Natural Resources Canada

The regional trends of greenhouse gas emissions for the period 1990 to 2020 are shown here. Also shown is a projection of regional carbon intensity in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide per million dollars of Real Domestic Product. This map shows long-term greenhouse gas emissions growth on a...

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 drainage regions are the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson Bay, Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. A lake can be defined as...

Glaciers and icefields are huge masses of ice, formed on land by the compaction and re-crystallization of snow, that move very slowly down slopes, or move outward due to their own weight. In Canada, an estimated area of 200 000 square kilometres, or about 2% of the country’s area is covered by...

Groundwater is water found beneath the earth’s surface and located at the water table below. In Canada, there is more water underground than on the surface. Groundwater occurs in the tiny spaces between loose materials on top of bedrock, or in cracks of bedrock. The most important concentrations...

Wetlands are lands permanently or temporarily submerged or permeated by water, and characterized by plants adapted to saturated-soil conditions. Wetlands are the only ecosystem designated for conservation by international convention because they absorb the impact of hydrologic events, filter...

Between 1609 and 1628, European explorers charted more unknown waters along the Atlantic Coast, and also penetrated down the St. Lawrence River into the eastern Great Lakes. The routes of four explorers are shown on this map: Hudson (1609), Champlain (1609, 1613 and 1615 to 1616), Brûlé (1615 to...

In the period from 1634 to 1650, exploration in what is now Canada was largely carried out by Jesuit missionaries. Their findings consolidated European knowledge of the eastern Great Lakes. The map shows the routes of seven expeditions: Nicollet (1634), Bogaert (1634 to 1635), Brébeuf and...

This map shows the first phase of exploration of what is now Canada, which was largely confined to the east coast of the island of Newfoundland and to southeastern Labrador. Shown here are the routes of three explorers: Cabot (1497), Corte-Real (1500 to 1501) and Fernandes (1500). The map also...

In the early seventeenth century, there were two voyages that explored the Labrador coastline and southern Baffin Island. These voyages were by Waymouth (1602) and Knight (1606). The map also shows the extent of territory known to Europeans in the period 1497 to 1650; and the navigation of all...

In the period from 1610 to 1632, English navigators explored Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay. This map shows the routes of seven explorers: Hudson (1610 to 1611), Button (1612 to 1613), Bylot (1615 to 1616), Baffin (1615 to 1616), Munk (1619 to 1620), Fox (1631), and James (1631 to 1632). The map...

Champlain's resource surveys of the Atlantic Coast and Saint Lawrence River between 1603 and1607 were the first exploration in this area since Cartier and Bellenger. This map shows five of Champlain's exploration routes. The map also shows the extent of territory known to Europeans in the period...

The map shows the annual mean total precipitation. Over much of the continental interior of Canada, precipitation reaches its annual maximum in the summer months and falls as rain. October marks the transition from mainly rain to snowfall across northern Canada.

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of July. Throughout much of the continental interior of Canada, precipitation reaches its annual maximum in the summer months and falls as rain. On the Prairies, the maximum monthly precipitation is usually in June or July, but this shifts...

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of January. January precipitation across Canada is mainly in the form of snow. Throughout much of the interior and the north, precipitation amounts are generally less than 20 mm and, in the high Arctic, as little as a few millimetres. The...

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of April. April is a transitional month across much of southern Canada, when snow is still possible but rainfall begins to dominate the precipitation regime. Precipitation amounts across the southern interior of Canada are somewhat greater...

The map shows the mean total precipitation in the month of October. October marks the transition from mainly rain to snowfall across northern Canada. Snowfall also occurs across much of the interior of southern Canada but in relatively small amounts that usually melt. October also marks the...

This map shows the average maximum snow depth in centimetres computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). Over southern Canada this usually occurs in January or February, while the time of maximum accumulation occurs much later in mountain areas and in the Arctic. The main features of the map...

This map shows the median date of snow-cover loss (defined as the last date with 14 consecutive days of snow cover greater than 2 centimetres in depth) computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). In areas with permanent or semipermanent snow cover (for example, Arctic ice caps) or in areas...

This map shows the median date of snow-cover onset (defined as the first date with 14 consecutive days of snow cover greater than 2 centimetres in depth) computed over 18 winter seasons (1979 to 1997). In areas with permanent or semipermanent snow cover (for example, Arctic ice caps) or in areas...

The map shows the mean daily minimum temperatures for April. Minimum temperatures in April are below freezing for most of Canada. Minimum temperatures in April are below freezing for most of Canada. Only extreme southern Ontario, extreme southern Nova Scotia and coastal British Columbia have...