Physical Geography
Natural Landscape
Winnipeg, Manitoba is located in the Interior Plains. The Red River, measuring 885 kilometers long runs through most of Winnipeg, which is useful for the city, but has also caused many problems like flooding and marshes. Since Winnipeg is located in the Prairies,and is relatively flat, but with the river, it has problems draining and causes marshes and ponds. Winnipeg is considered the Railway hub of Canada with its railway connections with the Canadian Pacific Railroad which goes across the country. With the railroad, it has helped the city grow into the largest city in Manitoba, and has helped it live up to its title as the capitol city of Manitoba. Winnipeg has rich soils because of its rivers, but downtown Winnipeg is mostly consisted of concrete buildings, concrete roads, and skyscrapers.
Climate
Winnipeg is a city with very diverse weather. The temperature range is 37.3°C, which is high for classic continental. Temperatures have reached 42.2 °C in July of 1936, and have dropped as low as −47.8 °C, in December of 1879. There as only been one Christmas day in the last century without snow on the ground. The growing season begins in mid-April and spans for 6 months, ending mid-October. Winnipeg is located in the prairies, which leaves them vulnerable to blizzards and harsh, cold weather. Winnipeg is also prone to a lot of flooding because of the flat ground and abundance in rivers. In the past, many devastating floods have happened including the Red River flood in 1826. The winter was unusually snowy and cold, so when the snow melted, the river’s water level begun to rise. Thankfully only one person drowned, but 75% of the population at the time had to evacuate and watch as their houses were engulfed with water. Flooding is common in Winnipeg, which is why the Red River Floodway was built; its motive was to reduce flooding. The Red River Floodway is a manmade flood control waterway first used in 1969. It was begun in October 1962, costing $63 million. Since its first use, it has saved over $10 billion in flood damages. This project was introduced after the flood in 1950, another devastating act of nature. 100,000 people were evacuated and around 10,000 houses, businesses, and buildings were destroyed. The Canadian Army was called in after the State of Emergency was declared to protect residents and their property. Three pros of climate change (the weather warming up) is that more tourists could come during the winter who aren’t used to the cold, the growing season could extend, and more animals can survive the harsh winters. Three cons of global warming is that the extreme weather in the summer will get even hotter, the electricity usage will go up with the use of air conditioning, and there will be increased deaths from heat waves. The information about the weather was from weather station Winnipeg Richardson Int’l A, with longitude 49°55 N, and latitude 97°14 W, and an elevation of 238.7m.