Canada

Location, relief, lakes and rivers:

Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world after Russia which is the biggest country as surface. Surrounded on three sides by water (the three oceans), it has as neighbor the United States of America in west (Alaska) and south.

The relief is very complex and varied from low plains to mountain chains as Rocky Mountains in the west and from territories covered with glaciers to tundra and fertile prairies. Baffin Island is the 5th largest island in the world, because Canada has many islands in the waters that surround it.

Canada is also known as the country with the biggest number of lakes, with over 30 big lakes with more than 1300 km². The two most important rivers of the country are Mackenzie River with its 1733 km and Laurence River which makes the connection between the Biggest Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. People say that Canada has over 25% of the fresh water resources from the planet and the forest activity is the main one here because the country has 35% of the territory with pine, cedar, maple and spruce forests.

Climate, population and cities from Canada:

Because of the harsh Canadian climate in the northern territories, these regions have a low population and this makes the population density to be very low, under 4 people per km². The majority of the population is in the southern part of the country close to the border with U.S.A. where the climate is mild. The largest cities are Toronto with its 5.583.000 inhabitants, Montreal with its 3.824.000 inhabitants and Vancouver with its 2.313.000 inhabitants.

The capital is Ottawa but is only the fourth city in Canada with 1.200.000 inhabitants. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com) Nowadays, over two thirds from the population is European in origins from people who speak English and French. The main resources of the country besides the forests are minerals and wide fertile plains.

Regions of Canada and more about Canadian relief:

Canada is has many regions like Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Labrador and Nova Scotland which are provinces in the oriental part of Canada, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia in the occidental part of Canada and the northern territories like Yukon, Nunavut and the North-Western territories in the north part of Canada.

The Canadian relief was formed under the glaciers activity due to the glacier eras because millions of years ago the actual territory was covered fully with a thick layer of ice. Niagara Falls and also the beautiful and interesting hills from the east in Nova Scotland and Prince Edward Island were all formed during the glacier activity.

The relief is formed from a Canadian Shield starting from the Gulf of Hudson in north to the Lake Superior in south and also from low and fertile plains. After the boulder period, the thin layer of fertile soil was almost all covered with a boreal forest with evergreen trees. The provinces from the Atlantic coast have a relief based on the Appalachian Mountains which have the aspect of low hills and fertile valleys. The forests cover the largest part of the territories composed of leaf wood like maple or birch but also of evergreen trees like the white pine.

Bow Lake, Rocky Mountains, Canada

Agriculture, fishing and industry:

The agriculture is the main activity in the Oriental Canada but at the Atlantic Ocean fishing has priority. People here are taking care of the domestic animals and cultivate different fruits and vegetables like raspberry and cranberry, pea, bean and potatoes. Unfortunately fishing in excess resulted in the decreased number of Canada‘s fish reserves. Nova Scotland was the place of the first permanent inhabited European city, founded in 1605 by the French people who arrived here.

Approximately 70% of the total number of industrial goods of this huge country are from the southern part of it in Ontario and Quebec. The industrial heart of Canada is The Gold Horseshoe around Ontario lake. Here are huge steel works, automobile factories but also many other types of factories. The goods will go on the Laurence river to the Atlantic Ocean and then to other continents and countries. The presence of the Ontario and Erie lakes in the area determined the climate to be milder and to increase the number of sunny days. In the area are also orchards with peach and pear trees.

Politics and resources:

Canada obtained the independence in 1931. The parliament is separated in the Senate Room and the Lower Chamber. The francophone part of Canada is concentrated in Quebec. Here over 90% of the population it has the main language French. Montreal is the 2nd city in Canada as population and an important francophone center. It’s important to know that Quebec province produces the largest quantity of electric power of Canada. In the central and western parts of Canada is the Prairies Platform.

This is rich in fertile plains for agriculture and large reserves of fossil combustible. People know Manitoba province as The Land of the 100.000 lakes. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com) Rocky Mountains cover a large part of the British Columbia and is the only Canadian province which has access to the Pacific Ocean. The regions mostly covered with forests make this part of Canada to concentrate on the woodland activity. The Coast Mountains are situated at the contact with the Pacific Ocean and here the glaciers created numerous fjords and islands.

Fauna, population and activities in British Columbia and northern part of Canada:

The fauna is very rich in grizzly bears, black bears, elks and many species of water birds. Over 60% of British Columbia’s population lives in the two main cities Vancouver and Victoria. They have the main activities woodworking, mining and tourism. The majority of the population is British in origins. But here coexists the largest Chinese community in North America after that one from San Francisco. The weather is very mild in summer, which is the reversed of the situation in winter when the weather is very harsh with temperatures under -20º C.

In the central part of the country, the rainfall is very low between 400 and 450 mm per year. But close to the ocean it increases between 1300 and 3800 mm annually. The Northern part of Canada (Yukon and Nunavut) and the North-Western territories is an area with a low population. Most of the regions are uninhabited. The inhabitants are mostly Amerindians and Eskimo people. The main activities are hunting, fishing, mining and forestry. Visit Canada!

Montreal City