Canada

Canada - Location, scenery and population

Canada is located in northern North America occupying an extension of approximately 10,000,000 km², occupying most of northern North America and sharing the longest border with the United States, with a population of more than 33 million inhabitants.

Being the second largest country, Canada presents all imaginable types of sceneries, which are widely varied. Throughout the country prevail boreal forest, in the northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains ice is a main element of the scenery, and in the southwest the landscape is relatively flat and prairies are predominant and the lowlands and great lakes in the southeast part of the country.

The country was a French and English colony till the pacific independence from 1867-1982, and was first populated by the aborigines of the territory or First Nations. These settlers, who today represent 1,5 % of the total population of the country, have 58 different languages from different ethnic groups. They are known as the Métis.

Canada is considered to be a bilingual country, being both French and English official languages although English is the most extended and spoken of both.

The country is divided in three regions, the Territories of the Northwest, Nunavut and Yukon conforming the provinces of:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan

The climate is in general cold. Three different climate zones can be distinguished:

• Cold polar climate - north zone of the country
• subarctic Cold with dry winter - central zone of the country
• Moderated with rainfalls throughout the year - west coast of the country