K&K
Across Canada
Our first journey took us to some of the different landforms of Canada or ( as some people might call it) the different Ecozones of Canada. We decided that we would tell you about eight of these Ecozones. Although we traveled together, we both noticed different things and naturally, we both found ourselves interested. Kellie will be going into detail specifically about the Northern Arctic, Hudson Plains, Atlantic Maritime, and Pacific Maritime. Kerushani will be describing our experience in the Taiga Cordillera, Boreal Sheild, Mixwood Plains, and Montane Cordillera Let's get started!
-Kellie and Kerushani
This is a map showing our full journey throughout Canada
Atlantic Maritime- December 10th, 2020
Our first stop was the Atlantic Maritimes. Kerushani kept calling it "bigger New Brunswick" because she didn't like the name Atlantic Maritime. I'm pretty sure that she was just saying that because I chose this place as our first destination and she was upset by that. It took us two hours and 15 minutes to get to New Brunswick which seemed like a reasonable time to me. The first thing we did when we landed was get a map. Neither Kerushani nor I knew this place very well so the map was our new best friend. Before we went on our trip, we did some research on the Ecozones that we would be visiting and we noticed that the Atlantic Maritime stretched across New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia and P.E.I. We struggled to choose one of these amazing provinces to visit so we agreed to visit all three. We stayed in NB for three days and we did a lot of sightseeing. Mostly in forests. The scenery there was amazing and throughout our journey, you're going to see me talk about scenery a lot. We saw two black bears (not at the same time) which was strange because they should have been hibernating at that time and we caught a glimpse of a white-tailed deer. We then set off to Nova Scotia and we stayed there for three days as well. Once again we went trekking through the forest and this time we saw a moose. Well, we saw it from a distance but still, it was so majestic. The wildlife wasn't the only majestic thing to see in the forest. The trees were so tall and there seemed to have been quite the variety. Red spruce, balsam fir, yellow birch and sugar maple. We went to P.E.I last and we stayed there for four days. The only reason we stayed there for an extra day was because I wanted to visit the P.E.I Potato Board. I have strong passion for potatoes and P.E.I is practically the home of potatoes. Apart from the Potato Board, we went sightseeing once again in a forest. We saw a lot of little fluffy birds and we decided to ask some people who happened to be around if they knew what the species was. Apparently they were Eastern Bluebirds and they were so cute. Guess who forgot to take a photo of them? Me. We left P.E.I after four days and we made our way to the Mixedwood Plains.
This is a beautiful picture of one of the woods we went through
If you look carefully, you can see a moose!
The green section indicates where the Mixed Wood Plains is located.
A drumlin in Ontario
The Mixedwood Plains- December 17th, 2020
From Charlo Airport, New Brunswick, we took a two-hour plane ride to the infamous Toronto Pearson International Airport. Stepping out into the brisk cool wintery air, we were truly mesmerized by the blanket of snow that had covered the city. The Mixedwood Plains is one of the smallest regions and it is located in the lower Great Lake- St. Lawrence valley. This Ecozone also contains some of the most well-known cities in Canada, like Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec. During the week that we spent here, we had toured all across the region visiting tourist attractions, which include the CN Tower, Niagra Falls, the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence, and Château Ramezay.
As we are greatly interested in the geological aspects of the country, we have recorded down some of the significant characteristics of the Mixed Wood Plains as we were touring around the region. Before going on our road trip, we had made sure to wear warm clothing to withstand the continental winter climate (it was about -12 degrees Celsius and at this point, I was not looking forward to going to the Northern Arctic region). The Mixed Wood Plains has an extensive amount of waterways that help it to have an abundant supply of freshwater resources. Not only is this Ecozone special for their water, but they also have rich soils that help agricultural jobs. Looking at the different trees in the national parks we visited, there seem to be a mix with both coniferous and deciduous trees. Something we both had also noticed is how flat the land is. Comparing some places in Europe, like Germany (which has many hills), to this area in Canada, it strikes a major difference. This is because the Mixedwood Plains is part of the St.Lawrence Lowlands, which consist of rolling plains. Continuing through the region, we had found drumlins, about 6,000, in the southern parts.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Mixed Wood Plains. Personally, I loved seeing all of the popular tourist attractions this place has to offer. Now it's time to get on our bus to the Boreal Sheild!
The Boreal Sheild- December 24th, 2020
The bus ride from the Mixed Wood Plains to the Boreal Sheild was actually amazing. Just seeing some of the soaring mountains ranges and even the rolling hills to distracted us, but it also confused us. Even while we were on our road trip, there were some regions that were -20 degrees Celcius while some others were - 1 degree Celcius. The reason why the Boreal Sheild has so many landforms and climates is that the region is 1.8 million kilometers squared, making it the largest EcoZone. So, as the EcoZone stretches across 20 percent of Canada, it interacts with different zones that have varying climates and landforms. When we arrived in Newfoundland, we were met with the wintery maritime climate. In places like Alberta, we experienced the continental winter climate.
Some tourist attractions that we had visited were Salut Ste. Marie, Algonquin Park, and Gros Morne National Park. In these parks, the number of coniferous trees was noticeable. We even saw a couple of squirrels, beavers, weasels, and otters either inside or outside of the parks.
By viewing and inspecting the Boreal Sheild, we have learned the various types of characteristics one region can have. Next, on the map, we will be going on a sixteen-hour flight to the Hudson Plains!
The red section indicates where the Boreal Sheild is located.
An image of the Boreal Sheild
Hudson Plains- January 2nd, 2021
Although the flight was only two hours, it was the longest two hours of my life. Kerushani was still super excited from our trip to the Boreal Shield and she was so keen on telling everyone in the plane about our journey. The moment we landed, I found myself captivated by the amazing scenery. Kerushani had barely noticed it (because it wasn't up to her taste) but I was lost in the colours. We bought a map so we could see where all the attractions were but at the same time, we noticed how the Plains stretched from the Western coast of Quebec to the coast of Manitoba! The area was mostly swampy plains which for some reason surprised Kerushani. Apparently her surprised look attracted some other tourists who told us that the Hudson Plains has the largest wetland areas. That's truly fascinating and a great accomplishment. Although technically the Plains wouldn't know! We decided to spend the day walking through the forests that surrounded the swampy areas and the scenery was breathtaking. There were Black Spruce's everywhere and sedges along the bank. After about an hour and a half, Kerushani started to feel cold and there was a light drizzle. We decided to continue our walk since the rain wasn't too bad and we could bear through the cold. As we continued walking, we saw a Woodland Caribou enjoying the rain and some grass. Kerushani wanted to stay and take pictures but I told her that we still had a lot of ground to cover so we moved on. We then saw a Black Bear who was just roaming around and we were very careful about our distance. The next day we both decided that we wanted to see the Polar Bear Provincial Park. The polar bears where so cute and the area was huge which was perfect for the bears but Kerushani said that it was boring so......we left. We went back to the airport and hopped on the plane to the Montane Cordillera.
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An Image Of The Hudson Plains
An Image Of The Polar Bear Provincial Park
The red section indicates where the Montane Cordillera is located.
Montane Cordillera- January 5th, 2021
From the twenty-hour plane ride and two-hour bus ride, we are exhausted (especially Kellie, who always is tired) but, the gorgeous scenery outside our window always seemed to motivate us to explore the outdoors. This region is in southern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, covering about 473 000 square kilometers. The landforms here are mostly mountain ranges, which lead us to our visit to the Rocky Mountains. Here we hiked examined the coniferous trees (these trees were the most common type of tree we saw) and swam in some of the lakes. The Montane Cordillera does contain many wetlands and small lakes.
While we were here, the weather was extremely cold as we had climbed the different mountains. It was about -7,5 degrees Celcius to -17,5 degrees Celcius with some areas on the windward side of the mountain receiving more rain than other parts of the Montane Cordillera.
Overall, the Montane Cordillera was exceptionally excellent because of the new geological landforms it had to offer. Next, we will be going to the Pacific Maritime EcoZone!
The Rocky Mountains
Pacific Maritime- January 14th, 2021
Our plane ride took about one hour and thirty-eight minutes for us to get to Yukon where the Pacific Maritime stretched across. Kerushani was actually pretty quiet for this flight. I don't think she liked the the places that I picked. When we landed, we were taken back by the gorgeous scenery. I wish we had stayed there longer but Kerushani really wanted to go the Taiga Cordillera and it was only fair because we stayed longer in the Atlantic Maritime. We did a lot of sightseeing and we observed that there were a lot of fjords and glacial valleys. The forests were filled with western red and yellow cedars and western hemlocks. For once, the climate was fairly warm however it was quite rainy. I personally don't like the rain but Kerushani loved it. As we continued our journey, we saw a mountain lion! It was terrifying but amazing. I was shocked because I didn't know that the Pacific Maritimes had mountain lions. We also saw a large amount of chestnut-backed chickadees. They were so cute and small! We visited Victoria and Vancouver because they were the major cities around there and that was it. Our trip to the Pacific Maritime was very short (thanks to Kerushani) but we still had fun. We then made our way to the Taiga Cordillera.
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This is a picture of an amazing mountain lion!
The beautiful scenery
The red section indicates the location of the Taiga Cordillera EcoZone.
Taiga Cordillera- January 21st, 2021
The train that we took to get to the Taiga Cordillera truly showcased the towering peaks and some of Canada's deepest canyons that many sites have informed us about. On our tour, we found that the northwest part of the region generally had wetlands and rolling hills, the north had the treeless arctic tundra, and much of the south were lowland forests. The series of mountain ranges and valleys are usually found in the Ecozone's Cordillera region. With the many spectacular landforms, we found that there were also some of Canada's greatest waterfalls and rivers.
Since the Taiga Cordillera is located in the border of Yukon and Northwest Territories, it's climate around this time of the year is extremely cold (and we thought it was freezing in the Mixed Wood Plains!). We had to make sure to wear the proper attire to function in the -25 degrees Celsius weather.
As most of the places we visited we mostly nature-oriented, we did see a great number of wildlife, most notably a caribou! Seeing how this land is greatly vast and seems to not have as much economic development compared to other regions, we decided to visit the city of Old Crow to ask citizens how they get their income. (Old Crow is a town here, which has 260 people. Keep in mind, the total population of this region is about 300 people). They had informed us that much of their jobs consisted of hunting, trapping, and fishing.
Even though there was not many people or places to see here, the change of environment and general lifestyle had intrigued us.
Next, we will be traveling to the Northern Arctic Ecozone.
An image of the Taiga Cordillera.
Northern Arctic- February 2nd, 2021
A five hour flight has left me restless. It's clear to me now that I shouldn't bring Kerushani with me on any plane ride. I was so tired from all of our travelling but she had so much energy. The plane ride was finally over and Kerushani was practically bouncing off the walls of the airport. The moment we stepped out of the airport, we were hit with a blast of cold. It was freezing outside but on the bright side, it wasn't raining. However the cold was to be expected because this Ecozone is stretched across Nunavut and some parts of Quebec. Since this was our last stop, we both agreed that we would take a tour. With an actual guide. We stopped by am information site and we booked our tour for the next day. We then checked in at our hotel and decided to rest. Which was a relief for me because Kerushani actually passed out from all the excitement and it was quiet. The next day was a very productive day for us. We met up with our tour guide and after roughly an hour and a half, we were bored and so we left. It seems that we can't do tours. They're just too slow for us. At first we were conflicted about going through the grasslands because it was so cold but we finally decided that it was our last place in our trip and we should just do it. We regretted this immediately. It was so cold, I couldn't feel my fingers and Kerushani couldn't feel her feet. We were walking for a long time before we saw anything exciting. We saw an arctic wolf and although it was beautiful, it was also very scary so we walked as fast as we could in the opposite direction. To be completely honest, the Northern Arctic was extremely boring and cold. We didn't even visit Ellesmere Island or Baffin Island. We were really tired because of all the traveling that we had done and we were so happy to be heading home. Overall, Kerushani and I truly enjoyed our
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