The Canadian Shield

     The Canadian Shield was formed millions of years ago. During the Precambrian era, two tectonic plates collided. One of the plates were forced down. This melted the rocks and land that went under. As a result, magma rose to the surface and overtime it cooled down to form rocks. Also, pressure inside the Earth folded and crushed the metamorphic rocks, which formed mountains. After the mountains were formed, forces like wind has eroded it over billions of years. The remaining pieces of the mountain's core are what make up The Canadian Shield.

     The Shield is Canada's largest physiographic area covers six provinces and two territories: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

     This region contains Precambrian rocks that are more than 512 000 000 old. Rocks are covered with part sand, gravel, clay and debris from glacial activity.

     In Ontario, the area within the Shield provides vast forest regions for the lumber industry and has also provided areas that are ideal for trapping and hunting to the benefit of fur trade in Ontario.

     The Canadian Shield is populated with boreal forests. Some of the trees that are grown in the boreal forests are evergreen, spruce, pines, etc... Everegreen trees are found in the northern are becausethey can easily adapt to colder temperatures. The vegetation in the Shield is defferent in comparison to other regions in Canada. Towards the southern region, the trees are larger and closer together, whereas up north they are smaller and more dense.

     The Shield is home to many animals. Various species of wildlife can be found in the Shield. Some animals that live in this region are flaconsd, eagles, caribou and arctic fox. These animals and birds are able to stand the colder climates. The larger carnivores in the boreal shield are black bears, bobcats, wolves etc..

     The larger herbivores include woodland caribou, barren ground caribou, white tailed deer and moose.