Background information. . . because which tourist doesn't want to know more about their travel destination?
Here, you will learn all about the rocks, soils, and landforms of the Montane Cordillera.
Here, you will learn all about the rocks, soils, and landforms of the Montane Cordillera.
The mountains of this ecozone are mostly made up of sedimentary rock that are younger than other mountains of British Columbia. In fact, mountains can be approximately 100 million years old. For example, the Rocky Mountains began forming in the late Mesozoic era and finished in the Cenozoic era. The Fraser Plateau and Thompson-Okanagan Plateau (northwest and southwest of the region, respectively) basically make up the west of the region. They are flat, rolling landscapes that contain basaltic bedrock that were produced by volcanic activity 60 million years ago.
Also, there are extraordinary and abnormally-shaped rock formations called "hoodoos". These tall structures are made up of soft rock with harder rock on top of it (often basalt and sedimentary rock). This means that the lower parts of the formation erode faster than the higher parts. This results in the unusual bump or oval-ish shape on top of a column of rock. Hoodoos can be found in the eastern part of the ecozone (southwest Alberta), specifically in the badlands.
In short, the Montane Cordillera is mainly made up of basaltic bedrock (plateaus) and young sedimentary rocks (mountains).
The soils of the Montane Cordillera vary with the difference in elevation, climate, and landform; but this ecozone is within the Complex Mountain soil region. For example, the mountains contain mountain soils, like frozen soil (some permafrost) on their tops, while the interior plateau contains drier soils. Since the Rocky Mountains are young, their soils do not have enough nutrients for lots of plants to grow. Acidic soils can be found in warm mountainous areas due to the pine needles and leaves dropping to the ground from coniferous trees and evergreen trees. To the north of the inland plains, there are richer soils that are suitable for agriculture due to the large amount of humus, moist not-leached soil, and climate. The southwest portion of this ecozone is dry and contains not very fertile soil. This is due to the process of calcification, the water moves in an upward motion within the soil and leaves behind a layer of minerals in the topsoil, after it evaporates (mostly calcium).
There are several main landforms of the Montane Cordillera, and they are: mountains, a plateau, valleys, rivers, wetlands, and rock outcroppings. The landform region that is within this ecozone is the Western Cordillera.
The mountains are very well-known in this ecozone: Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains; the two mountain ranges in this ecozone. You can find the Coast Mountains along the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies are stretched along the lower west border of Alberta. These mountains were formed after the Pacific plate subducted under the North American plate. Furthermore, areas near the mountains contain rocky outcroppings and rocky debris that fall from the towering structures.
The Interior Plateau can be found west of the two mountains ranges (the west portion of the Montane Cordillera, a huge fraction of the ecozone). This plateau contains the smaller landforms which are the rivers and wetlands. The Columbia river headwaters and the Fraser are the two major river systems. Wetlands and small lakes are found throughout the ecozone. The wetlands of Okanagan Valley have less than 15% of their original size remaining due to human development.
Valleys can be found both in the Interior Plateau and the mountains. For example, Creston Valley (Kootenay) is in the Canadian Rockies and Okanagan Valley is in the Interior Plateau.
The mountains are very well-known in this ecozone: Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains; the two mountain ranges in this ecozone. You can find the Coast Mountains along the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies are stretched along the lower west border of Alberta. These mountains were formed after the Pacific plate subducted under the North American plate. Furthermore, areas near the mountains contain rocky outcroppings and rocky debris that fall from the towering structures.
The Interior Plateau can be found west of the two mountains ranges (the west portion of the Montane Cordillera, a huge fraction of the ecozone). This plateau contains the smaller landforms which are the rivers and wetlands. The Columbia river headwaters and the Fraser are the two major river systems. Wetlands and small lakes are found throughout the ecozone. The wetlands of Okanagan Valley have less than 15% of their original size remaining due to human development.
Valleys can be found both in the Interior Plateau and the mountains. For example, Creston Valley (Kootenay) is in the Canadian Rockies and Okanagan Valley is in the Interior Plateau.
Congratulations, you are now well on your way to becoming an expert of the Montane Cordillera! Looks like you won't be sounding like a fool when others ask you about the rocks, soils, and landforms of this ecozone!