The Northern Interior Lowlands eastern edge is marked by the some of the continent's largest(1) lakes: Athabasca, in northeast Alberta; and Winnipeg in southern Manitoba. One of North America's longest(2) river systems is partly in the area: the Saskatchewan which empties into Lake Winnipeg.
The Canadian Shield begins in the eastern part of this area and lies just east and north of the interior plains and north of the Great Lakes. Its most notable hydrologic features are the lakes that mark its boundary with the interior plains, and the Nelson River that drains one of them.
These parts of Alaska and Canada are in the part of North America in which English-speakers and Christians are the majority.
The region's largest city is Edmonton, with a metropolitan population of 1.1 million and a city proper population of just under a million.
The Athapascan languages have more speakers--though still relatively few. Chepewyan is spoken by five and a half thousand; and Slave--pronounced like Slavey--by about 2000, most north of this area.
The Algonquian languages occupied much of Canada--south of the Athabascans and Inuit and east of the Rocky Mountains(3) Today's speakers--in all provinces--include about 70,000 Cree; 80,00 Ojibwa; and 9,000 Blackfoot. Disease much reduced their original numbers: smallpox in the 18th century and tuberculosis in the late 19th.
The French were the first Europeans to arrive here, reaching Lake Winnepeg. Later the English arrived, moving west across Canada after the United Kingdom had defeated France.
west and north
north of Manitoba
northeast of Manitoba
east of Manitoba
south from the east
south from the west
(1) North American rankings: Winnipeg, 7; and Athabasca, 10.
(2) The Nelson-Saskatchewan is the continent's seventh longest.
(3) Much of the Great Plains were depopulated in the 13th century. Algonquians, among others, moved in in the 14th century from the northeast and east.