Inquiry


What can I learn about the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands from a map?


  • Begin your inquiry by comparing the following maps of the area.
  • What information does each map provide?
  • How is this information the same or different from the previous map?

Population Density of Canada and the United States via WikiMedia Commons.


Windsor Corridor Quebec City to Windsor (Red counties are directly in the area, while green counties are outside of it, but close enough), via WikiMedia commons.

  • Do you notice that 50% of Canada's population lives in the Lowland area? 
  • 70% of Canada's manufacturing (factories that make items) is located here.
  • Do you see these historically key and capital cities: Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa in the Windsor Corridor?
  • Do you notice that Ontario and Quebec are the two provinces with area in the Lowlands regions?
  • Note: Ottawa is in the valley between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and Canadian Shield region.  It is included in this Unit because it is a megapolis (very large city.)


This map via, Wikicommons, shows the topography of Canada, or how high the land is. The green shows that the land is about 100 m above sea level.  The red and purple show very high mountains that are 2000 to 6000 m above sea level. Can you see that the tallest mountain is Mount Logan in the Yukon? Can you tell about how much of the Windsor Corridor is below 1000 m?

Resources for Inquiry

  1. Textbook
      • Read pages 66 - 67.
      • Look at the photos and read the captions below them.  What information about the region do they give you?
      • Read page 68.
      • Read pages 344 and 345.

  1. Websites
        • Do any of the online maps give you an idea of industries in this region?

 Skill Builder


  Click here to learn how to use map skills.
When you feel confident about the information you explored in this inquiry, complete the Lesson 2 Self-Check on the following page.