Geographical location of Canada vividly characterize words of her national motto “from sea to sea” (in Latin “mari usque ad mare”). This is the only country whose coastal borders are washed by three oceans: the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic. Canada is the second largest country in the world by its diversity, diversity, diversity of landscapes and natural areas.
General information
Canada in the form of government is a federal state. It comprises 10 provinces united by the Canadian constitution (Quebec,
British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Lambrador, New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) and 3 territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut). The capital of Canada - Ottawa - is located in Ontario. The official state languages of the country are English and French.
Economic and geographical position of Canada it was determined by the proximity of international transport routes, which contributed much to the acceleration in the development of its territory and the development of the economy, stimulated trade relations with other states and attracted immigrants to it.
State area 9 984 670 km² covers almost the entire north of mainland North America and occupies the Arctic Archipelago, one of the largest in the world. The country covers 1/12 of the entire land of the planet, which makes its coastline equal to three equators, the longest in the world.
The population of Canada in relation to its vast territory is insignificant - 32.2 million people representing various races and cultures. 90% of them live in southern areas, stretching mainly along the border with the United States. A significant part of Canada is unsuitable for human habitation, including the northern outskirts extending far beyond the Arctic Circle.
Geographical location of Canada,
having
vast territory with beautiful landscapes, unusual. On land, it borders only with the United States; maritime borders separate it in the northeast from Greenland and in the east from the French islands of Miquelon and Saint Pierre in the
Atlantic Ocean. In the north, Canada extends beyond the Arctic Circle. There are a large number of polar islands: Devon, Banks, Victoria, Ellesmere, Newfoundland, Baffin Island and others. In this region are located Nunavut, Yukon, Northwest Territories. This is the so-called Canadian Arctic.
Physical-geographical areas
The complex and contrasting physical and geographical position of Canada contributed to the variegation of the vegetation cover and the diversity of vegetation types. It is located in the zone of arctic deserts, tundra, mixed forests, taiga, steppes. Country They are divided into several natural regions: the Appalachian Mountains and the Arctic Mountains, the Canadian Shield, internal valleys, intermountain regions, and the Pacific mountain system.
Country of wide open spaces
The northern regions of the Appalachians reach the Maritime Provinces, eastern Quebec and reach Newfoundland. Geographical location of Canada, this mountainous region is especially contrasted. Here are concentrated ancient rocks of different ages. In most of the region, folded mountains extend , consisting of longitudinal ridges, the peaks of which are covered with glaciers. High plateaus are separated by wide valleys. A distinctive feature of the region is St. Lawrence Bay, the largest estuary on earth, connected by straits to the ocean.
The Laurentian plateau occupies a significant part of the country and is part of the ancient crystalline Canadian shield. This is the country's most unsuitable region for human habitation, but there are thousands of lakes, the Hudson Bay, which is a kind of inland sea, and the richest deposits of almost all the elements of the periodic table.
As part of the Canadian Shield, the Arctic lowlands in northern Alaska and the Hudson Bay lowlands are often considered, the surface of which is mostly constrained by permafrost. Here are the largest lakes in Canada - the Big Slave and the Big Bear, each of which connects to the longest river in the country of Mackenzie, which collects most of the water from the rivers of the Arctic watershed.
Great Plains bordering the west of the Canadian Shield are the breadbasket of Canada. Here, the production of wheat and pasture cattle breeding is developed. The region captures the steppe provinces and reaches the Pacific coast, where part of one of the greatest mountain systems of the earth stretches, often called the mountain country - Cordillera. Within Canada, they are divided into the Coastal Range and the Rocky Mountains, where the richest mineral deposits are developed .
Dream country
The geographical position of Canada, stretching through several natural zones from the Arctic deserts, which occupy almost the entire Greenland and the Arctic archipelago, to the forest-steppes and steppes covering the Great Plains, determined the diversity and richness of its natural conditions and resources. This served as a favorable factor in the development of the economic condition of the country. And the presence of exits to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans favored an increase in its status in the system of international relations and in key international organizations of neighboring regions.
A high standard of living, a well-developed economy, a system of education and healthcare, clean and safe modern cities, many different cultures - this is not the whole list of advantages that distinguish Canada. In 1992, the UN proclaimed it "the most attractive country for human life."