Population distribution – the pattern of where people live in a region, or across the country. There are 2 main patterns, dispersed and concentrated
Two main catgories of settlement in Canada. Rural ,and Urban
Rural – outside of cities and towns, low population density, dispersed settlement pattern
Three factors affect pattern of rural settlement
1. the kind of resource that attract people to the area e.g. agriculture, forestry
2. What transportation methods available at time of settlement e.g. before 1800, all settlements near water, after that there was settlement by road, and rail
3. Role of government policy e.g. patterns and location of roads,towns, schools, size, and shape of farms. These rules where controlled by a survey system
Three main survey systems in Canada are the concession system of Southern Ontario, the section system of the Southern Prairies, and, the long lots of Southern Quebec
In the long lot system, farms were very close to each other. In the prairies, farms were very large, and very far apart. Families were isolated from each other. Farms in Ontario were between the two extremes
Settlements were both resource based (agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining), and service based (scattered along major highways)
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