B. People and Environments · Living and Working in Ontario

Ontario's Three Landform Regions

B3 B1.1 B3.7About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can name and find Ontario's three landform regions.
I can describe the land, water, soil and climate in each region.
I can explain how the land in a region affects how people live and use the land there.

Words to know

landform region
A large area where the land is mostly alike, with similar rocks, soil and shapes of the land.

lowland
Land that is low and mostly flat.

Canadian Shield
A huge region of very old, hard rock with thin soil, many lakes and forests.

wetland
Land that is soaked with water much of the year, like a swamp, marsh or bog.

soil
The top layer of the ground where plants grow.

fertile
Good for growing plants. Fertile soil grows strong crops.

A quick question

If you drove from Windsor all the way north to Hudson Bay (you can't, there are no roads that go all the way!), would the land look the same the whole time?

No! You would pass farms, then rocky hills with lakes and forests, and finally flat, wet land near the sea. Ontario has three big landform regions.

A simple diagram (not a real map) showing Ontario's three landform regions in order from north to south. On a real map, the regions have curvy edges and the Canadian Shield is by far the biggest.

1. The Hudson Bay Lowlands (far north)

Land: very flat and low, beside Hudson Bay and James Bay.
Water: lots of wetlands: bogs, swamps and slow rivers. It is one of the biggest wetlands in the world.
Climate: long, very cold winters and short, cool summers.
Plants and animals: small trees and moss; geese, caribou and even polar bears along the coast.
People: few people live here. Most communities are First Nations communities, such as Attawapiskat and Moose Cree First Nation, and the town of Moosonee. Many places have no year-round road. People travel by plane, by train (to Moosonee), by boat, or on winter roads built over frozen ground and lakes.

2. The Canadian Shield (the middle, and the biggest)

Land: rocky hills made of some of the oldest rock on Earth. The soil is thin, so it is hard to farm.
Water: thousands of lakes and rivers.
Plants: huge forests.
Under the ground: minerals like nickel, copper and gold.
People: cities such as Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timmins, and many small towns and First Nations communities. People work in mining, forestry and tourism (cottages, camping and fishing).

The Canadian Shield covers more than half of Ontario.

Pink granite rock with small pine trees on a hill above a blue lake with rocky islands. — This is the Canadian Shield: hard, old rock, thin soil, forests and many lakes. It covers more than half of Ontario. AI-generated image

3. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands (the south)

Land: mostly flat or gently rolling. The Niagara Escarpment, a long rocky ridge, runs through it.
Soil: deep and fertile, great for farming.
Climate: the warmest part of Ontario, with the longest growing season.
Water: beside the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which are used for shipping, drinking water and fun.
People: it is the smallest region, but most people in Ontario live here, in cities like Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London and Windsor.

	Hudson Bay Lowlands	Canadian Shield	Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands
Where	far north	middle (the biggest)	south (the smallest)
Land	flat, wet	rocky, hilly	flat to rolling
Soil	wet, boggy	thin	deep and fertile
Main ways land is used	hunting, fishing, trapping, small communities, parks	mining, forestry, tourism	farms, cities, factories
How many people	very few	some	the most

Comparing Ontario's three landform regions

A side view of the land from north to south (not to scale). Notice how the land changes from flat and wet, to rocky and hilly, to flat farmland and cities.

The land shapes how we live

Notice the pattern: where the soil is fertile and the land is flat, there are farms and big cities. Where there is rock and forest, people mine and cut trees. Where the land is wet and far away, there are few roads and small communities. Geographers call this a connection between the natural environment and land use.

Worked example

Let's figure out the region

Maya visits her aunt. She sees pink granite rocks, a lake with a canoe dock, tall pine trees and a mine headframe in the distance. Which landform region is she in?

Rocks that show above the ground and thin soil are clues for the Canadian Shield.
Lakes and forests are also common on the Shield.
A mine fits, because the Shield has minerals.
These clues do not fit the flat farm fields of the south or the flat wetlands of the far north.

Maya is in the Canadian Shield.

Worked example

Let's explain a connection

Why are there so many farms in southern Ontario and so few in the Hudson Bay Lowlands?

Southern Ontario (the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands) has deep, fertile soil and the warmest climate in Ontario.
The Hudson Bay Lowlands are wet and boggy, with long cold winters and a short summer.
Crops need good soil and a long enough warm season.

The soil and climate in the south are good for crops, but the Hudson Bay Lowlands are too wet and cold for most farming.

Just for fun

Fun fact: Some rock in the Canadian Shield is billions of years old. It was already ancient when dinosaurs were alive, which makes a T. rex look like a brand-new baby!

Hands-on activity

Make a landform region tray model

You need: a baking tray or shoebox lid, some soil or sand, small stones or gravel, a sponge, a little water in a cup, and small leaves or twigs. (Do this outside or on newspaper.)

Divide the tray into three strips. The top strip is north.
Top strip, Hudson Bay Lowlands: lay a flat, damp sponge. Add a few drops of water so it is soggy like a wetland.
Middle strip, Canadian Shield (make it the biggest): pile small stones, add a very thin sprinkle of soil, little puddles for lakes and twigs for forests.
Bottom strip, Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands: spread a thick, flat layer of soil. Draw rows with your finger like a farm field.
Make little paper labels for each region.
Explain your model to a grown-up: "Where could a farmer plant crops? Where might a mine be? Where is it too wet for roads?"

Safety: wash your hands after handling soil. Small stones are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers, so keep them away from little ones.

What to look for: wet and flat at the top, rocky with lakes in the biggest middle strip, deep soil in the bottom strip, and a clear explanation of one connection.

Your turn

Name Ontario's three landform regions.

Which region is the biggest?

In which region do most people in Ontario live?

Which region is very flat and wet, near Hudson Bay?

Why is it hard to farm on the Canadian Shield?

Name one city in the Canadian Shield.

What is a wetland?

More practice: warm-up

Is Toronto in the north or the south of Ontario?

Which region has some of the oldest rock on Earth?

Which animal lives along the coast of Hudson Bay: a polar bear or a camel?

What does fertile soil mean?

Which region is the warmest?

More practice: on your own

Why do few people live in the Hudson Bay Lowlands?

How do people travel to many communities in the Hudson Bay Lowlands?

Give one reason so many cities grew up in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Which jobs would you expect in the Canadian Shield? Give two and explain.

Jake says, "The Canadian Shield is a big metal shield." Explain what it really is.

Challenge

A company wants to build a new vegetable farm. Which region should it choose? Give two reasons.

Winter roads in the north are built over frozen lakes and wetlands. What could happen to these roads if winters get warmer? Why does this matter?

Look at the comparison table. Find one pattern that connects the land to the number of people.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which landform region covers the most land in Ontario?

Where do most people in Ontario live?

What is the land like in the Hudson Bay Lowlands?

Which region is best for farming?

Which is found in the Canadian Shield?

Sudbury is in which region?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Ontario has three landform regions: the Hudson Bay Lowlands (far north; flat, wet, few people), the Canadian Shield (the largest; rock, lakes, forests and minerals) and the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands (the south; fertile soil, warmest climate, where most Ontarians live). The natural environment of each region strongly affects how land is used and where communities grow.

How to help at home:

Talk about which region you live in, and any places you have visited (a cottage on the Shield, a farm in the south).
Look at photos online together and play "Which region?" using clues: rock and lakes, flat wetlands, or farm fields.
Ask "why" questions: "Why are there no farms here? Why is there a mine there?"

Common difficulties:

Long names. Shorten them: "the far north lowlands," "the Shield," "the southern lowlands."
Thinking the regions have straight edges. The diagram is simplified. On a real map, the edges curve, and the Shield reaches all the way down to Georgian Bay and to the St. Lawrence River near Kingston.
Stereotypes about the north. People in the far north live in modern communities with schools, stores and homes. Many are First Nations communities, which you will learn about in a later lesson.