Landforms and Geology

The Taiga Shield is part of the Canadian Shield. The Ecoregion reaches maximum elevations of over 500 m in the northwest, goes down to elevations of less than 200 m in the Thelon Valley. On the region north of Great Slave Lake, it has the oldest rock on the planet. The land is flat and filled with rolling hills. Most the flat lands are usually waterlogged. Wetlands cover about less than five percent of the Ecoregion, but the numerous lakes occupy about a quarter of the total area.

  

1. Sedimentary rock
2. Whaleback
3. Glacial erratic
4. Frost cracking
5. Volcanic rock
6. Quartz vein displaced by minor fault
7. Glacial groove
8. Glacial striations
9. Chattermarks
10. Granitic rock
11. Volcanic pillows
12. Granodiorite dyke