What is the Canadian shield???

Major hard-rock geologic formation that includes much of the northeastern part of North America.

it is a large part of Canada that is hard rock

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_sh...

"Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield is Canada's largest physiographic area as it can be found in at least six provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec plus Newfoundland and Labrador) and two territories (Northwest and Nunavut). It covers about two-thirds of Ontario and contains Precambrian rocks that are more than 570 million years old. The rocks are exposed or are covered by soils, peat, sand, gravel, clay and debris from the glacial activity in the past.

Glacial features found in the Shield include outwash, eskers, moraine, kames, whalebacks and drumlins. Glacial activity helped to form the basins and paths for the many pictureque lakes, rivers and streams on the Shield that vacationers are attracted to. The cottages, resorts and waterways have inspired writers and painters to produce some very creative works to assist with the tourism industry.

In Ontario the area within the Canadian Shield also provides vast forest regions for the lumber industry and historically it has also provided areas that are ideal for trapping and hunting to the benefit of the fur trade in Ontario.

Today it also provides the mining industry with resources for amethyst, cobalt, copper, gold, iron, nickel, platinum, silver, zinc and many other minerals.

The photo (visit the website) shows Gaspar Island about 25 kilometres northeast of Parry Sound and part of the Canadian Shield. The general south-southwestward orientation of the scars on the gneiss rocks is parallel to the dominant direction of the ice flow in the area. The large streamlined bedrock ridge in the upper left corner of the photo, a whaleback, is the product of both glacial advancement and the drainage of glacial retreat. The trees in the background are Eastern White Pines the official tree of Ontario.

In Ontario the Canadian Shield extends from the Manitoba border in a wide swath through the province to the Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River just east of Kingston, then north to just west of Ottawa and on to Quebec."