Canada
Official Name: Since July 1st 1867, Canada is known simply as “Canada”. The word “Canada” itself was inspired by the Aboriginal Iroquois word “kanata” meaning village.
Area: 9,984,670 km² (second largest country in the world after Russia)
Physical features: Canada is divided into five geographical regions, each distinct with its own climate and landscape. They are The Atlantic Provinces – Central Canada–– The Prairies - The West Coast – The Northern Territories.
The Atlantic Provinces: (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) They are known for their rich natural resources, including fishing, farming, forestry and mining. The weather is known for its cool winters and warm summers.
Central Canada: ( Quebec and Ontario). Half of Canada’s population lives in Central Canada where the country providing the biggest portion of Canada’s exports. It’s a mountainous region rich in minerals with a huge supply in fresh water.
The Prairies: (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). This region is rich in energy resources and has the most important agricultural land in the country. The climate is mostly dry with cold winters and very hot summers.
The West Coast: (British Columbia) It enjoys the mildest weather in the country. Known mostly for its mountains and is considered Canada’s Pacific gateway with the Canada’s largest port situated in the city of Vancouver. The province produces mostly forestry products.
The Northern Territories (the Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories) This region consists of one-third of Canada’s land mass, but due to its harsh climate it is inhabited by only 100 000 people. It is rich in gold, lead, copper, diamond and zinc mines. It is often referred to as the “Land of the Midnight Sun” because in the summer, the sun doesn’t set for over 24 hours, and in the winter, darkness covers the land for than three months. As for vegetation, most of the land is tundra, the cast rocky arctic plain.
Highest Point: Mount Logan in the Yukon Territory at 5959 meters.
Languages: Canada has two official languages, English (59%) and French (23%). 17% of the population have another language as their ‘mother tongue’.
Religion: The Country is predominantly Christian with 43.2% belonging to the Roman Catholic faith, whereas the Muslim population constitutes about 2% of the population.
