Canada Essay, Research Paper

Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia. It has ten provinces

and 3 territories. It takes up 3,800,000 square miles and stretches from the island of

Newfoundland in the east to the border of Canada and Alaska in the west.

Canada?s climate differs in the regions. In the north there are harsh winters with low

temperatures. Much of the land in the north are in Permafrost where the ground stays frozen

year round. In the Atlantic coast there are storms that have high winds and lots of

precipitation. In the west there are mild winters that are very cloudy and wet.

There are seven separate geological regions in Canada that make up Canada.

The Appalachian region which includes the east coats and the eastern part of

Quebec. This region consists of hills and valleys created by volcanic activity from millions

and millions of years ago.

The Interior Lowlands were formed by glaciers and cover most of southern Quebec

and southern Ontario around the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. This area is full of

valley?s and high cliffs. The Niagara excrement and the sand dunes near Lake Ontario are

examples of the Interior Lowlands.

The Canadian Shield is in the center of Canada. This area is made up of rock that is

about six hundred million years old. It is considered one of the largest continental shields and

contains almost 25% of the worlds fresh water supply.

The Arctic Lowlands are located around the Hudson Bay in northern Ontario and

northern Manitoba. This area is a swampy area with lots of trees there. The two main trees

there are the Tamarack trees and Black Spruce.

The Great Plains cover the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This

area is allot like the same Great Plains in the United States. It is a wide open flatland with

grass and grains on it.

In the west is a region full of mountains and alpine lakes. In it are the Rocky

mountains, the Caribou Mountains, and the Coastal Mountains. The largest mountain in

Canada can be found there, Mount Logan.

The Arctic Archipelago is a small chain of islands located off the northern coast of

the country. Scientists believe it was once a single land mass. They have found this out by

the jagged cliffs and walls on the side of the island.

Canada?s seasons are a lot like those that we have in the United States although there

winters can be long and harsh. There summers are usually warm. The average temperature

of the summer is 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Canada has many different plant and animals that live there. In every region there

are different kinds of plant life and animals. In the far-most regions there are plants that can

live in the below zero temperatures, like the juniper and different kinds of the lichen. These

plants can live with only two or three months of warmth to allow them to grow. There are

smaller animals like the beaver, chipmunk, raccoons and groundhogs that are mainly in the

eastern parts of Canada. These animals live by eating nuts and berries. There are lots of birds

in Canada to. The most famous of these birds would be the Canadian goose. There are also

other smaller birds and water fowl that live there. Larger animals like bears, moose, elk, and

caribou also in inhabit the area to.

The first people to explore Canada were the Vikings. The captain of the ship was

Eric Ericson, also know as Eric the Red. The Vikings land at L?Anse aux Meadows on the

northern tip of Newfoundland around A.D. 1000. However the Vikings attempts of settling

didn?t last because there was no way to keep the supplies regulated there.

Later in 1497 more explorers came to Canada to explore it. The first of these people

was John Cabot. He went to the coast of eastern Canada. Later In 1534 Jacques Cartier and

Samuel de Champlain, both French explorers. Cartier landed on Prince Edward Island an the

Gspe Peninsula, claiming the land for his country, France.

the Fench claimed Canada theirs and then sent trappers to the central part of Canada

to see if there were many furs there. The trappers found a large abundance of furs and soon

the French set up colonies in big fur trade areas. The British were afraid that the French

would take over the fur industry so they set up the Hudson?s Bay Company. The French

tried to fight for the rights of Canada but in 1760, the French lost the battle of the Plains of

Abraham to the British and they had to give up their Canadian territories. In 1763, the

French and British signed a treaty that gave England all of Canada except for the islands of

St. Pierre and Miquelon.

Canada split into two colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. The population

grew as more Europeans came there to settle. Soon people didn?t like the laws and rules and

started rebellions. In 1841 the two rebellions were unified and the province of Canada and

Nova Scotia (Upper Canada and Lower Canada) were given the right to self -govern and

they formed a confederation. Then the Dominion of Canada was born.

Canada has a Democracy that is a lot like the United States. They have three levels

of government: Federal, provincial, and municipal. The federal government runs the country

as and it?s affairs with other countries. The provincial government runs the territories and

providence?s(state government) and the municipal government runs towns and communities.

Canada is a constitution monarchy. The queen of England is a nominal head of government.

The Canadian Parliament (in Ottawa) has two houses. The House of Commons and the

Senate.

The members of the House of Commons are elected every 4 years or when the

majority party is voted down.

A Senate is like the House of Commons because the have the same duties and are

elected the same ways.

The Prime Minister(president) has the same duties as a president. The Prime

Minister can make a cabinet of advisors to help him with decisions and help him make the

bills and policies that get brought up to the House of Commons and Senate.

Canada has many kinds of manufacturing. They?re apart of the NAFTA(North

American Free Trade Agreement) with America and other North American countries. They

are also ranked in one of the top trade countries in the world. Agriculture and fishing are

also a big part of Canada?s economy. They grow a lot of wheat and grains, wheat is one of

there chief exports. Fishing is also a big part of the economy but in the last years fishing

hasn?t been as good so it has gone down. Canada also has a lot of natural resources and

minerals. One of there number one natural resources is forestry. There are a lot of mills and

factories turning lumber in to items. Industry is also a large part of the economy. It employs

over 16% of the working people of Canada. They are also leaders in technology. They have

made great advancements in software development.

There are many different people in Canada. Some have French backgrounds, Inuit,

English, and some have Norwegian background. There are many different types of

languages and religions in Canada also. Some parts of Canada are small maritime

communities and others are large industrial cities. Canada is a lot like America the way they

live, their customs and religions. The education is a lot like America to, there children attend

preschool at ages of 3 and 4 and then they go on to there k-12 schooling. The religion is

English Protestant and French Catholic.

Canada has two main languages, French and English. Canada although has there

own distinct language that stands out from other societies language.

For entertainment in Canada they do the same things as we do here in America, they

go to the movies, watch TV, go to plays, go to concerts, and they also watch athletics. There

number one sport to watch is hockey. Hockey was created in Canada and many children

start playing in local leagues as early as 5 years old. Two of the first four teams in the NHL

were also Canadian.

There diet includes all sorts of food from Greek to Chinese, Hamburgers to Burritos.

There are all sorts of food in Canada. Some distinctive dishes in Canada are foods that

involve lots of fish and foods like native animals

Bibliography

Sources

Countries of the World:Canada, Bob Barlas, 1998, Gareth Stevens Publishing, 5-40

www.britanica.com Keyword Canada, 2000, Britanica, Britanica

Microsoft Encarta 2000, Search Canada, 2000, Microsoft