|
"Canada,
federated country in North America, is made up of ten provinces
and three territories. It is a vast nation with a wide variety
of geological formations, climates, and ecological systems. It
has rain forest, prairie grassland, deciduous forest, tundra,
and wetlands. Canada has more lakes and inland waters than any
other country." |
|
|
I went to Canada by car driving from
New York, in October 1991. I spent 4 days there, then returned
to New York. Here I am on the road going to Canada from New York.
 |
After
crossing the Canadian border, at the Office of Tourism.
 |
|
|
"Canada
is the second largest country in the world but has about the
same population as the state of California, which is one-25th
its size. This is because the north of Canada, with its harsh
Arctic and sub-Arctic climates, is sparsely inhabited. Most Canadians
live in the southern part of the country. More than three-quarters
of them live in metropolitan areas, the largest of which are
Toronto, in Ontario; Montréal, in Québec; Vancouver,
in British Columbia; Ottawa, in Ontario; Hull, in Québec;
and Edmonton, in Alberta.
The capital
of Canada is the city of Ottawa, located in the Ontario province.
French and English are the official languages of Canada.
Québec
is the largest province of Canada. It is located in the eastern
part of Canada and extends north from the United States border
to Hudson Strait and east from the shores of Hudson Bay to the
region of Labrador. Québec is nicknamed La Belle Province
(The Beautiful Province) because of the splendor and diversity
of its landscape and architecture. The site of the first permanent
French settlement in North America, Québec is unique among
the Canadian provinces in that the vast majority of its population
is of French descent and speaks French as a first language. |
|
|
Montréal
is a city in Île-de-Montréal County, in the southern
part of Québec province. It is the largest city and second
largest metropolitan area of Canada. Montréal is one of
Canada's leading commercial, industrial, and service centers.
It is also a center of Canadian intellectual and cultural life
and the chief cultural center of the French part of Canada. Most
of the residents are of French descent and speak the French language;
however, a significant minority speaks English, giving Montréal
a bilingual character. |
|
Founded
by the French in 1642, Montréal is one of the oldest cities
in North America. Its name comes from the old French form of
the name of the mountain, Mount Royal, that dominates the city." |
|
|
|
In front
of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel, where we stayed in Montreal. |
|
"Ontario,
is the southernmost province of Canada. It is the second largest
of Canada's ten provinces in area and the largest in terms of
population. Commonly called the Heartland Province, Ontario is
the center of Canada's industry, population, and agriculture.
Its farmers and producers have access to excellent transportation
facilities, especially the St. Lawrence Seaway, which connects
Lake Superior in the west to the Atlantic Ocean and is a vital
trade link. Toronto, on Lake Ontario, is the province's capital
and Canada's most populous city. The city of Ottawa, the capital
of Canada, is also situated in Ontario. |
|
|
Toronto,
capital city of the province of Ontario, is located on the northwestern
shore of Lake Ontario. Toronto has the largest metropolitan area
in Canada and is the financial center of the country. |
|
The
city is part of the Golden Horseshoe, a highly urbanized and
industrialized region extending around the west end of Lake Ontario.
In the 1990s Toronto was ranked among the top ten world cities,
both in livability and as a place to do business. |
|
|
|
Canada
is a parliamentary democracy, and the federal, provincial, and
territorial legislatures are all elected. Queen Elizabeth II
of the United Kingdom is recognized as the queen of Canada. She
is the official head of state. The queen is represented in Canada
by the governor-general and ten lieutenant governors. |
Canada’s
indigenous peoples (original inhabitants) are often called First
Nations or Indians. The name Canada comes from a word meaning
“village” or “community” in one of the indigenous
Iroquoian languages.
|
Canada
has an area of 9,984,670 sq km (3,855,103 sq mi), of which 7.6
percent or 755,180 sq km (291,577 sq mi) is covered by fresh
water such as rivers and lakes, including part of the Great Lakes.
It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the northeast
by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, which separate it from Greenland;
on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the United
States; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. |
 |
Six general
landform regions are distinguishable in Canada: the Appalachian
Region, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Canadian
Shield, the Great Plains, the Canadian Cordillera, and the Canadian
Arctic Archipelago." |
 ::
The
Niagara Falls
::
|
