Topography
- Smallest geographic region in Canada, includes triangles formed by lakes Huron, Ontario and Erie
- Contains several escarpments (cliffs formed by faulting & erosion)
- Best known escarpment is the Niagara Escarpment, which extends from Niagara Falls to Manitoulin Island
- The Great Lakes section of the Lowland has a rolling landscape, created mainly by glaciation
- Flat plains broken by hills and deep river valleys
- St. Lawrence portion consists of flat plains, which gradually rise into the Canadian Shield and the Appalachians
Climate
- The Lowland has a humid, continental climate (not influenced by the oceans). It is humid because of the Great Lakes
- The Great Lakes tend to cool and lower the temperature during the summer
- They also store heat, and so they warm the areas surrounding them in the winter
- Temperatures range from cool to cold in the winter, and warm to hot in the summer months
- Ontario and the west-southern portions of the Lowland are relatively dry, usually garnering about 65 70 mm of rain monthly
- The northeast, on the other hand, receives a good amount of precipitation. Quebec City commonly receives over 100mm per month, especially in the summer
Vegetation
- Originally, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowland was heavily populated with trees because of its' fertile soils
- The Great Lakes region of the Lowland once had a huge amount of broad-leafed forests, like maple, beech, hickory and black walnut
- Other parts of the Lowland produced mixed vegetation of both deciduous and conifers.
- Deciduous trees like maple, beech, oak ash & birch, and coniferous ones like spruce, fir, pine and cedar.
Economic Activity
- Industries & economic activities include farming (poultry, dairy, meat and crops), mining (copper, iron, silver, lead zinc and coal), and manufacturing (cars, steel, iron, clothing and chemicals)
Environmental Concerns
- Pollution is a major issue in the Lowland
- Manufacturing plants and vehicles in the area release smokestack and exhaust respectively, and cause a green house effect in the atmosphere
- CO2 (carbon dioxide gas) is also released by concrete manufacturing plants