 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ] Next Last |
Main article: Geography of Canada
Canada occupies more or less the northern half of the North American continent. It is bordered by the United States to the south and to the northwest (where it borders Alaska). The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Canada also reaches the Arctic Ocean in the north where Canada's territorial claim extends to the North Pole.
Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area after Russia. However, it has an extremely low population density of 3 people per square kilometre as there are roughly 32 million Canadians, of whom 80% live within 200 kilometres of the American border. While Canada covers a larger geographic area than the neighbouring United States, it has only one-ninth of the population. As mentioned, Canada's vast and rich territory has led to a historical economic dependence on its natural resources.
The most fertile and heaviest-populated part of the country, the Great Lakes- Saint Lawrence River Valley in the east, was the first to be settled by Europeans. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and gouged with lakes and rivers - over 60% of the world's lakes are located in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay.
The Canadian Shield extends to the Atlantic Coast in Labrador, the mainland part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The island of Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost region, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, sandwiched between the Gulf to the north and the Atlantic to the south. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, an arm of the Atlantic that experiences the world's highest tides.
To the west of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread towards the Rocky Mountains, which divide the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Southern British Columbia enjoys a very temperate climate with much milder winters than the rest of the country.
Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the largest islands on Earth.
Canada has a reputation for cold temperatures. Indeed, the winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, with risks of blizzards and ice storms and temperatures reaching lows of -30°C to -40°C. (Southwestern BC is a well-known exception.) However, summers range from mild to quite hot, attaining highs of over 30°C in Montreal and 15°C even in Iqaluit, Nunavut. [2] The country experiences four distinct seasons.
The name Canada originated from a Huron- Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning "village" or "settlement" or "collection of huts" [3], referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day Quebec City. Maps made by early European explorers show that the name River Canada was given to the Ottawa River, and the Saint Lawrence River below Montreal. A plausible hypothesis is that the river was named for the village on its banks, and the surrounding country for the river used to explore it.
In 1867 through confederation, the British North America Act created "one Dominion under the Name of Canada." The term " Dominion" was chosen (rather than " Kingdom") to avoid the possible antagonizing of anti-monarchist sentiment in the United States and to reflect Canada's status as a self-governing colony of the British Empire. Notwithstanding historical precedents for the term "dominion", the country's name and motto are often linked to Ps 72:8 and Zech 9:10 - "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."
Until the 1960s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country, after which time the Dominion Government began simply to use the name "Canada" on all official state documents and treaties. This was to recognize Canadian autonomy from the UK, though some critics insisted that the country's proper name should continue to be regarded as "the Dominion of Canada," even if it remained largely unused. The Canada Act 1982 refers merely to "Canada" and the single name is the current official shortform and longform (as well as bilingual) name in use. Later in 1982, this was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|