Natural Resources Canada

Sensitivity of the coastlines of Canada to the expected rise in sea level is shown on the map. Sensitivity here means the degree to which a coastline may experience physical changes such as flooding, erosion, beach migration, and coastal dune destabilization. Climate warming is expected to cause...

Wind erosion risk for unprotected soils in areas sensitive to climatic change is shown on this map. The regions that would have the highest sensitivity to a warming climate are likely to occur in the southern and central Prairies and in the southernmost part of Ontario. This risk of wind erosion...

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...

This map depicts the 77 electrical generating plants operated by forest-based industries. These industries are defined using the North American Industrial Classification. These plants are scattered throughout Canada, and are about equally divided between being hydro or thermal plants.

The 5-year mobility measures the percentage of the population aged five years or older who moved (changed address) in the five years preceding Census Day, 1996. The values are generally low. Three-quarters of the places have a figure below the Canadian average and the median for the entire set of...

This map indicates the degree of reliance of each of the 298 communities on forest-related industries. The index range spans the complete range from 50% up to 100% with most communities having values in the lower half of this range. Even though there are two widely-separated zones of these...

The income index compares the average employment income value of each community to that for Canada. The value for Canada as a whole is set at 1.00. The range of the index is from 0.12 to 1.65, with the median value for these communities being 0.73. Income index values are generally higher in...

The education index is a measure of the proportion of the population 15 years of age and over who have post-secondary qualifications compared to the Canadian proportion meeting the same criteria. The index values are generally lower than the Canadian average. The median value is 0.78, and 88% of...

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 tundra/grasslands; 7 developed land types including cropland, mosaic and built-up areas; and 2 water cover types.

The geologic time scale divides the 4.6 billion years of earths history into hierarchy of time periods. Every layer of rock corresponds to a specific time in the history of the formation of the Earth. The Precambrian era began with the formation of the Earth; it was followed by the Paleozoic,...

The geologic time scale divides the 4.6 billion years of earths history into hierarchy of time periods. Every layer of rock corresponds to a specific time in the history of the formation of the Earth. The Precambrian era began with the formation of the Earth; it was followed by the Paleozoic,...

Rocks are divided into three main categories according to how they were formed: igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic processes. Rocks differ in their texture, mineral and chemical composition, and bedding characteristics depending on which of these three processes that formed them. Igneous rocks,...

Surficial hydrogeological materials show the distribution of sediment deposited in glacially influenced environments. Most drinkable groundwater resources in Canada occur in shallow surficial-sediment aquifers. Surface sediments, such as gravel, sand, silt and clay, or mixed sediments, are an...

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 seasonal timing of moisture availability for the hydrological system, including fluxes to runoff and groundwater infiltration.

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 as it significantly affects evapotranspiration and the amount of water leaving a watershed. Evapotranspiration is the...

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 branch of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of water beneath the earth’s surface. This map shows Canada’s...

The map shows 3172 hydrometric stations, 1491 active and 1681 inactive, located on rivers and lakes across the country. All the stations on the map are situated in a drainage area of 200 square kilometres or more. For 1200 stations shown on the map, surface water level measurements are recorded...