Geography                                                                                          Back ......

Canada's geography includes fertile plains suitable for agriculture, vast mountain ranges, lakes and rivers. Wilderness forests give way to arctic tundra to the Far North. The leading Canadian cities are Ottawa the national capital Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton.

Land Mass

At 9 970 610 km, Canada is the world's second-largest country with 7% of the world's land mass. Of a total of 10 million sq km, over nine million are land and 755, 000 sq km is fresh water. Nearly 90% of Canadians live along the 6379 km southern border with the US, the longest open national boundary in the world.

Provinces and Territories

Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories: Alberta (Capital-Edmonton); British Columbia (Victoria); Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown); Manitoba (Winnipeg); New Brunswick (Fredericton); Nova Scotia (Halifax); Ontario (Toronto); Quebec (Quebec City); Saskatchewan (Regina); Newfoundland (St. John's); Northwest Territories (Yellowknife); Yukon Territory (Whitehorse) and Nunavut (Iqaluit). The eastern two-thirds of the former Northwest Territories are now known as Nunavut. In the Inuit language this means "Our Land."

Climate

There are many climatic variations, ranging from the permanently frozen ice cap north of the 70th parallel to the luxuriant vegetation of British Columbia's west coast. Canada has four very distinct seasons. Daytime summer temperatures can rise to 35 °C and higher, while lows of 15 are not uncommon in winter. More moderate temperatures are the norm in spring and fall.

Time Zones

Canada has six time zones. The Eastern most, in Newfoundland, is three hours and 30 minutes behind GMT. The other time zones are the Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain and the Pacific, which is eight hours behind GMT.

Demographics

Canada's population is a little over 30 million. A marginal growth in population has been attributed, in equal degree, to both immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths). Between 1991 and 1996, the population of Canada grew at an average annual rate of 1.1%, this being the highest annual average growth rate of all G-7 industrialized nations. Canada represents approximately 0.5% of the global population.

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