Canada - a country in North America.It is the second (after Russia) largest country in the world and one of the three, is bordered by three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic.In addition, Canada is washed by the seas of Beaufort, Baffin Bay and Labrador.
General
name "Canada" in the language of indigenous means "small settlement", "village".In the fifteenth century the so called Stadakone - a small town near modern Quebec.The area of Canada is approximately ten million square kilometers.Some of the prints after the collapse of the Soviet Union hastily called this country the world's largest.But it is not.The area of Canada and a half times less than the area of Russia.An interesting fact is that this country is comparable in size to the United States and China, but the population is an order of magnitude or even two below.Judge for yourself in the in the United States is home to 307 million inhabitants, and China - 1.3 billion.Canada also boasts of only 33 million, so that's something.And two-thirds of them live in dvuhsotkilometrovoy area bordering the United States.
border states
Borders Canada stretches from the Pacific coast to the shores of the Atlantic.The total duration of more than eight thousand kilometers.To be precise, the land dividing line (including Alaska) is 8893 km.Here is another interesting fact: Canada is the only country in the world that has a land border with only one state - the United States.
area of Canada in thousands. Km2
For fans of the exact sciences and the dry statistics give more precise figures.Thus, the State Canada: land area of 9,970,610 square kilometers;from east to west, it reaches 7,700 kilometers;from the north coast to the south - 4600 km;length of coast - 243 791 km.Suitable for cropping lands occupy only five percent of the total territory of the country is occupied by pastures three percent, 54 percent - is forests and forest plantations.Irrigated area is only 7,100 square kilometers.
Canada's largest city
capital of this state is the city of Ottawa, which is located in the province of Ontario.Large settlements in Canada are Toronto, Ontario (5.5 million people), Montreal, Quebec (3.6 million), Vancouver, British Columbia (2.1 million), Calgary and Edmonton in the Province of Alberta (1million), Quebec (1 million).Other cities do not reach the one million inhabitants.
Geographical information
Although the main area occupied by Canadian lakes and pine forests, there are mountains, plains and even desert.Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are covered prairie - Great Plains.This is where basic farmland settled country.Western Canada is well known for the Rocky Mountains, and east - Niagara Falls.North of the country is famous Canadian Shield - ancient mountainous region, formed more than 2.5 billion years ago, which covers much of the northern region.Arctic tundra is presented only part of the north it is divided on the island, which throughout the year icebound.The highest point in Canada - is the peak of Mount Logan.Its height is 5950 meters.Canada is very rich in natural resources.There extracted nickel, zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, lead, potassium, oil and even natural gas.
climate and flora
In southern Canada, a small sheltered warm subtropical area - it is Vancouver, as well as winemaking area - Niagara.For the middle band is characterized by a temperate climate, very similar to the Russian.Further north, the tundra stretches solid.Areas covered by forest, replete with very valuable wood.Especially in demand conifers: giant arborvitae, Douglas fir, balsam fir, white and black spruce, larch.In the southern and south-eastern regions grow yellow birch, poplar, oak and maple, which is a symbol of Canada.As timber resources Canada is second only to Russia and Brazil, but if you make per capita, it will be in the first place.The tundra is rich in mosses, lichens, flowers and herbs.Forest-tundra boasts a bonsai.The plains and prairies covered with feather grass, sagebrush and bearded.
Fauna
Canada has a very diverse fauna.Commercial importance (as in Russia) has fur animals, which is rich in the taiga zone.The area of Canada covered tundra gave refuge reindeer, tundra wolf, hare, polar bears, polar foxes.In the dense forests found refuge bears, wolves, foxes, bobcats, squirrels, hares, martens, beavers, moose and deer.Steppe region boasts almost nothing - field mice, gophers and moles.On the Arctic islands and lakes thrive millions of migratory birds.The reserves in Canada live bison, which have been virtually wiped out in the Americas by European settlers.The coastal waters are famous rich in fish: the east is the herring and cod rock;and to the west - salmon (chum, pink and chinook).
Political structure
July 1, 1867, Canada became an independent state.On this day she announced that she was an independent dominion of the British Empire.The form of government in this country - a parliamentary democracy, which is formally subordinate to the head of the British Commonwealth.It is the second largest country in the world has a federal structure, it consists of ten independent provinces and three northern territories.This means that every kind of education has its own laws, budgets and infrastructure.Some of the powers of the provinces and territories delegate federal authority, which is responsible for a number of common issues, such as foreign policy, defense and so on.All the other issues are resolved at the local level.Despite the fact that the provinces tend to bring their legislation and social programs in accordance with the uniform principles, differences still remain.And sometimes quite substantial.The most important thing - the fact that each province has its own independent system of taxation and budget.Accordingly, the individual priorities in the spending of funds in each administrative unit lead to the provision of completely different opportunities for their residents.In this regard, it is important to choose to live is the city and the province, to suit a particular Canadian citizen at the most.After all, the possibility of life have significant differences.
Conclusion
Canada (photo presented in this article will help the reader to make up their minds about this country) is rich in natural resources.Economic and technological development it was held parallel to the similar process in the United States, with which it has close ties, and almost single cultural and economic space.As a result, Canada - is one of the most developed countries in the world in the last decade showing the best economic performance among the economic group G7.
