Alberta's Canadian Shield Natural Region

Updated December 15, 2006

Below is information on the key characteristics of the Canadian Shield Natural Region/Kazan Upland Natural Subregion.

Theme: 

Sparsely vegetated granite bedrock exposures and coarse glacial deposits, hundreds of small lakes, short, warm summers and very cold winters are unique features of the Kazan Upland Natural Subregion in the far northeast, the only area in Alberta on the Canadian Shield.

 

Key Features:

  • Total area: 9719 km2 (1.5% of province).
  • Average elevation: 275 m (range 150-400 m).

 

General Description:

The Canadian Shield Natural Region has only one Natural Subregion, the Kazan Upland. The following discussion of the Kazan Upland Natural Subregion applies to the Canadian Shield Natural Region as well.The Upland Natural Subregion occurs in the far northeastern corner of Alberta. The main area lies north of Lake Athabasca. It is bordered on the east and north by the Alberta–Saskatchewan and Alberta–Northwest Territories boundaries, respectively, on the west by the Slave River, and on the south by Lake Athabasca. There is a small outlier east of the Athabasca River between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan embedded within the Athabasca Plain Natural Subregion. Elevations range from about 150 m to over 400 m. Extensive outcrops of Precambrian bedrock, the westernmost edge of the Canadian Shield, define the limits of the Kazan Upland Natural Subregion; on average, 60 percent of the landscape is exposed bedrock. Topography is hummocky to rolling, with local relief of up to 50 m. Parent materials are icescoured bedrock and coarse textured glacialdrift. Bedrock barrens are interspersed with “pocket” communities vegetated by lichens, mosses and drought-tolerant ferns.

Open jack pine, aspen and birch stands occur where the soil is sufficiently deep. Acidic bogs and poor fens occur adjacent to the many small lakes and in low spots on the more subdued terrain in the western part of the Natural Subregion. The conventional reference site concept of deep, medium textured, well drained soils and associated vegetation does not adequately fit most of the Kazan Upland Natural Subregion. Characteristic sites are rocky exposures or dry, rapidly drained coarse glacial deposits.


The new Natural Regions and Subregions of Alberta Report (5.2 MB) is now available.

View the Errata Report(23 KB) for the printed and digital versions of the above report, prior to May 15 2006.