Physical Geography of Saskatchewan
Uploaded by Admin on Apr 26, 2000
Introduction
Saskatchewan is situated in the central Prairie between Alberta on the west and Manitoba on the east. Its neighbour on the north is the North West Territories, and on the south it borders with the United States. Saskatchewan is rectangular in shape--it is the only Canadian province none of whose borders was determined by the landform feature like river or mountain range. The province is located in the Central Standard Time and doesn't switch on Daylight Saving Time in summer. The population of Saskatchewan is around one million people with the area of 651 900 km2.
Physical and Natural Description
Geologic History--Land Formation, Types of Rocks, and Minerals
The northeastern part of Saskatchewan is a part of the Canadian Shield that was formed during Precambrian era and features some of the oldest rocks in the world. The border that separates the Canadian Shield from the rest of the province runs across Saskatchewan from south-east to north-west. This part of the province was formed during Precambrian era and contains igneous and metamorphic rocks. From the minerals found in that part of the Shield the most abundant and the most important for Saskatchewan is the metallic mineral uranium that can be used for building the nuclear reactors or exported to the other countries.
The rest of the province, except for the extreme southwest which is occupied by the Hills, is situated on the Saskatchewan Plain which is a part of the Interior Plains that are, in turn, part of the Great Plains of North America. This part was formed under water when the mountains of the Canadian Shield eroded and deposited on the bottom of the shallow seas that it was surrounded by. The process was completed during the Mesozoic era. This part is relatively flat with gently rolling hills and occasional valleys. The most important minerals that are found in this area composed of soft and hard sedimentary rock are the non-metallic minerals like potash which is widely used as a fertilizer and some oil.
Major Landform Features
The major landform feature of the province is the escarpment created by erosion that separates Saskatchewan Plain from Alberta Plain and Manitoba Plain. Except for the Cypress Hills near the U.S. border, Saskatchewan lies on a plain. Its landscape is not absolutely flat--Saskatchewan is the province of gently rolling rounded hills.
Climate
Saskatchewan is a part of the two climatic regions: Prairie on the south and Boreal on the...