Essay On The Canadian Shield

448 Words2 Pages

There are many landform regions in Canada, all with their own features, which impact the economy. Tectonic Forces, uniqueness and glaciation have combined to shape the canadian shield, making it different from other canadian landform regions, directly affecting economic activity in the region.

One of the things that affect it is tectonic activity. The Canadian Shield is a 2.5 billion year craton made of igneous rock. Today there are many metallic minerals in the area including nickel, gold, and chromium. These are all important contributors to the economy in the Canadian Shield. The Canadian Shield is the largest producer in Canada of nickel, copper, gold platinum group metals, copper, salt and structural materials. Mining benefits all areas of the province, providing a broad scope of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. One of the biggest mines in the Canadian shield is the nickel mines in Sudbury. They were once the world’s largest producer of nickel. Nickel is used in a variety of different ways, but is mostly used for stainless steel. Another mineral they mine is chromium. It is used to harden steel and is an ingredient in paints and dyes. The final mineral they mine is gold, there are many gold mines in the Canadian shield including a large mine in Cochrane. It lies the biggest undeveloped pure gold deposit in Canada. This is why the Tectonic movement in the Canadian shield directly affects the economy. …show more content…

Although the Canadian shield borders the St. Lawrence Lowlands & Great Lakes, they are different in many ways. Firstly, the Canadian shield is made of igneous rock while the St. Lawrence lowlands is made from sedimentary rocks. Secondly, the economic industries are also different, the St.Lawrence Lowlands rely on agriculture, while the Canadian shield has many mines. Finally, the Canadian shield is the largest landform in Canada. however, the St.Lawrence Lowlands is the

Open Document