Hail is precipitation consisting of ice pellets with a diameter of 5 millimetres or more. Hailstorms can occur anywhere in Canada. The most common period when hailstorms occur...
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Avalanches are a mass movement of snow and ice down a hillside. They occur when unique circumstances of climate and topographic factors come together. This maps shows major...
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Landslides are the downslope movements of sediment and rock. They can be found in any part of Canada, even in areas with very little relief. They happen in bedrock or in loose...
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An earthquake is the rapid shaking of the Earth’s surface that follows the sudden release of energy within the Earth. They are most commonly caused by movements along the edges...
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Most unconsolidated materials covering the Canadian landmass have glacial origins. Some sediments were entrained by glaciers and deposited at a distance without being sorted....
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This map shows the location of the Shield physiographic regions. The Shield is divided into five great regions: Kazan Region, Davis Region, Hudson Region, James Region and...
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Canada’s landscape is very diversified and comprises several distinctive areas, called physiographic regions, each of which has its own topography and geology. The physical...
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This map shows the location of the Interior Plains physiographic region. The Interior Plains occupy the region between the Shield on the east and the mountains of the...
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This map shows the location of the Cordilleran physiographic region. The Cordilleran Region is divided into three large linear zones called the Eastern System, the Interior...
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Permafrost occurs when the ground remains at or below a temperature of 0oC for a minimum period of two years. Permafrost occurs not only at high latitudes but also at high...
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This map shows the distribution of land cover types across Canada, based on satellite data obtained in 1995. The land cover map contains 31 classes: 12 forest; 3 shrubland; 7...
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A watershed is an area that drains all precipitation received as a runoff or base flow (groundwater sources) into a particular river or set of rivers. The easiest way to...
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The physical components of a watershed are rivers, lakes, ponds and reservoirs, groundwater aquifers, snowpacks, glaciers, ice fields, wetlands and precipitation. This map shows...
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Apart from a source of drinking water, the water resources in watersheds supply water for irrigation and the production of hydroelectricity, and are a primary mode of...
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A drainage basin is an area that drains all precipitation received as a runoff or base flow (groundwater sources) into a particular river or set of rivers. Canada’s major...
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Hydrogeological regions are areas in which the properties of sub-surface water, or groundwater, are broadly similar in geology, climate and topography. Hydrogeology is the...
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This map shows a simplified distribution of land cover types across Canada interpreted from satellite data obtained in 1995. Land cover has an important role in the water cycle...
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Moisture regions illustrate moist (water surplus) and dry (water deficient) climate areas. The regions are a general guide to moisture surplus or deficit to be factored with...
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