Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
CANADA Geography In the Northern Hemisphere, in the northern part of the North American continent The USA in the south, the Pacific Ocean and Alaska in the west, the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Atlantic Ocean in the east The second largest country by area in the world Divided into seven regions with different landscape and climate - The Pacific Coast – moderate climate (British Columbia and Vancouver Island) - The Cordillera – made up of the Rocky Mountains, the Coast Mountains and other ranges going from north to south of the west - The Prairies – the plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (grain production, deposits of oil, natural gas) - The Canadian Shield – area of Hudson Bay (storehouse of minerals such as gold, silver, zinc, copper etc. - The Great Lakes – area of St. Lawrence Lowlands, Southern Quebec and Ontario, industrial heart with two largest cities, Montreal and Toronto, 50% of Canadians live here - The Atlantic Provinces – Appalachian Region (going through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland) was the first to be settled by Europeans, rich fishing area around the area of Newfoundland - The Arctic – area of tundra, short summers with continuous daylight and long, severe winters Area of Great Lakes (Lake Superior, L. Ontario, L.Erie, L. Huron + L. Michigan in the USA) on the south and other lakes further north (Lake Winnipeg, Great Slave Lake, Great Bear Lake) The highest peak Mt. Logan (almost 6000 metres) in Yukon Diversity of animal species (the beaver, the moose, the grizzly bear, and the coyote) History Dates 25, 000 years back, 1,000 ago Icelandic Norsemen settled for a short time on the island of Newfoundland 1497 John Cabot (Italian) claimed the land for the English Crown 1534 Jacques Cartier (French) took possession of the territory along the St. Lawrence river in the name of French King Rivalry between France and Britain 1st July 1867 Canadian Confederation officially proclaimed (four provinces – Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia), it became a dominion of the United Kingdom (independent except for the foreign affairs) 1982 Canada formally separated from the United Kingdom Political system Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy but also a federal state Reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor General (for 5 years) Parliament composed of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons Executive power in hands of the Cabinet, under the direction of the Prime Minister Two official languages Consists of 10 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan) and three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut) Capital city Ottawa Culture Multiculturalism (British, French, aboriginal influences) Michael Ondaatje, the author of The English Patient, the first Canadian to win the Man Booker Prize (1992), Margaret Atwood won it in 2000 for The Blind Assassin James Cameron (Aliens, The Terminator, Titanic, Avatar), Academy Award winner, originally from Canada Famous actors of Canadian origin are Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) Celine Dion (French-Canadian singer) became Canada's best-selling music artist Other famous names in music include Leonard Cohen, Shania Twain, band Rush Ice-hockey and lacrosse are official national sports, curling is popular too host of the 2010Winter Olympics in Vancouver Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org T.Chudý, J. Chudá: Some Basic Facts, Fragment, Havlíčkův Brod 1996 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY8L21Rk-rg