Macro landforms of British Columbia, Canada (Version 1.0)

Suggested citation:. Kehm, G.. 2023. Macro Landforms of British Columbia, Canada (Version 1.0). Place of publication: GKA Geographic Solutions Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15685110 Summary: Macro landforms characterize a land surface in an ecologically meaningful way, capturing interacting relationships between land position, solar radiation and moisture. They are not defined in a geomorphological or process sense, as are terms such as cirque, drumlin, esker, floodplain, terrace, cone, or fan. The use of such geomorphological terms requires interpretation by a terrain specialist or geomorphologist with an understanding of modes of deposition (or erosion). Macro landforms defined for use in enduring features models are described consistently, with quantifiable criteria that allow their derivation from a terrain surface Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The DEM is a raster matrix of 100-meter by 100-meter cells and is approximately equivalent to the 1:250,000 planimetric map scale. Visual interpretations and spatial analyses can be interpreted within this approximate scale. Inputs to the macro landform model include several DEM-derived indices, such as the land position index, slope classes, aspect, moisture index, and publicly available thematic data layers (i.e., glaciers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers and streams). Note: a solar direct radiation index is a good replacement for aspect classes as it captures a finer grain of heat load on the landscape and across its topographic changes. It was not included in this version of the macro land form provincial data set, although I have integrated it into several subregional area analyses. This data set is an outgrowth of analytical work completed for the Muskwa-Kechika Management Board in 2012 (https://y2y.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/MK_Summary_2pg_web.pdf). Algorithm parameters and general assumptions from this work were tested at a provincial scale, and while the results are useful because land forms are fractal, the specific ecological thresholds developed for the Muskwa-Kechika are generally not relevant at such a divergent geographic scale.