The Western Cordillera
The Western Cordillera is located on the west coast of Canada, and is present in the Yukon Territories, British Columbia, and western Alberta. This landform region of Canada was formed roughly 80 million years ago in the Mesozoic Era by the encounter of the North American Plate and the heavier Pacific plate. These two tectonic plates collided and the heavier plate was forced and it folded under the North American Plate, where the less dense plate was lifted upwards. The Western Cordillera consists of Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary rock and is attached to the Pacific Ocean. This region is home to many other waterways, such as the Mckenzie River and Fraser River. The vegetation in the Cordilleran region differs a lot from one side of the mountain to the other. Many evergreen trees such as Red Cedar, and Hemlock grow on the more moist areas of the mountains. However, in the southern part of this region, evergreens do not grow because of it’s lack of precipitation. The Western Cordillera has all different types of soil, due to the changing climate. Most of the soil in this region is very rich and fertile and greatly contributes to the amounts and types of vegetation. Two major cities within this landform region include Vancouver and Whistler. Mining and tourism are two of the main economic activities that take place in this region as the region is rich in minerals and has breathtaking scenery. Mining has resulted in a wide variety of mineral resources and has contributed extensively to the province's growth and development. The amazing scenery in the Western Cordillera produces lots of tourism, and is now extremely popular for summer and winter vacations since there is a lot of things to do/see. The Western Cordillera is rich in timber, and clear cutting is now a major environmental issue in this region. This causes habitat for wildlife and leads to unthinkable destruction to ecosystems, which are being destroyed. This creates a lot of profit, when the timber is sold, yet the environment suffers immensely.