After Russia, Canada is the second-largest country in the world in area. Covering nearly 4 million square miles (10 million square kilometers), Canada spans six time zones and borders three oceans. Despite this huge area, however, most of Canada's people live in a narrow strip of land along the country's long southern border with the United States. Parts of northern Canada still have not been explored. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. GeographyCanada is the northernmost country in North America. It is bounded on the south by the United States, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Arctic Ocean, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. state of Alaska. Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. Natural regionsCanada has several natural regions. The largest by far is the Canadian Shield. Centered on Hudson Bay, it extends over eastern, central, and northwestern Canada. In all, the shield covers about half of the country's territory. It is a rocky, mostly flat region with many lakes and mineral deposits. The Canadian Shield is surrounded by lowland regions. The largest of these is the plains region to the west. From north to south, the plains stretch from the Arctic Ocean to the United States border. This region consists of rolling hills and vast fields of grain. South and southeast of the shield are the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence lowlands. Bounded by Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario, this region extends along the Saint Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. This is a rich farming area and the most heavily populated part of the country. - Lake Louise, in the Canadian Rockies, is a popular tourist destination.
Most of the rest of Canada is made up of highlands. West of the plains is the Cordillera, or Canadian Rocky Mountains. Along the Pacific are the Coast Mountains. The northern part of this mountain belt contains Canada's highest peak, Mount Logan, rising to 19,524 feet (5,951 meters). The easternmost part of the country is a northern extension of the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. The Arctic islands north of the Canadian mainland include the Innuitian Mountains. This region is largely unexplored because of the hostile climate. Lakes and riversSeveral rivers in Canada rank among the world's largest. The longest of them is the Mackenzie, which flows for 2,635 miles (4,241 kilometers). Canada shares four of the Great Lakes with the United States—Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories is the largest lake located completely within Canada. ClimateBecause of its size, Canada has great variety in its climate. The most common weather feature between regions is very cold and long winters. Winter and summer temperatures are most moderate along the Pacific coast. In the Arctic islands, periods of daylight and darkness last six months and summers are brief and cool. Plants and animalsPlant life in Canada varies with land type and climate. By far the most common form is evergreen forest. The northern forest stretches from the border with Alaska to the Atlantic coast. It is one of the largest evergreen forests in the world. To the south the evergreens are mixed with trees such as sugar maple, red maple, beech, red oak, and white ash. In the far north is land known as tundra, where it is too cold for trees of any kind to survive. The plant life in this region includes mosses, lichens, and low shrubs. Canada has a great variety of wild animals. The northern forest is home to nearly all the animals and birds that are considered distinctively Canadian. Among them are the moose, beaver, Canada lynx, black bear, wolf, snowshoe hare, raven, and crow. Seals, polar bears, caribou, white foxes, and snowy owls live in the tundra. The animals of the plains grasslands include mule deer and pronghorn antelope. Fish are plentiful in Canada's waters. People and cultureWhen Europeans began exploring what is now Canada, many American Indian peoples lived in the south and the Inuit (Eskimo) lived in the north. Together the Indians and the Inuit numbered only about 200,000. Today the population of native peoples in Canada is much higher, partly because of improved medical care. In addition to the Indians and the Inuit, the native population includes Métis, or people of mixed Indian and European ancestry. The first people to establish permanent settlements in what is now Canada were the French. They began settling the eastern part of the territory in the early 17th century. Soon the English began moving into the area. After a century of rivalry, the English drove the French out of North America in 1763. In the following decades many people from the British Isles began to arrive in Canada. The largest ethnic groups in Canada today are people of French and British descent. Both French and English are official languages. In the 20th century many people came to Canada from other European countries and from many other parts of the world. Germans, Italians, Ukrainians, Chinese, and Dutch make up significant minorities. In recent decades the country has received many immigrants from South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The Canadian government has passed laws to encourage the country's ethnic communities to keep alive their culture. Many adults and children, for example, learn the language and customs of their cultural homeland in school or community programs. Most Canadians are Christian. Roman Catholics form the largest religious group, followed by various Protestant churches. The next largest group of Canadians follows no religion at all. The country has small groups of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and people of other faiths. The majority of Canadians live in cities and towns in the south. The two largest cities—Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec—are in the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence region. Toronto is Canada's financial and commercial center. Montreal, a major seaport, is often said to be the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after Paris). Canada's third-largest city, Vancouver, British Columbia, is just north of the Canada–United States border. It is the focus of the economic and cultural life of western Canada. EconomyThe economy of Canada once depended heavily on developing the country's natural resources. Today, however, it is based mainly on services and manufacturing. More Canadian workers are employed in services than in any other section of the economy. Among the many large service industries are finance, real estate, insurance, health care, education, and tourism. The most valuable manufactured goods include automobiles and other transportation equipment, electrical and electronic products, processed foods, chemicals, and metal products. Canada's vast forests support large wood and paper industries. Agriculture accounts for only a small percentage of Canada's national income and employment. Nevertheless, the country is one of the leading food producers in the world. Canada is known especially for its grains and oilseeds. Wheat is the main export crop. Cattle and pigs are the most important livestock. Dairy farms are located around all the major cities. Fish are caught both in Canada's rivers and lakes and in the ocean. The main catches include salmon, herring, and cod. Canada is also one of the world's leading mineral producers. Minerals and mineral products are among the country's major exports. Petroleum and natural gas account for more than half of the dollar value of mineral production in Canada. Other valuable minerals include gold, copper, zinc, nickel, iron ore, potash, and cement. HistoryNative Americans have lived in Canada for many thousands of years. The first European voyagers to reach the area were the Vikings, who came from Northern Europe. They established settlements in what is now Newfoundland in about 1000 AD. The Vikings did not stay in Canada, however. Rediscovery and explorationIn 1497 an Italian named John Cabot sailed west from England hoping to find a new trade route to Asia. Instead he found his way to eastern Canada. His voyage led to a wave of fishing expeditions to the new land. They involved the English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. In 1534 the French explorer Jacques Cartier entered the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. He claimed the area for his country. New FranceIn 1605 French settlers led by the explorer Samuel de Champlain established a settlement at Port Royal, in present-day Nova Scotia. By 1608 Champlain had reached Quebec. There he founded France's first permanent Canadian colony. In the following decades new settlements were established in New France, as the French called the region. The goal of the French colonists was control of the fur trade. New France grew very slowly, however, until the French king took control of the colonies in the 1660s. Around this time England's interest in the region began to grow. In 1670 the English founded Hudson's Bay Company, which built trading posts in the region surrounding the bay. Over the next century England and France competed for control of the land. They fought a series of wars, the last of which was the French and Indian War. The British defeated the French in this conflict in 1763 and claimed Canada as part of the British Empire. They made New France into the colony of Quebec. British North AmericaAfter the British were defeated in the American Revolution (1775–81), many people who had supported the British during the war fled to Quebec. The growing population of the colony led the British to divide it into Upper and Lower Canada in 1791. The British reunited the two provinces in 1841. In the mid-1800s the people of Canada began to call for a union of Britain's North American colonies. In 1867 the British Parliament passed the British North America Act. This act created the Dominion of Canada, which united the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada (now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario). The act, with some amendments, served as the constitution of Canada for more than a century. It was proclaimed on July 1, now celebrated as Canada Day. Westward expansionThe population of Canada increased quickly during the 19th century. About 800,000 immigrants came to Canada between 1815 and 1850 alone. As they gradually began to move westward to the Pacific coast, the Canadian government worked out a series of treaties with Indians so settlers could occupy their lands. The Indians moved to reserves, but the government often did not live up to its agreements. This period was also marked by conflict between Canada's British and French communities. In 1896 gold nuggets were found on the Klondike River in the far western Yukon Territory. When the news spread, the gold rush of 1897 began. The search for gold led to the discovery of many other minerals. By the 1930s Canada had become a major mining country. It had also expanded to almost its present borders. The provinces of Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia were admitted to the dominion by the 1930s. The final province, Newfoundland, joined the country in 1949. Steps toward independenceCanada rallied to Britain's side during World War I (1914–18). More than 600,000 Canadians fought with the Allies, and more than 60,000 died. Canada's role in the war helped increase its reputation with the rest of the world. Canada sent its own representatives to the 1919 peace conference and joined the League of Nations. After World War I Canada became increasingly independent of British control. In 1931 Britain officially granted self-government to Canada. Canada kept ties to Britain, however. In September 1939, for example, the Canadian legislature voted for Canada to enter World War II alongside Britain. In 1982 the British Parliament replaced the British North America Act with a new Canadian constitution. The act gave Canada total control over its constitution and cut the legal ties between Canada and Britain. Canada was finally a fully independent nation. Quebec separatism and native peoples issuesBeginning in the 1960s many French Canadians in Quebec called for separation from Canada. They wanted to create a French-speaking nation. In 1995 the people of Quebec narrowly voted against separating from Canada. The issue remained unresolved into the 21st century, however. In the 1990s Canada's native peoples called on the federal government to make up for its past mistreatment of them. One response to these demands was the creation of Nunavut, a self-governing homeland for the Inuit. The new territory, formed from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories, came into being in 1999. Population (2000 estimate), 30,770,000. |