THE INTERIOR PLAINS

The Interior Plains

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geographical position of the region, borders

• The Interior Plains are a vast physiographic region that spreads across the Laurentian craton of central North America, extending along the east flank of the Rocky Mountains from the Gulf Coast region to the Arctic Beaufort Sea.
• In Canada, the Plains lie between the Canadian Shield and the Rockies
• From north to south, it extends from the Arctic Ocean down to the Gulf of Mexico
• In the Canadian Prairies, the Interior Plains contain 3 different elevations, separated by escarpments
• The Interior Plains, in general, are gently rolling, gradually lowering down from west to east

general information

• The Interior plains has an area of about 1 900 000 km^2, as well as 19 percent of Canada's population (The Interior Planes p.2). The interior planes is the 4th largest region in Canada.
• The Plains States are North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri

• About 500 million years ago, shallow seas covered the Interior Plains. Rivers flowing into these waters deposited sediments, which were transformed into layer upon layer of sedimentary rock. In the southern part of the Interior Plains lie grasslands. The sedimentary materials here provide fertile soils for the patchwork of prairie farms. In the northern part, aspen parkland dwindles into sparsely treed taiga. Over time, weathering and erosion have cut deeply into the soft rock in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

main physical features

• The physical features of this region include plains, rolling prairie grasslands, foothills, large lakes, long rivers, and wetlands. Plains are flat, or low, gently rolling lands. Foothills are rolling hills that rest at the base of a mountain system.
• The Interior Plains cover three geographical areas: the delta region of the Mackenzie River, dried river basins to the northeast and the Yukon Coastal Plain that lies to the west.
• The Interior Plains have large sand deposits, fresh water springs, cascading waterfalls, and support hundreds of plant and animal species. The surface of the Plains’ landscape is covered with meandering channels of rivers, large, flat and shallow lakes, and even smaller islands.
• A large coastal plain forms the shape of the Interior Plains on the western side: this plain is flat and sits at sea level. It is exposed to the elements, and supports very little life, as it is exposed year-round to high winds and offers little shelter from wind, rain and snow. The coastal area lacks nutrient-rich soil, and has sparse vegetation.
• Permafrost covers most of the Interior Plains’ surface, and has a strong influence on the surrounding landscape. The central region of the Plains features a labyrinth of channels and small lakes, which are dotted with tiny floating islands.
• The height of the land changes from 600 to 1500 meters above sea level

climate

• Climate is continental, and is not influenced by the oceans
• The temperatures and climate are in extremes; long, hot summers and cold winters
• There is little rain in the plains
• Up north, the winters are longer & colder, and the summers are shorter & cooler
• Temperatures in the south are high, usually staying above 0 degrees Celsius in the winter and rising to the high 20's in the summer months
• In the north, temperatures are a bit cooler but more extreme. It could go up to -20 in the winter, and as high as 20 in the summer

most important cities

• Some of the major cities in the Interior Plains are Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon.

Edmonton

• Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor".
• As of 2021, Edmonton had a city population of 1,010,899 and a metropolitan population of 1,418,118, making it the fifth-largest city and sixth-largest metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada. Edmonton is North America's northernmost city and metropolitan area with a population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian
• Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname "Canada's Festival City". It is home to North America's second largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest mall from 1981 until 2004), and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum.

landmarks/ tourist attractions

• Some places are the Calgary Stampede and Canadian Finals Rodeo. There are also some national parks that you can visit like, Elk Island, Jasper, and Banff.
• There are a wide variety of things to do in the Interior plains depending on the season, such as cross country, swimming, hiking, fishing, jogging, hunting, and soccer in the summer, and skiing, skating, or hockey in the winter. Warm summers and cold winters help give the best of both worlds, so you can participate in many different activities year round.

Wildlife

Many different types of wildlife can be found in the interior plains such as wolfs, fox's, muskrats, cows, spruce grouse, grizzly bears, horses, bison and many other beautiful animals. Most animals live there because there is lots of food and lots of wide open space for them. There are also of plenty farming animals such as cow, pigs and chickens. These animals are a good source of food and help the farming be a success.

• carnivores such as coyotes, eagles, and hawks

• wolves and polar bears live in the north

• herbivores such as deer, moose, elk, and caribou

• birds such as ducks, geese, and swans

Vegetation

The majority of the Interior plains are filled with native plants such as grasses, and trees like fir, pine and spruce. In the prairies farmers grow, oat, barley, wheat and more plants because of the rich soil and large amounts of space. The Interior Plains is a large region that covers parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, as well as parts of the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory. This region is fairly flat, with low hills. It has areas of grassland, wooded parkland, and large northern forests. The southern Interior Plains are mostly characterized by grassland vegetation (see Prairie) under semiarid climatic conditions throughout the plains, but islands of mixed-wood forest prevail at high elevations on uplands in western Alberta.

The Interior Plains are full of deep fertile soil. In the southern part of the Interior Plains, no trees exists instead there is only grass and herbs. In the northern part of the Interior Plains there is a belt of coniferous trees called the boreal forest. The main type of vegetation is grasslands which includes June grass,… The interior plain we see now is covered with vegetation but not to the extent it was pre glacial. The glaciers scrubbed all the loose soil and vegetation from the interior plains and it has taken 4,400 years for some areas to be re-covered.

VIDEO

SOURCES

• http://ss9interiorplains.weebly.com/vegetation-and-wildlife.html
• https://interiorplains.weebly.com/location-and-landscape.html
• https://gradefive.mrpolsky.com/regionsofcanada/interior-plains-regions.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDwVJUHgNLs

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