4+Montane+Cordillera

=__**The Montane Cordillera**__=

The 473 000 square km of the Montane Cordillera stretches from Northcentral British Columbia through to southwestern Alberta. With this size and variety comes one of the most scenic and geographically diverse regions of Canada.

__**Landforms**__ The landforms of this region consist mostly of valleys, high mountains, mountain ranges, and eroded mountains. The main area of folding is the Rocky Mountains and the main agricultural land is the Interior Plateau. The mountains here were formed thousands of years ago caused by convergent plate movement and continental drift.

__**Rocks and Minerals**__ The rock types of the Montane Cordillera are mostly Sedimentary and Igneous. 57% of the rocks found in this ecozone are sedimentary and 38% are igneous. There are several minerals mined in this area, but the main ones are Gold, Zinc, Copper and Jade. These minerals are valuable resources, worth lots of money, which means a strong mining business in this ecozone as well. Coal is another valuable mining resource found in this region and represents one of the main industries.

jade

__**Climate**__ The climate in this region is mostly wet and moist, due to its proximity to the Pacific Maritime ecozone. The factors that affect this ecozone the most are Winds and Air masses, Relief, and Elevation. The jet stream (winds and air masses) carries the air or precipitation across the Rocky Mountains. This continual air flow causes the weather to continually change. The elevation of the mountains affects the temperature because the higher above sea level, the colder it is. Also the elevation of the mountains causes relief when there is precipitation. Most of the precipitation is on the windward side facing the Pacific Ocean. This is because once the cloud makes its way over to the Leeward side there is not much precipitation left in the clouds. This type of relief precipitation in this ecozone is also known as Orographic precipitation. The approximate amount of precipitation this ecozone gets per year is 621mm; however there is a large range. The western side of the region receives 1200mm to 1500mm of rain annually, whereas the eastern side receives only 300mm. The approximate temperature range is 26.7 degrees Celsius, going from -10 degrees to approximately 23 degrees. This area has a continental climate.

__**Vegetation and Soil**__ Because of the climate described above, the vegetation in this region is both rich and fertile in the plateaus and poorly developed in the mountains. The vegetation region of the Montane Cordillera is Cordilleran Vegetation, and the soil region is Complex Soils of Mountain Areas. The natural vegetation in this area is mostly Coniferous trees (such as Engelman spuce, alpin fir, redwood and cedar trees), grasses and cacti. All of these are found in different areas of the Montane Cordillera. For example, the Coniferous trees are found on the windward side of the Rocky Mountains and the grasses and cacti are found in the interior plateaus and the leeward side of the Rockies. The growing season of this area is approximately 280 days long. Because of this long season, the opportunities for growing are large. Fruits and vegetables thrive and there are also many wineries in this area. The fertile soil, the moist climate and the long growing season are perfect for wineries. The soil in the mountains is poorly developed, which limits the vegetation that grows there. There is forestry in this area because of the abundance of large trees, which does help the economy of this area. Forestry does not, however, help the eco systems in this area as it destroys ancient trees that are not only beautiful sights but also are depended on for the survival of animals.



__**Wildlife**__ Because of the variety in climate and vegetation, there is also a good assortment of wildlife. Animals such as caribou, deer, mountain goats and bears live in these areas, along with smaller animals such as coyotes, fox, badgers and skunks. Birds of prey, such as the northern saw-whet owl, hawks and turkey vultures also call this region home. There are also waterfowl such as crane, mallard and even the Canada goose. Fish that live in this ecozone are lake whitefish, chiselmouth, lake chub and peamouth. The white sturgeon and sockeye salmon both come to freshwater in this region to spawn.



__Trivia__
1.What are the 3 factors that affect the climate? 2. Why is this an ideal farming area? 3.What is mined in this area? 4. True or False: This area consists of Igneous and Metamorphic rock 5. True or False: There is Cyclonic Precipitation in this Eco-zone

1. relief, elevation and winds/air masses. 2. climate - moist, fertile, long growing season, precipitation, temperature rarely below 0 3. jade, gold, copper and zinc 4. false 5. false
 * Answers:**

**__Fun Facts__**
- Has the highest standing volume timber and forest growth of all the ecozones in Canada - Is the most geographically diverse of all the ecozones in Canada - Approximately 49 million hectares of land, and 70% of this is forest - The population is roughly 864 000 people. If the Rocky Mountains were not in this ecozone then the population would be much higher - The highest peak is Mount Robson at 3954 meters above sea level

__Sources__
Clark, Bruce, John Wallace, and Kim Earle. //Marking Connections Canada's Geography//. 2nd ed. Don Mills, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada, 2006. 75-118

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