How the land shapes our lives
Why are some places crowded with people while others are almost empty? Why do people farm in some areas and mine in others? The answers often depend on four things: landforms, climate, natural resources and settlement. They are all connected.
Landforms
A landform is a natural feature of the Earth’s surface.
| Landform | How it affects people |
|---|---|
| Plains | flat land is easy to farm and build on, so many people live there |
| Mountains | steep land is hard to farm and build on; good for mining, forestry and tourism |
| Valleys | often have rivers, fertile soil and shelter, so good places for towns |
| Coasts | good for fishing, trade by ship and tourism |
| Plateaus | high, flat land, often used for grazing animals |
| Islands | communities rely on boats, fishing and trade |
Climate and weather
Weather is what the air is like today: sunny, rainy or windy. Climate is the usual weather of a place over many years.
What affects climate?
- Distance from the equator: places near the equator are hot; places near the poles are cold.
- Height: the higher you go, the colder it gets. Mountain tops can have snow even in summer.
- Distance from water: oceans keep coastal places milder. Inland places have hotter summers and colder winters.
- Wind and ocean currents: these carry warm or cold air and water.
Climate affects what crops grow, what clothes people wear, what homes they build and even what sports they play.
Natural resources
A natural resource is something from nature that people use.
| Type | Examples | Can it be replaced? |
|---|---|---|
| Renewable resource | trees, water, fish, soil, sunlight, wind | yes, naturally, if used carefully |
| Non-renewable resource | oil, natural gas, coal, minerals such as gold and iron | no, once used up, it’s gone |
Even renewable resources can run out if people use them too fast. In the early 1990s, Canada’s Atlantic cod fishery collapsed after years of overfishing, and a fishing ban was put in place in 1992.
Settlement
A settlement is a place where people live, from a tiny village to a huge city. People have always chosen places to settle based on what the land offered.
Good places to settle usually have:
- fresh water for drinking, farming and transportation
- fertile soil for growing food
- a mild climate
- flat land for building
- natural resources for jobs and trade
- transportation routes such as rivers, coasts, railways and highways
Examples
- Montréal grew on an island in the St. Lawrence River, where ships could travel inland.
- The Prairies were settled by farmers drawn to rich soil, using railways to ship grain.
- Sudbury, Ontario grew around nickel and copper mines in the Canadian Shield.
- Chicago grew where the Great Lakes connect to rivers leading to the Mississippi.
- Las Vegas grew in a desert after dams and water projects made it possible.
Why some areas have few people
Very cold, very dry, very mountainous or swampy areas, like the Arctic or deserts, usually have small populations. Most Canadians live within a few hundred kilometres of the U.S. border, where the climate is milder and farmland is better.
Putting it all together
Landforms, climate and resources work together. For example:
The Prairies are flat (landform), have hot summers and fertile soil (climate and resource), so people farm wheat and canola and live in farm towns and cities along railways (settlement).
Try it yourself
- Choose a city near you. Why do you think people settled there? List at least three reasons.
- Sort these into renewable and non-renewable: oil, trees, wind, gold, fish, coal.
- Design an imaginary country with a map showing landforms, climate zones, resources and where people would settle.
- Compare the climate of your town with a place on the other side of the world.
Quick recap
- Landforms, climate and resources affect where and how people live.
- Climate is the usual weather over many years.
- Renewable resources can be replaced; non-renewable ones cannot.
- People settle near water, fertile soil, flat land, resources and transportation.
- Harsh environments usually have fewer people.