РЕФЕРАТ

на тему:

“Canada”

CANADA

Official name. Canada.

Status. An independent federative state, a member of the Commonwealth, headed by the Queen of GB.

Area. 9,976,000 sq. km (3,851,790 sq. mi).

Population. 30,1 mln

Nationality. Canadian.

Ethnic composition.

About 40% are people of British origin.

30% are people of French origin.

1% are Indians and Eskimos.

European minorities (Irish, German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Italian, Dutch, Polish).

The “Open Door” policy of immigration which began in the 1890s has meant that Canada’s population is varied.

Language. English, French are both official languages. 20% of the population speak only French, while 13% speak both French and English.

Religion. Roman Catholics 46%, Protestants 41%.

Education. Literacy: 99%.

Canada has about 50 universities. Among them are:

New Brunswick (Fredericton, 1785),

Dalhousie (Halifax, 1818),

McGill (Montreal, 1821),

Toronto (1827),

Laval (Quebec, 1852) – French language university,

Montreal (1876) – French language university.

Capital. Ottawa (920,800).

Currency. Dollar.

Location.

Is situated in the north of North America continent.

Is the 2nd world’s largest country.

Is bordered by the USA.

Its only neighbour is the USA.

Is washed by the Arctic Ocean in the North, by the Atlantic Ocean in the East, by the Pacific Ocean in the West.

Is about 7,730 km from east to west.

Shares with the USA 7 of the world’s largest lakes.

Contains 3 of the globe’s longest 20 rivers.

Is blessed with the most fresh water of any country.

Topography.

Canada can be divided into 7 geographic regions:

The Appalachian Region, the far eastern area (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the part of Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River), is hilly and wooded.

The St. Lawrence – Great Lakes Lowland (between Quebec City and Windsor, Ontario) includes most of the country’s large cities and towns. Half (1/2) of Canada’s people live here.

The Hudson Bay and Arctic Lowlands. This land is mainly flat, bog, little inhabited.

The Canadian Shield (Precambrian) formed 2,5 billion years ago (northern Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, across Labrador to the northern edge of Alberta) is an ancient, rocky region with rivers, lake-filled timberland. It’s rugged, cool and little developed.

The Great Plains (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, parts of Alberta) is a huge, flat region responsible for Canada’s wheat crop.

Western Cordillera Region ( British Columbia, the Yukon, parts of Alberta) combines the Rocky Mountains, the Coast Mountains, the Selkirks, Mount Logan (19,850 feet). Mountains dominate this region.

The Arctic Region is in the far north.

Rivers: - the St. Lawrence

the Mackenzie

the Saskatchewan

the Columbia

the Yukon.

Climate. Temperate, varies from freezing winter cold to blistering summer heat.

The warmest area of Canada is along the US border.

The warmest areas with the longest summers and the shortest winters are British Columbia’s South, central coast, southern Ontario around the Niagara Peninsula.

July and August temperatures are + 20є Cs and few days + 30єCs.

The hottest summer temperature and the most sunshine is in Manitoba.

The east and west coasts are wet.

The prairies are dry.

Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto can be humid in summer and damp in winter.

Nights are cool all year round.

January temperature is - 18є Cs.

The further north the more snow.

Vegetation (flora).

There are 8 vegetation zones:

The Arctic tundra.

The boreal forest.

The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River forest zone.

The Acadian forest.

The parkland zone.

Prairie grasslands.

The Rocky Mountain forest.

The Pacific Coast forest.

The sugar maple is one of Canada’s best known symbols and the leaf appears on the country’s flag. The sugar maples also produce edible maple syrup.

Wildlife (fauna).

Canada has abundant wildlife:

Bears (grizzly bear, brown bear, black bear, polar bear).

Beaver (a symbol, they say “as busy as a beaver”).

Buffalo / bison.

Wolf.

Coyote.

Deer (moose, caribou, elk).

Rocky mountain goat.

Lynx (a grey cat 90 cm long).

Skunk.

Birds.

Fish.

Тhe making of Canada

John Cabot, an Italian sea captain in the pay of the British, discovered Canada in 1497, five years after Columbus discovered America. He planted a huge cross on the shore and sailed home, with the news that he had reached north east China , the land of the Great Khan , and that the sea was full of fish.

In 1534 , the French explorer, Jacques Cartier, sailed right down the St.Lawrence River until he could go no further. Among the great forests along the shore he met Indians who welcomed him, but in return he kidnapped some of their chiefs . He was the first European to treat the Indians with cruelty and treachery. It was almost another hundred years before French colonists settled on the banks of the St Lawrence and founded Quebec. They were sent there to give food and shelter to the French fur traders, who were carrying on a profitable trade with the Indians.

By the middle of the 18th century, the French in North America realized that they could not avoid a fight to the death with the British and their American colonists, but back in France the French king , Louis XV , was too busy with his wars with Prussia to bother much about what was going on in the ‘ Land of Ice and Snow’. So the French troops in Canada did not receive the supplies they needed so badly, and the few ships that