The Canada geography describes Canada's geographical features, the world's second largest country in total area.
Located in northern North America (constituting 41% of continental territory), Canada stretches wide, diverse territory between the North Pacific Ocean to the west and the North Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Arctic Ocean to the north (hence the motto of the "From sea to sea" state) with the United States to the south (adjacent to the United States) and northwest (Alaska). Greenland is in the northeast; off the southern coast of Newfoundland there is Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French foreign collectivity. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the Arctic section between 60 Â ° B and 141 Â ° longitude to the North Pole; however, these claims are disputed. While the magnetic North Pole is located within Canada's Arctic territorial claims in 2011, recent measurements suggest it is moving towards Siberia.
Includes 9.984.670 km <2>/<3 or 3,855,100 sq mi (land: 9,093.507 km 2 or 3,511,023 sqà mi mi; fresh water: Ã, 891,163 km or 344.080Ã, sqÃ, mi), Canada is slightly less than three fifths of Russia and slightly smaller than Europe. In the total territory, Canada is slightly larger than the US and China; However, Canada ranks fourth in the mainland (ie the total area minus the lakes and rivers) - China is 9,326,410 km <2>/ (3,600,950 km, sq mi, mi) and the US is 9,161,923 km (3,537,438Ã, sqÃ, mi).
The Canadian population, about 35,151,728 on May 10, 2016, is concentrated in the south close to its border with the adjacent US. with a population density of 3.5 people per square kilometer (9.1/sq mi), it is one of the most rare countries in the world. The northernmost settlement of Canada - and in the world - is the Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert (just north of Alert, Nunavut) at the northern end of Ellesmere Island at 82 Â ° 30? N 62 Â ° 19? W, only 834 kilometers (518Ã, mi) from the North Pole.
Video Geography of Canada
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Canada has a diverse climate. The climate varies from temperate on the west coast of British Columbia to subarctic climates in the north. Extreme Northern Canada can have snow for most of the year with the Polar climate. The landlocked area tends to have a warm summer continental climate zone with the exception of Southwestern Ontario that has a hot, humid summer climate. Parts of Western Canada have a semi-arid climate, and parts of Vancouver Island can even be classified as a cool summer Mediterranean climate. The extreme temperatures in Canada range from 45.0 ° C (113 ° F) in Midale and Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937 to -63.0 ° C (-81.4 ° F) in Snag, Yukon on Monday, February 3, 1947.
Maps Geography of Canada
Physical geography
Canada covers 9,984,670 km 2 (3,855,100 sq mi) 9,984,670 km 2 (3,855,103 sq. Mi) and full armaments from various geoclimatic regions. There are 8 main areas. Canada also includes a vast maritime field, with the longest coastline in the world 243,042 kilometers (151,019 mi). Canadian physical geography varies greatly. Boreal forests dominate the whole country, ice stands out in the northern Arctic region and through the Rocky Mountains, and the relatively flat Grassland Canada in the southwest facilitates productive agriculture. The Great Lake feeds the St. Lawrence (in the southeast) where the lowlands accommodate many Canadians.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains extend from Alabama through the GaspÃÆ'Â © and Atlantic Provinces, creating hills induced by river valleys. It also runs through the southern part of Quebec.
The Appalachian Mountains (more specifically the Notre Dame and Long Range Mountains) are old mountains and erosions, about 380 million years old. The famous mountains on the Appalachian include Mount Jacques-Cartier (Quebec, 1,268 m or 4,160 ft and Mount Carleton (New Brunswick, 817 m or 2,680 ft). Part of Appalachia is home to rich endemic flora and fauna and is considered to have been nunataks during the last glaciation era.
Great and Basil Great Lakes and Great St.. Lawrence Lowlands
The southern part of Quebec and Ontario, in the Great Lakes section (limited entirely by Ontario on the Canadian side) and St. Basin's basin. Lawrence (often called St. Lawrence Lowlands), is a very rich sedimentary plain. Prior to the colonization and heavy urban sprawl of the 20th century, this lowland area of ​​Eastern Great Lakes is home to a large mixed forest that mostly covers land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Canadian Shield. Much of this forest has been cleared through agricultural and logging activities, but the remaining forests are largely protected. In this part of Canada Bay St. Lawrence is one of the largest estuaries in the world (see St. Lawrence Bay lowland forest).
While the lowland relief is very flat and orderly, a group of batholites known as Monteregian Hills spread along the most regular lines throughout the area. The most famous are Mount Royal Montreal and Mont Saint-Hilaire. These hills are known to be rich in valuable minerals.
Shield Canada
The northeastern part of Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as most of Labrador (the mainland of Newfoundland and Labrador provinces), is located on a large stone base known as the Canadian Shield. The shield consists mainly of eroded hilly terrain and contains many important lakes and streams used for hydroelectric production, particularly in northern Quebec and Ontario. The shield also encloses a wetland area, the lowlands of Hudson Bay. Certain areas of the Shield are referred to as mountains, including the Torngat and Laurentian Mountains.
Shields can not support intensive agriculture, although there is subsistence farming and small dairy farming in many river valleys and around abundant lakes, especially in the south. Boreal forests cover most of the shields, with a mixture of conifers that provide valuable timber resources in areas such as the Perusai Canada Central forest ecoregion covering much of Northern Ontario. This region is known for its vast mineral reserves.
The Canadian Shield is known for its enormous minerals, such as emeralds, diamonds and copper. The Canadian shield is also called a mineral house.
Canadian Interior Interior
The Canadian Prairies are part of a vast sedimentary plain covering most of Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and southwest Manitoba, as well as most of the area between the Rocky Mountains and Great Slave Lake and Great Bear in the Northwest Territories. The plains generally depict a fertile (mostly flat) farmland that supports large grain farm operations in the southern part of the province. However, some areas such as Cypress Hills and Badlands Alberta are quite hilly and grassland provinces contain large areas of forest such as the Canadian Mid-Continental forest. Its size is approximately ~ 1,900,000 km 2 (733,594,1 sqÃ, mi).
Western Cordillera
The Canadian Cordillera, adjacent to the American cordillera, is bordered by the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The Canadian Rockies are part of a major continental division that extends north and south through western North America and western South America. The Columbia and Fraser Rivers have their headwaters in the Canadian Rockies and are the second and third largest rivers that each flows to the west coast of North America. To the west of their upstream, across from Rocky Mountain Trench, is the belt of both mountains, the Columbia Mountains, which consists of sub-ranges of Selkirk, Purcell, Monashee and Cariboo Mountains.
To the west of the Columbia Mountains there is a large and rugged plateau covering the Chilcotin and Cariboo regions of central British Columbia (Fraser Plateau), Nechako Highlands in the north, and also the Thompson Plateau to the south. The Peace River Valley in northeastern British Columbia is Canada's northernmost agricultural area, although it is part of the Prairies. The dry, temperate climate of the Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia provides ideal conditions for growing fruit and wine growing industries; The South Interior's semi-dry belts also include Fraser Canyon, and Thompson, Nicola, Similkameen, Shuswap and Boundary areas and fruit-grown common in these areas as well, as well as in West Kootenay. Between the highlands and the coast is the largest mountainous province, the Coastal Mountains. The Coast Mountains contains some of the world's greatest cross-esfields.
The Western Cordillera continues northward through the northernmost Liard River in British Columbia to include the Mackenzie and Selwyn Ranges located in the remote northwestern region and eastern Yukon region. The western side is the large Yukon Plain and, to the west, the Yukon Ranges and Saint Elias Mountains, which include Canada's highest peak and British Columbia, Saint Elias Mountains in the Kluane and Fairweather areas of the Tatshenshini-Alsek region. Upper Yukon River, the largest and longest river on the Pacific Slopes, is located in northern British Columbia at Atlin and Teslin Lakes.
Volcanoes
Western Canada has many volcanoes and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a volcanic system found around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. There are over 200 young volcano centers that stretch north from the Cascade Range to the Yukon. They are grouped into five volcanic belts with volcanic types and different tectonic arrangements. The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province is formed by fractures, cracks, rifting, and interactions between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt is formed by the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Platform under the North American Plate. The Anahim Volcanic Belt was formed as a result of the North American Plate that glided westward over the Anahim hotspot. The Chilcotin Group is believed to have formed as a result of the back-arc extension behind the Cascadia subduction zone. The Wrangell Volcanic Field is formed as a result of subduction of the Pacific Plate under the North American Plate at the easternmost end of the Aleutian Trench.
Volcanism also occurs in the Canadian Shield. It contains over 150 volcanic belts (now flawed and eroded to almost flat plains) that range from 600 million to 2.8 billion years. Many of Canada's major ore deposits are associated with Precambrian volcanoes. There is a pillow lava in the Northwest Region that is approximately 2.6 billion years old and preserved on the Cameron River Volcanic Belt. The pillow lava in rocks over 2 billion years in Canada Shield signifies that large oceanic volcanoes exist during the early stages of the Earth's crust formation. Ancient volcanoes play an important role in estimating Canada's mineral potential. Many of the volcanic belts produce ore deposits associated with volcanism.
Canadian Arctic
While the largest part of the Canadian Arctic consists of almost endless permafrost and tundra north of the tree line, it encompasses geologic areas of various types: the Arctic Cordillera (with the British Empire Range and the US Range on Ellesmere Island) contains the world's northernmost mountain system. The Arctic Lowlands and Hudson Bay lowlands comprise most of the geographical area often referred to as the Canadian Shield (in contrast to the only geologic area). Land in the Arctic consists mostly of permafrost, making construction difficult and often dangerous, and agriculture almost impossible.
The Arctic, when defined as everything in the north of the tree line, covers most of Nunavut and the northernmost of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador.
Hydrographic
Canada has enormous water reserves: its rivers flow almost 9% of the world's renewable water supply, it contains one quarter of the world's wetlands, and has the third largest number of glaciers (after Antarctica and Greenland). Due to the vast glaciation, Canada hosts over two million lakes: of those in Canada, more than 31,000 are between 3 and 100 square kilometers (1.2 and 38.6 m²) in the area, while 563 more great from 100 km 2 (38.6Ã, sqÃ, mi).
River
The two longest rivers in Canada are Mackenzie, which empties into the Arctic Ocean and flows mostly to northwestern Canada, and St. Lawrence, which drains the Great Lake and empties into St. Bay. Lawrence. Mackenzie has a length of more than 4,200 km (2,600 miles) while St. Lawrence is over 3,000 miles (1,900 mi) in length. Rounding the ten longest rivers in Canada are the Rivers Nelson, Churchill, Peace, Fraser, North Saskatchewan, Ottawa, Athabasca, and Yukon.
Drainage basin
The Atlantic watershed drains the entire Atlantic province (part of the Quebec-Labrador border set in the Atlantic Ocean-the Arctic Ocean divides the continent), most of Quebec is inhabited and most of southern Ontario. Mostly dried by the St. Lawrence is economically important and its tributaries, especially the Saguenay, Manicouagan, and Ottawa rivers. The Great Lake and Nipigon Lake are also dried by St. Lawrence. The Riverill River and the Saint John River are another important element of the Atlantic river basin in Canada.
The Hudson Bay watershed over one-third of Canada. These include Manitoba, northern Ontario and Quebec, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southwest of Nunavut, and southern half of Baffin Island. These basins are most important in combating drought in grasslands and producing hydroelectrics, especially in Manitoba, northern Ontario and Quebec. Key elements of this watershed include Lake Winnipeg, Nelson River, North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan River, Assiniboine River, and Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island. Lake Wollaston lies on the border between Hudson Bay and the Arctic watershed and flows into both. It is the largest lake in the world that naturally flows in both directions.
The continent's distinction in the Rockies separates the Pacific watersheds in British Columbia and Yukon from the Arctic watershed and Hudson Bay. These watersheds irrigate important agricultural areas in British Columbia (such as the Okanagan and Kootenay valleys), and are used to generate hydroelectric power. The main elements are the Yukon, Columbia, and Fraser rivers.
Northern parts of Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia, most of the Northwest and Nunavut regions, and parts of Yukon are drained by Arctic watersheds. These watersheds have been used for hydroelectricity, with the exception of Mackenzie River, Canada's longest river. The Peace, Athabasca and Liard Rivers, as well as Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake (each of Canada's largest and second largest lakes fully covered by Canada) are important elements of the Arctic watershed. Each of these elements eventually merges with Mackenzie, thus draining most of the Arctic watershed.
The southernmost part of Alberta flows into the Gulf of Mexico through the Milk River and its tributaries. The Milk River comes from the Rocky Mountains in Montana, then flows to Alberta, then returns to the United States, where it is drained by the Missouri River. The small area of ​​southwestern Saskatchewan is drained by Battle Creek, which empties into the Milk River.
Style geography
Canada has produced the Biodiversity Action Plan in response to the 1992 international agreement; the plan addresses the conservation of endangered species and certain habitats. Canada's main biome is:
- Tundra
- Boreal forest
- The mixed forest
- Broadleaf forest
- Prairies
- The Rocky Mountains, the vegetation includes various types of tundra and forest.
- Coniferous forest medium, where rainforests Coastal temperatures of British Columbia are an example.
Political geography
Canada is divided into ten provinces and three regions. According to Statistics Canada, 72.0 percent of the population is concentrated within 150 kilometers (93 mi) of the country's southern border with the United States, 70.0 percent live south of the 49th parallel, and more than 60 percent of the population lives along the Great Lakes. and St. Lawrence between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City. This leaves much of Canada as a sparsely populated wilderness; The population density of Canada is 3.5 people/km 2 (9.1/mi 2 ), among the lowest in the world. Nevertheless, 79.7 percent of Canadians live in urban areas, where population density increases.
Canada shares with the United States the world's longest unlimited border at 8,893 kilometers (5,526 mi); 2,477 kilometers (1,539 mi) are in Alaska. The island's dependence on Greenland Island is located in northeastern Canada, separate from the Canadian Arctic archipelago by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. The French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are located off the southern coast of Newfoundland on St. Bay. Lawrence and has a maritime enclave within Canada's exclusive economic zone. Canada also shares a terrestrial border with Denmark, as the map released in December 2006 shows that the agreed boundaries run through the middle of Hans Island.
Canada's geographic proximity to the United States has historically tied the two countries together in the political world as well. The position of Canada between the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the US was strategically important during the Cold War because the route over the Arctic and Canada was the fastest route by air between the two countries and the most direct route to intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been speculation that Canada's Arctic maritime claims can become increasingly important if global warming melts enough ice to open the Northwest Passage.
Similarly, disputed Hans Island - and small - (with Denmark), in the Nares Strait between Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland, may be a flashpoint for the challenge to Canada's overall claims of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.
Natural resources
The abundance of Canadian natural resources is reflected in their sustainable interest in the Canadian economy. Major resource-based industries are fisheries, forestry, agriculture, petroleum products and mining.
The fishing industry has historically been one of the strongest in Canada. Unrivaled cod fish stock at Grand Banks in Newfoundland launched this industry in the 16th century. Today these stocks are running low, and their conservation has become the preoccupation of the Atlantic Province. On the West Coast, stocks of tuna are now restricted. The reduced (but still considerably reduced) salmon population continues to encourage a strong fishery industry. Canada claims 22Ã, km (12Ã, nmi) territorial sea, adjacent zone 44Ã, km (24Ã,mi), exclusive economic zone 370Ã, km (200Ã, nmi) and continental shelf 370Ã, km (200Ã, nmi) or to the margin edge continental.
Forestry has long been a major industry in Canada. Forest products account for one fifth of national exports. Provinces with the largest forestry industries are British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Fifty-four percent of Canada's land area is covered by forests. The boreal forest covers four-fifths of Canadian forest.
Five percent of Canada's land area can be cultivated, no one for permanent crops. Three percent of Canada's land area is covered by permanent pasture. Canada has 7,200 square kilometers (2,800Ã, mi 2 ) of irrigated land (1993 estimate). Canadian agricultural areas include Canadian Prairies, Lower Mainland and various regions within British Columbia, St. Basin Lawrence and Maritimes Canada. The main plants in Canada include hemp, wheat, wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets and rye in the pasture; flax and corn in Western Ontario; Oats and potatoes in the Maritimes. Fruits and vegetables are grown primarily in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, Southwest Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe area of ​​Ontario, along the southern coast of the Georgian Bay and in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Cattle and sheep grew up in the valleys and highlands of British Columbia. Cattle, sheep and pigs grew up in pastures, cows and pigs in Western Ontario, sheep and pigs in Quebec, and sheep in the Maritimes. There are dairy-producing areas in central Nova Scotia, south of New Brunswick, St. Lawrence, northeast Ontario, southwestern Ontario, the Red River Valley of Manitoba and the valleys of the British Columbia Interior, on Vancouver Island and on the Lower Mainland.
Fossil fuels are a newer resource developed in Canada, with oil and gas being extracted from deposits in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin since the mid-1900s. While Canada's crude reserves are fewer, technological developments in recent decades have opened oil production at Oil Sands Alberta to the point where Canada now has some of the world's largest oil reserves. In another form, the Canadian industry has a long history of extracting large coal and natural gas reserves.
Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive. Beyond the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, and uranium deposits. A large diamond concentration was recently developed in the Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the shield there are many mining towns that extract these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of mineral formation in Shield because there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite crater. The nearby, but less known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to the Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomaly is very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and therefore can be a second rich metal-impact crater. The Shield is also protected by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.
Many Canadian rivers have provided extensive hydroelectric power development. Extensively developed in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, many dams have long provided a clean and reliable source of energy.
Natural hazards
Permafrost continuously in the north is a serious obstacle to development. Cyclone storms form in the eastern Rocky Mountains, resulting from the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North America, and produces most of the rain and snow to the east of the mountains.
Current environmental issues
Air pollution and acid rain generated greatly affect the lake and destroy the forest. Metal smelting, coal burning utilities, and vehicle emissions have an impact on agricultural and forest productivity. And sea water becomes contaminated from agriculture, industry, mining, and forestry activities.
Global climate change and polar region warming are likely to cause significant changes to the environment, including the loss of polar bears, resource exploration then the extraction of these resources and alternative transport routes to the Panama Canal via the Northwest Pass.
Extreme point
The northernmost point within the Canada boundary is Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut 83,111 Â ° N 69,982 Â ° W / 83.111; -69.972 ( Cape Columbia, Nunavut ) . The northernmost point of the Canadian mainland is Zenith Point on the Boothian Peninsula, Nunavut 72,002 Â ° N 94,655 Â ° W / 72,002; -94,655 ( Zen Point, Nunavut ) .
The southernmost point is Middle Island, in Lake Erie, Ontario (41 Â ° 41? N, 82 Â ° 40? W); The southern water point lies to the south of the island, on the Ontario-Ohio border (41 Â ° 40? 35 N N). The southernmost point of mainland Canada is Point Pelee, Ontario 41,909 Â ° N 82.509 Â ° W / 41,909; -82.509 ( Point Pelee, Ontario ) .
The westernmost point is Boundary Peak 187 (60 Â ° 18? 22.929? N, 141 Â °? 712,128? W) at the southern end of the Yukon-Alaska border which roughly follows 141 Â ° W but leans very east as it turns North 60,301 Â ° LU 141,010 Â ° W / 60,301; -141.010 ( Boundary Peak 187 ) .
The easternmost point is Cape Tombak, Newfoundland (47 Â ° 31? N, 52 Â ° 37? W) 47,523 Â ° N 52.619Ã, Â ° W / 47,523; -52.619 ( Cape Spear, Newfoundland ) . The easternmost point of the Canadian mainland is Elijah Point, Cape St. Charles, Labrador (52 Â ° 13? N, 55 Â ° 37? W) 52.217Ã, Â ° N 55.621Ã, Â ° W / 52.217; -55.621 ( Elijah Point, Labrador ) .
The lowest point is sea level at 0 m, while the highest point is Mount Logan, Yukon, at 5,959 mÃ,/19,550Ã, ft. 60,567 Â ° N 140,405 Â ° W / 60,567; -140.405 ( Mount Logan, Yukon ) .
Canadian Pole Can not access it allegedly near Jackfish River, Alberta (Line: 59 Â ° 2? 60 N, Longitude: 112 Â ° 49? 60 W).
The furthest straight line that can be traveled to Canada's mainland points is between the northwestern end of Ivvavik National Park (at Clarence Lagoon) and Cripple Cove, NL (near Cape Race) at a distance of 2,785.13 nautical miles (5,158.06 km; 3,205,07Ã , Mi).
See also
- Canadian Atlas
- Geographic Canada
- Canadian Rocky Mountains
- North America's extreme point
- List of Canada's highest provinces and territories
- List of Canadian Ultras
- The top of the Canadian mountains
- Temperatures in Canada
References
Further reading
External links
- The Government of Canada - Atlas of Canada
- Canadian Geographic - The Canadian Atlas Online
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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