Chapter 4 Lesson 1 Inquiry

What is the Geography of the Canadian Shield?

The Canadian Shield is flat with rounded hills of metamorphic rock. (The original rock was put under high heat and pressure, which changed the form or chemistry of the rocks.)

Glaciers scraped soil away and formed many small lakes.

The area is covered by boreal forest (taiga) in the south, and tundra in the north. The main industry in the Canadian Shield is forestry.

The second most important industry is mining. Canadian Shield rocks have large amounts of valuable metallic minerals.  Some minerals are copper and nickel, mined in Sudbury, Ontario. Other minerals are lead, gold, zinc, iron, silver, uranium, and diamonds.

Sparsely populated, the Canadian Shield has poor farming because the soil is too thin.

The land is largely undisturbed. It is a great area for recreation and hunting. Many mammals such as beaver, moose, caribou, wolverines, weasels, mink, otters, grizzlies, black bears, and polar bears live here.

The rivers and streams in the Canadian Shield flow into the Hudson Bay, the largest body of water in the region and the second largest bay in the world. Near the centre of the Bay is an anti-gravity location. Some scientists believe the Laurentide Glacier that melted was so large, it dented the earth so there is less gravity here than on the rest of the earth. Other scientists believe the swirling magma at the centre of the earth is pulling the Bay downward.