Introduction To My Travels

A while ago a few friends and I had made a plan to travels across each region, coast to coast. In July we had put this plan into action. We spent one month travelling across 6 of the 7 regions of Canada (the Western Cordillera, the Intermountain Region, the Interior Plains, the Canadian Shield, the Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Lowland, and the Appalachian Region). I've now recorded my experiences into 6 journal entries. In these entries I'll give you some background information about this region such as it's climate, location, hazards etc. I also share some of the amazing places that I've been able to visit while I was there. The purpose of writing this blog is to give readers some knowledge about our regions and how they differ from coast to coast, and what makes each region special. If you are willing to take a challenge to learn about our regions please scroll to the bottom of the page and read the about the Western Cordillera and successive regions. Enjoy!

Where I Couldn't Go

Though we were able to travel across Canada, but we had to leave out one region, the Arctic. The Arctic Region way up in Northern Nunavut. The reason why I had wanted to go there was because where I live (Surrey), we barely get enough snow during the winter. In the Arctic however, winter last 10 months, and in those 10 months it snows regularly. In addition to the snow, you can also see a variety of arctic wildlife such as Polar Bears, and Walruses. Many parts of the world do not have Arctic wildlife present in their countries, but Canada is lucky to have them. I also want to visit the Arctic so I can get to know more about the Inuit people, and there way of living, and surviving in such a cold environment like the Arctic, year round. Though we didn't get to visit the Arctic this time, next time we tour Canada, we will definitely have this region on the top of our list.

The Location of the Arctic Region

My Travels, Part 6: Appalachian Region

Now we have neared the end of our cross Canada tour, and we will conclude it by entering the Appalachian region. This region consists of all the maritime provinces. The Appalachian Mountains (the regions namesake) is made of many ranges across the region, formed 300 million years ago. The mountains here however were low as erosion have worn down what could have been sharp peaks, to just rolling hills. Going for a walk in this region was a tough exercise because houses, stores and restaurants were all at different elevation, owing to the rolling hills established by erosion. The Appalachian Region has an oceanic climate, so meaning the winters here are warmer than usual, and the summer temperatures are cool (in the mid-teens). While we were in the region we stayed a night at the Algonquin Resort, in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. A fine resort with great service, and a bonus was that we had a magnificent view of the Bay of Fundy. We than concluded our tour by reaching Halifax. While we there visited the Citadel Hill Historic Site in Fort George. This fortified summit was built in 1749 by the British to rival establishments built by the French, it was used to protect the English Protestant settlers from attacks by Native and French forces. We also visited Pier 21, which is another heritage site.  Then we headed to the Halifax Public Gardens, and took in one of their concerts that they have on Sunday afternoons during the summer. After that we were finished, we had seen Canada. From Vancouver to Halifax it was a great ride, filled with many great memories. This past month of travelling has really validated in my mind that Canada is the greatest country in the world.

The Citadel Hill

The Various Elevations of the Appalachians

My Travels, Volume 5: The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland

We have now reached the most populous region of Canada, the Great Lakes-St.Lawrence Lowland. Now you may be asking why is the smallest region, the most populous region. This is because millions of years a go, cracks in the earths surface lead the St.Lawrence to sink and in turn caused the Atlantic Ocean to flood the mainland. The flood however helped to make for rich soil and by the days of exploration, many people were choosing to live hear because of the rich soils great crop surplus. Though this area is heavily industrialized because of big cities like Toronto and Montreal, it has a wide array of forest as the entire region is a river valley that encourages tree growth. This region is known to have a climate that is continental. So since it was summer, we enjoyed some nice heat(low 20's temperature, though if it was winter it would've been the opposite(-5 below). We took some time to visit Toronto, while we were there we were able to see one of the largest towers in the world, the CN Tower. We also went right at the Canada-US border to visit Niagara Falls. Our last leisure activity was sitting in on a Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Centre. Now off we go to our final region, the Appalachians.

The lowland scenery

The political map of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland

My Travels, Volume 4: Canadian Shield

We now have reached the Canadian Shield, the largest region in Canada. This gigantic region encompasses parts of Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Alberta. This large forest area is one of the worlds largest producers of mineral ore. However once you get to the North, tundra predominantly takes over. In this tundra you will be able to see caribou, moose , otters and various types of bears. The accommodation of tundra in to this region makes it a fairly cold region. It's summer weather stays in the high teens, though it comes with an average of 60 mm of precipitation. This area was formed by the collision of two tectonic plates, one of these plates were forced down and then would eventually rise up to create the a region with a large amount of rocks and minerals, the Canadian Shield. While we were at the Canadian Shield, we went camping by the lake of the woods (on the southwestern corner of Ontario).

The map of the Canadian Shield

A sample of the Canadian Shield's rocks.

My Travels, Volume 3: Interior Plains

We have now reached the third region we will be travelling to, the Interior Plains. This area encompasses the Western portion of the Northwest Territories, all of Alberta and southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. This area contained vast farmlands that could always be seen during our travels. The warmth of this region was spectacular, as we had traveled more into the flat lands. Now travelling might seems all fun and games, but there is a danger while touring these regions. Those this is just a minor possibility, there are minor landslide dangers in southern Saskatchewan. This is because poorly consolidated bedrock that is in this region, so while driving through this area, always proceed with caution. Now a lighter side, this giant region has a host of fun activities. I'll first start with Calgary, while we were there we visited the legendary stampede. We of course went on all the fun rides, but we also got to learn in depth about cattle farming (a common economic activity in the interior plains, owing to the vast farmland). We then headed to the Prince Albert National Park, one of the rare places in the Interior Plains where you can see lots of trees (due to it being by a river valley. We engaged in a nice round of kayaking. Nearing the end of our travels through the plains, we took in a hockey games in Winnipeg. We saw the Jets lose to the Vancouver Canucks 3-0.  Now that we have concluded the Interior Plains, it's time to visit the large Canadian Shield.

The Calgary Stampede

Farmland in the Interior Plains

My Travels, Volume 2: Intermountain Region

During our travels we made a detour from our mountainous cordillera route and we instead entered the beautiful Intermountain Region. To my bewilderment, this region goes often unnoticed. This small area composed of Interior British Columbia and Interior Yukon is located right in between the Coastal and Rocky Mountains. The area offers a very bright alternative to the moist cordillera, as these high plateaus have very low precipitation, and tend to be a warmer climate. Driving across this region however could pose danger as fault scraps are present in this region and these could possibly pose a significant(though in general, poorly quantified)  seismic hazard (earthquake danger). During our time in the Intermountain, we stopped in Prince George and visited the Exploration Place, there we saw great exhibits on first nations history, and a formidable paleontological exhibit. We also participated in a picnic by the beautiful Kamloops lake. This stage of our tour has been awesome so far, but now it is time to explore outside of British Columbia.

The Great Views that Kamloops Lake has to offer

The Intermountain at Sunset

My Travels, Volume 1: Western Cordillera

Today I've started my road trip all across Canada. My first stop is the westernmost region of Canada the Western Cordillera. This was a perfect place to start off my traveling campaign as it is located at the westernmost part of Canada (British Columbia and Yukon). The Western Cordillera was a challenge to travel on as because of the lack of erosion that has happened in this area, large highlands have been sustained. Now because of that I found myself constantly driving up and down because of the surplus of diverse elevation. Though non the less this area was pleasant for the eye as their were various beautiful mountain ranges (i.e Coastal and Rockies). Large amounts of precipitation would normally have been expected (owing to the coastal climate of this region) but because our travels were during the summer time, we got saved and instead traveled in a moist and mild environment. The occurrence of seismic activity in a few mountains in the Northern region of the Cordillera led us to avoid the area as we had thought that would be a hazard. During our travels in the western cordillera we took a break to visit the big city of Vancouver, during our travels we visited Stanley Park, the beautiful scenery combined with adjacent aquarium was a great experience. We also visited the long (137 meter) Capilano Suspension Bridge. It offered a great view of the large forests that Greater Vancouver have to offer. Then we went off to Whistler, where we explored the rich summertime trails of the area and engaged in mountain biking. This leg of my Canadian Tour made for a promising start, now off to the Intermountain Region!

Totem Poles at Stanley Park

The Beauty of the Cordillera