Area Canada. The territory of Canada. Borders of Canada

Canada is a state in North America. It is the second (after Russia) in terms of area in the world and one of three, washed by three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic. In addition, the territory of Canada is washed by the seas of Beaufort, Baffin and Labrador.

general information

The name "Canada" in the native language means "small settlement", "village". In the fifteenth century, the so-called Stadacone - a small town near modern Quebec. The area of Canada is about ten million square kilometers. Some printed publications after the collapse of the USSR rashly called this country the largest in the world. But this is not so. The area of Canada is one and a half times behind the area of Russia. An interesting fact is that this country is comparable in size with the United States and China, but the population here is an order of magnitude, or even two, lower. Judge for yourself, there are 307 million inhabitants in the United States, and 1.3 billion in China. Canada can boast of only 33 million, that's it. And two thirds of them live in a two-hundred-kilometer zone bordering the United States.

Country border

The borders of Canada stretched from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast. Their total duration is more than eight thousand kilometers. To be precise, the land dividing strip (including Alaska) is 8893 km. Here is another interesting fact: Canada is the only country in the world that has a land border with just one state - the US.

Area Canada in thousand km2

For lovers of exact sciences and dry statistics, we give more exact figures. So, the state of Canada: the area of the territory is 9,970,610 square kilometers; From east to west it reaches 7,700 kilometers; From the north coast to the south - 4,600 kilometers; The length of the coast is 243,791 km. Crops suitable for cultivation of land occupy only five percent of the total territory of the country, three percent are employed for pasture, 54 percent are forest tracts and plantations. The irrigated area is only 7,100 square kilometers.

The largest cities in Canada

The capital of this state is the city of Ottawa, which is located in the province of Ontario. The largest settlements in Canada are: Toronto in the province of Ontario (5.5 million people), Montreal in the province of Quebec (3.6 million), Vancouver in British Columbia (2.1 million), Calgary and Edmonton in the province of Alberta (1 Million), Quebec (1 million). The rest of the city does not hold up to one million inhabitants.

Geographical information

Despite the fact that the main area of Canada is occupied by lakes and coniferous forests, there are mountain ranges, plains and even desert. Part of the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are covered with prairies - the Great Plain. It is in this place that the main agricultural lands of the country are located. The western part of Canada is widely known for the Rocky Mountains, and the eastern part for Niagara Falls. The north of the country is famous for the Canadian shield - an ancient mountainous region formed over 2.5 billion years ago, which covers much of the northern region. The Arctic part is represented exclusively by the tundra, in the north it is divided into islands, which are frozen all year round. The highest point of Canada is the peak of Logan Mountain. Its height is 5950 meters. Canada is very rich in natural resources. Here, nickel, zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, lead, potash, oil and even natural gas are mined.

Climate and flora

In southern Canada, sheltered a small warm subtropical corner - this is Vancouver, as well as a winemaking zone - Niagara. The middle zone is characterized by a temperate climate, very similar to the Russian one. Further north stretches a continuous tundra. Areas covered with wood are abundant with very valuable species of wood. Especially popular are coniferous trees: giant thuja, douglas, balsamic fir, white and black spruce, larch. In the southern and south-eastern regions grow yellow birch, poplar, oak and maple, which is the symbol of Canada. For timber, Canada is second only to Russia and Brazil, but if per capita is recalculated, it will be in first place. Tundra is rich in mosses, lichens, flowers and herbs. The forest tundra can boast only dwarf trees. Plains and prairies are covered with feather grass, wormwood and bearded.

Animal world

Canada has a very diverse fauna. Fishing importance (as in Russia) has a fur animal, which is rich in the taiga zone. Canada's area, covered with tundra, gave shelter to reindeer, tundra wolves, hare rabbits, polar bears, arctic foxes. In the dense forests, bears, wolves, foxes, lynxes, squirrels, rabbits, martens, beavers, moose, deer took refuge. Steppe areas boast practically nothing - field mice, ground squirrels and moles. On the arctic islands and lakes, millions of migratory birds feel great. In the reserves of Canada live bison, which were virtually exterminated in the American continent by European settlers. Coastal waters are famous for their abundant fish stocks: in the east it is herring and codfish; And in the west - salmon (chum, pink salmon and chinook salmon).

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 is parliamentary democracy, which formally reports to the head of the British Commonwealth. This second largest state in the world has a federal structure, it consists of ten independent provinces and three northern territories. This means that each such education has its own laws, budget and infrastructure. Some of the powers of the territory and province are delegated to the federal government, which is responsible for a number of common issues, such as foreign policy, defense and so on. All other issues are resolved at the local level. Despite the fact that the provinces strive to bring their legislative base and social programs in line with common principles, the differences still remain. And sometimes very significant. The most important thing is that each independent province has its own taxation system and budget. Accordingly, individual priorities in spending money in each administrative unit lead to the provision of completely different opportunities for their residents. In this regard, it is very important to choose for residence exactly the city and province, which will suit one or another citizen of Canada to the greatest extent. After all, opportunities for life have significant differences.

Conclusion

Canada (the photos given in this article will help the reader to formulate his opinion about this country) has the richest reserves of natural resources. Its technological and economic development took place in parallel with similar processes in the United States, with which it has close relations and practically a single cultural and economic space. As a result, Canada is one of the most developed countries in the world, demonstrating in the last decade the best economic performance among representatives of the G7 economic group.