Prairie Provinces

Question 1

What provinces lie here?

Answer 1

Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Question 2

What is the economy based on

Answer 2

energy resources and agriculture

Question 3

What is the most impt natural resource found in western part of reigon

Answer 3

Oil

Question 4

Where did the name Alberta originate from

Answer 4

Princess Louise Carline Alberta, 4th daughter of Queen Victoria + Prince Albert

Question 5

Where did the name Saskatchewan originate from?

Answer 5

derived Cree word meaning “swift flowing water”

Question 6

Where did the name Manitoba originate from?

Answer 6

derived from cree word meaning “straits of the great spirit”

Question 7

Where does the region lie in?

Answer 7

Interior Plains + Canadian Shield

Question 8

How is climate?

Answer 8

cold, dry winters
hot dry summers
little precipitation

Question 9

What is the Great Sand Hills

Answer 9

unique landscape formed from wind that has caused sandy beach deposits of former glacial lakes to form into dunes

Question 10

What were land surveyors doing to the land?

Answer 10

preparing land for eastern european settlement
due to lack of topographic obstacles, it was easy to divide land into grid system, lots of perfect squares each 1/4 of square mile
- land survey patterns ignored the fact that some land was already occupied by Indigenous Peoples

Question 11

Who were most popular in region and how did they react to the surveying of the land?

Answer 11

Metis
reacted by organized rebellions
- other semi-nomadic Indigenous Peoples felt little choice but to sign treaties

Question 12

Eastern European families were given 1 square lot for free, but what did they not have access to?

Answer 12

they were given land to build homestead for free, but no access to electricity or plumbing

Question 13

What were the challenges facing homesteaders

Answer 13

square grid survey sys encouraged highly dispersed rural population creating a sense of isolation
- many settlers not prepared for climate and far distance to any large population centers
Forced them to be innovated
-practicing summer fallow for their crops to succeed

Question 14

what is summer fallow

Answer 14

Practice of leaving land idle for a year or more to accumulate soil moisture

Question 15

What were the 4 political movements in Prairies

Answer 15

1. CCF (cooperative commonwealth Federation)
2. Social Credit Party
3. Reform Party
4. Canadian Alliance

Question 16

What were the patterns of early settlement?

Answer 16

-villages + towns arranged in linear pattern linked to railroads (provided basic services for nearby farmers)
- larger towns developed around grain elevators
- each village was home to freq used services

Question 17

Why are rural population declining?

Answer 17

-farms becoming larger, more mechanized
-grain farms becoming more common, no livestock so minimal staffing

Question 18

Why are villages declining?

Answer 18

• lower rural population density of rural areas leads to less business for villages
  -increased use of trucks + cars opposed to railroads
• rationalization of road + rail sys
  -infreq used transportation corridors shutdown
  -fewer villages result in reduce need to maintain local transportation network

Question 19

Where are the sites of growth in Prairie Provinces

Answer 19

1. dormitory towns
2. sites of govt services
3. resource towns

Question 20

How is the agricultural land divided into?

Answer 20

Belts
1. fertile belt
2. dry belt
3. agricultural fringe

Question 21

What is the agricultural fringe?

Answer 21

grain grown lower quality, used primarily to raise livestock

Question 22

What is the Fertile Belt

Answer 22

High levels of soil moisture + adequate frost-free period
- typical crops are canola, wheat, beans, peas, and sunflowers
-mixed farming is common (crops mixed w/ beef + pork production)

Question 23

What is the Dry Belt

Answer 23

• cattle ranching
• wheat is the only crop that can grow here
• practice of continuous cropping is common
• irrigation necessary due to long periods of dry weather

Question 24

what is continuous cropping

Answer 24

practice where stubble left after harvest is not removed, the stubble aids in controlling weeds and reducing soil erosion

Question 25

What is an important secondary sector industry in the Prairies?

Answer 25

livestock processing
- main export market is US

Question 26

The oil that Canada exports, how much goes to the US?

Answer 26

98%

Question 27

Where is teh major oil production center

Answer 27

Fort Mcmurray

Question 28

The sedimentary rock underlying the western Prairies contains deposits of waht?

Answer 28

fossil fuels

Question 29

Vast amts of oil mixed w/ sand is called —–

Answer 29

Bitumen

Question 30

How is bitumen transported?

Answer 30

mixed w/ hot water to processing plants where large hydrocarbon molecules are broken into smaller ones
- sent to refineries through pipelines, and processed into gasoline, diesel, and propane

Question 31

What environmental issues does the oil industry face

Answer 31

-unsure what to do with vast quantity of waste products
- water that is used to separate oil from sand becomes toxic, cant be released into local rivers/lakes

Question 32

where is teh toxic water stored

Answer 32

in vast tailing pond
- leakage from these ponds can affect groundwater or nearby surface water

Question 33

what projects are underway to deal with the toxic water

Answer 33

bury the sludge in deep pits + cover w/ layers of soil

Question 34

Where is most of the lumber production in Prairies

Answer 34

Alberta

Question 35

Where is the paper and pulp mills?

Answer 35

Manitoba, small resource towns

Question 36

Aurora Borealis

Answer 36

Northern lights

Question 37

How is there flooding in Red River

Answer 37

red river flow south to north through flat land w/ impermeable chernozemic soil
- in spring, melting snowpack at head of river in south adds to discharge, ice at mouth in north creates damming effect