Manitoba

I

Introduction

Manitoba, province in south central Canada. Manitoba is the easternmost of Canada’s three Prairie provinces, the others being Alberta and Saskatchewan. Manitoba lies in the geographic center of Canada. It has been known as the Keystone Province ever since Canada’s governor-general Lord Dufferin described it in 1877 as “the keystone of that mighty arch of sister provinces which spans the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific.”

Much of the countryside in southern Manitoba is farmland and gives the impression of a vast plain with a perfectly level horizon as far as the eye can see. In the center of the province the flat farmland gives way to vast areas of forest interspersed with hundreds of lakes. In the extreme north the land is much the same as it was thousands of years ago and presents a bleak array of stunted trees, exposed rock, and swamps.

For centuries the fur trade was the dominant economic activity in the region known as Rupert’s Land—a vast area surrounding Hudson Bay that encompassed present-day Manitoba. Large numbers of settlers arrived in Manitoba during the 19th century and turned prairie grasslands into wheat farms. By the late 19th century, agriculture had surpassed the fur trade, and Winnipeg became an important terminus for the spreading railroads—the funnel through which the prairie harvest flowed eastward. In the 1940s and 1950s industry became the largest source of income in the province. Today, Manitoba still retains a strong agricultural sector, even as it has developed a diversified industrial base.

II

Physical Geography

Manitoba has an area of 647,797 sq km (250,116 sq mi), including 94,241 sq km (36,387 sq mi) of inland waters. Manitoba measures 1,220 km (760 mi) from north to south. Along the southern border the distance from east to west is 450 km (280 mi), although at its widest point Manitoba measures 790 km (490 mi).

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A

Natural Regions

More than half of Manitoba lies within the Canadian Shield, a rugged, rocky, glacier-scoured plateau that crosses the province from northwest to southeast. This varied terrain abounds with scenic landscapes. Short, turbulent rivers connect and drain the innumerable lakes, which stretch to Hudson Bay in the far north. Most of Manitoba’s mineral wealth is found within the shield, which is underlain by hard crystalline rocks that are among the oldest in the world. The shield is also Manitoba’s main source of pulpwood and hydroelectric power.

At the edge of the shield in northeastern Manitoba is a narrow zone that is part of the region called the Hudson Bay Lowlands. It is a low plain of sedimentary rock, yet its surface features differ little from those of the shield.

To the south are the Interior Plains of Manitoba, which cover about one-third of the province. The Interior Plains can be divided into two major subdivisions. The much larger subdivision is the First Prairie Level, or the Manitoba Lowland. Its elevation ranges from 180 to 270 m (600 to 900 ft). The Manitoba Lowland encompasses the Red River Valley and the area of three large lakes—Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba. During glacial times the Manitoba Lowland was the site of a vast lake, called Lake Agassiz. Surface features and soils of the lowland reflect the various levels attained by that ancient lake. Some areas, for example, have gravelly beach deposits or sandy delta materials or even old dune belts. Others have fine soils formed in the deeper lake basins.

The second subdivision of the Interior Plains forms the southwestern corner of Manitoba. Commonly called the Second Prairie Level, this plain generally rises above the level of the Manitoba Lowland and has an average elevation of about 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level. The eroded east-facing edge of the Second Prairie Level is called the Manitoba Escarpment. The escarpment, a steep cliff, is capped by material left by the glaciers and is breached at several points by broad river lowlands. It occurs as a series of hilly uplands identified from south to north as the Pembina Mountains, Riding Mountain, Duck Mountain, and the Porcupine Hills. The Duck Mountain area includes Baldy Mountain, the highest point in the province at 832 m (2,730 ft).

B

Rivers and Lakes

Manitoba is lower in elevation than areas to the east, west, and south, and serves as a drainage basin for several major rivers. These include the Saskatchewan River, which flows from the west and enters Lake Winnipeg via Cedar Lake; the Winnipeg River, a much shorter river that links Lake of the Woods in southwestern Ontario with Lake Winnipeg; and the Red River, which enters Manitoba from the south and is joined by the muddy Assiniboine at the city of Winnipeg. Below the city the Red River has been canalized to provide a navigation route to Lake Winnipeg. All these major rivers and many lesser ones converge on Lake Winnipeg, which in turn is drained through the Nelson River to Hudson Bay. South of the Nelson River is the Hayes River and its tributary system, and to the north is the Churchill River system, which also flows to Hudson Bay.

The largest and most important of Manitoba’s lakes is Lake Winnipeg, 428 km (266 mi) in length. Next in size are Lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba.

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