate zone that the Pacific Maritime ecozone is the Pacific Maritime Ecozone. This ecozone typically has mild temperatures for whatever season it is. As a result they have warm winters and cooler summers and a small temperature range (14ºC). This ecozone is home to one of Canada’s warmest cities, Vancouver, which has an average yearly temperature of about 9.8ºC. This area also receives a lot of precipitation. Some places receive as much a 4000mm a year, however some other places receive as little as 600mm a year. The typical precipitation in this ecozone is rain because it doesn’t get below freezing that often. With so much rain and such a small temperature range the ecozone has a maritime climate, hence the name Pacific MARITIME. All of the factors that affect climate affect this ecozone. Near large body of water affects this ecozone because it is right beside the Pacific Ocean. Relief affects this ecozone because it is apart of the Western Cordillera. Air masses affect this ecozone because cool moist air comes off the Pacific Ocean. Ocean currents affect this ecozone because the warm North Pacific current comes by the coast. Finally, elevation and latitude affect this ecozone because those two factors affect everywhere in the world.


 * Vegetation and Soils**

This soil region this ecozone is apart of is the complex soil region and is in the West Coast Forest vegtation region. The natural vegetation in this region can vary with altitiude. At the lower atlitudes you can find temperate rain forests but the higher you go the more stunted tree you find and then basically no trees above the tree line. Some trees you can find are: western red cedar, western hemlock, western white pine, douglas fir, and pacific dogwood to name a few. Some other natural vegetation would be: artubus, sword fern, salmon berry, devil’s club, and red elderberry. Farming does happen in this ecozone (mainly fruits and vegetables) but forestry is the larger of the two industries. The Pacific Maritime ecozone is apart of the complex soils of mountain areas soil region. It is hard to explain the general soil of this ecozone because in the soil region it is apart of soil can change in very short distances. The reason the soil is so varied is because of the Western Cordillera’s assortment of different relief and climate patterns. Because this ecozone is generally a warm place it has a larger growing season than in other places with a growing season of 200-260 days.




 * Tourism**

The Pacific Maritime ecozone is an amazing ecozone with so much to explore and see. You can visit Stanley Park or take a boat ride around Vancouver Island. You can also go whale watching or go on a wilderness hike. There are great national parks to visit such as the Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island. It is a lot of fun to go on a helicopter ride or visit the hot springs. However, you don’t have to go only for natural sight seeing, there are resorts as well. The Western Cordillera is nearby so you are able to go skiing at a variety of ski resorts as well as some resorts along the beach. And if sports are your thing you can see the Vancouver Canucks who made it to the Stanley Cup finals in the 2010/2011 season.


 * Future of the Ecozone**

The future of this ecozone isn’t incredibly bright. Many forests that recycle are output of CO2 are being destroyed. On top of that, these forests are habitat to many animal, some of which are already endangered such as the northern spotted owl. There is also quite a list of threatened animals such as the Townsend’s Mole and the marbled murrlet. And there is and even longer list of special concern species such as the grizzly bear and the Pacific peregrine falcon. If the government isn’t careful this beautiful ecozone could be totally destroyed.


 * Fun Facts**


 * About 2.5 million people live in this ecozone
 * This ecozone is home to over 15 types of coniferous trees
 * The Saguenay Fjord is 100km long
 * This ecozone was home to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games
 * This ecozone is home to a temperate rainforest
 * The Pacific Maritime ecozone is home to the Spirit Bear, a black bear that was born white, but not albino


 * Trivia**


 * 1) Name two trees that are natural to this ecozone.
 * 2) Name three minerals that are mined in this ecozone.
 * 3) What is typically farmed in this ecozone?
 * 4) True or False? The Pacific Maritime ecozone has a temperature range of about 14ºC
 * 5) True or False? The growing season in the Pacific Maritime ecozone is about 160 days.


 * Sources**

-products. "British Columbia - Mining, Oil and Gas Exploration in BC." //British Columbia Tourism, Travel, Accommodation, BC Hotels - British Columbia, Canada//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . "Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Pacific Maritime." //Canadian Biodiversity Web Site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . Clark, Bruce, John Wallace, and Kim Earle. //Making Connections Canada's Geography//. 2 ed. Don Mills: Pearson Education Canada, 2006. Print. Fotergill, Megan. "Pacific Maritime." //Pacific Maritime//. Wikispaces, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . "Human Activities." //Pacific Maritime Ecozone//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . "Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information ." //FunTrivia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . L., Caroline. "[Pacific Maritime Ecozone]: Future Steps for the Ecozone." //[Pacific Maritime Ecozone]: Your one-stop for information on this ecozone//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . Moore, Sherry. "Sherry Moore (Sherry) on Myspace." //Myspace | Social Entertainment//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. . "Pacific Maritime Ecozone." //Parks Canada//. N.p., 5 Feb. 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .// //Paulsen, Monte. "The Tyee â€“ LEED Accused of 'Conspiracy to Monopolize'."// The Tyee â€“ Home//. N.p., 18 Mar. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .// //Stanford, Quentin.// Canadian Oxford School Atlas//. 8 ed. Toronto: Oxford Canada, 2003. Print.// //"Untitled Document."// SFU.ca//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .// //"Western Cordillera."// SS9 Regional Geograpghy of North America//. Wikispaces, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. .// //"Weston Red Cedar."// Weston Red Cedar//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .//

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