Canada

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA:  Canada is situated between the Atlantic, the Arctic and the Pacific Oceans. Its territory occupies the whole northern part of the North American continent with the exception of Alaska. Its area makes it the second largest country in the world. Canada borders with only one country – the USA. Canada is divided into ten provinces and two territories. The ten provinces are: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Ireland, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Almost one third of Canada lies outside the provincial areas in the vast region which includes the northern part of the continent and the large group of islands extending (táhnout se, rozprostírat se) to the North Pole. This area is divided into the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. The coasts of Canada are surrounded by many islands. Their area represents about one sixth of Canada. The largest islands are in the Arctic ocean. From an economic point of view, the most important islands are Newfoundland and Vancouver. Their natural resources are widely used. The lowlands extend across three fourths of the surface (povrch) – especially around the Hudson Bay and in the north. The second typical area are the glacial plains ( ledovcové plošiny). The Cordillera Mountain range consists of  several zones on the west sides ( Rocky Mountains, Mackenzie Mountains, Melville Hills). The highest peak is Mt. Logan. The Appalachian Mountains occupy a relatively small area at the southern frontier.

Geographically Canada can be divided into five major ( AGRICULTURE)

1. The Appalachian region, most of witch is forested,  farmland( zemědělská půda) is concentrated in coastal New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
2. The second region comprises the lowlands near the Great Lakes and the River St. Lawrence. The temperate(mírný) climate and the  fertile soil ( úrodná půda)  make the area suitable for farming and specialized crops (plodiny), particularly fruit and tabacco. Cheap hydroelectric power from the St. Lawrence waterway has helped to concentrate industrial development.
3.The Canadian Shield (štít)  makes up almost the half of Canada. This area of ancient rock, surrounding Hudson Bay, and spreading from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Ocean, is made up of  rounded  (zaoblený) hills, plenty of the lakes and areas of swamps (bažina). Most of this region is  unsuitable  for agriculture but its richness lies in its forests, its minerals (nickel, platinum, gold, iron….)  and its waterpower.
4. The west of the Shield lies in the central plains. The southern part is known as the Prairies (prérie), which are the great Canadian wheat lands. The rest of the area is largely forested. In the higher and wild country the cattle are rised.
5. The Cordilleran region is a mountainous terrain which includes most of British Columbia, the Yukon Territory ant the islands off the west coast of Canada.

LAKES AND RIVERS:  Canada has about one third of the world’s known fresh water areas. The longest Canadian river, the Mackenzie, which drains ( odvodňovat) an area of approximately 2 km², flows into the Arctic Ocean. The Yukon, the Columbia and the Fraser flow into the Pacific and the Saskatchewan, Churchill and Nelson Rivers flow into Hudson Bay. The receding glaciers left behind ( ustupující ledovce zanechaly) many lakes on the territory of Canada. Most of the important rivers flow through them. Among the largest and the most beautiful lakes belong Lake Winnipeg, Athabasca, Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake. The use of these lakes for transportation  and other purposes ( využití) is very limited due to the climatic conditions. They are frozen for at least six months of every year. The lower part of the Mackenzie melts for only three month. The Great Lakes ( namely Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario)  have formed in the depression (proláklina) where the Canadian Shields meets the Appalachian Mountains.  They represented a unique natural complex 250,000 km² in area. They constitute the largest concentration of fresh water in the world by in terms of volume (Objemem jsou největší koncentrací sladké vody na světě). The Great Lakes are connected by canals to the Saint Lawrence River. They form an important transportation route. On the rivers hydroelectric power stations are built.
CLIMATE:  The climate in Canada is quite severe ( drsný)- even in the south. From the Arctic, dry and cold air currents flow. Hubson`s Bay is covered with ice until the summer. The situation is made worse by the Labrador Current. The icebergs that are carried by the Labrador Current threaten naval transport. Almost the majority of country is covered with snow for at least half the year. Summer is quite cool in almost all area.


HISTORY: Indians and Eskimos were the original inhabitants of Canada. The first Canadian settlers probably arrived as early as the beginning of the ice age. The Vikings were the first to discover Canada more than a thousand years ago. John Cabot stepped onto the American continent one year before Christopher Columbus. The English king Henry VII sent him to search the way to China and Japan. Cabot’s son Sebastian also undertook (podniknout) several trips to the Labrador area. The English, made hardly any use of the land. The inhospitable (nehostinný) was not very attractive to settlers. At that time it was not yet known what incredible (neskutečný) fishing grounds (loviště) are to be found there. French fishermen from Brittany and Normandy were visiting  the waters around the New Found Land as early as 16th century. The first of the discoverers the land Canada was Jacques Cartier. On his three trips he vainly (marně) searched for gold and the way to the East Indies and China. He called the newly discovered country according to the Indian word “kannata”. The Indian word meant only the settlement. Canada was the French colony and was called New France. Compared to other American colonies the colonization of Canada progressed very slowly. Canada also became an English colony. The first stage (fáze) of English colonization in Canada was the settlement  of the New Scotland colony. Following  the French Revolution, England tried to push France out (vytlačit) of this continent. The fight for Canada culminated between 1756-1763 in the seven years` colonial war  between France and Great Britain. At the beginning France wan. In 1763 Canada was given to England by the Treaty of Paris. The First World War helped to improve the position of the Canadian Confederation among the British dominions. Canada become the member of the League of Nations. In 1931 Canada become independent.


POPULATION: Canada has a population a population of about 23 million. Approximately half of the population is of British origin, almost one third is of French origin; there is 1% of Indians and Eskimos (also called Innuits) and there are German, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Dutch, Polish and other minorities. English and French are Canada’s official languages. Due to the natural and climatic conditions, the population density is very low. There are two, at most three, residents per square kilometre. Most people live in the southern part of Canada. The rest of the area is very cold. More than 75% of the total population live in cities. Protestants predominate in Canada. There are divided into many sects and churches. The most powerful of the churches is , however, the Roman Catholic Church.

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Canada is a dominion of the United Kingdom. The head of state is the British Queen, Elizabeth II. Her representative in Canada is the Governor-General. The ten provinces of Canada are united under a Federal Government, which controls matters (záležitost) concerning the country as a whole. Each province has a provincial government with a Lieutenant-Governor at its head. The Yukon and Northwest Territories are governed by commissioners appointed by the Federal Government. The Canadian Parliament consists of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons .

INDUSTRY: Canada has vast natural resources. Most of the metallic minerals are found in the Shield region. The country is among the chief producers of zinc, lead, copper, gold, silver, asbestos, soft coal, and has rich fields of oil and natural gas. There is still a wealth of game (zásoba lovné zvěře) in Canada and especially the fur-bearers are economically very important. Canada’s fishing grounds are extremely productive. Principal manufactures include foodstuffs, iron and steel, machinery, metal products, wood pulp, electricity and textiles. The chief Canadian exports are newsprint, paper, wood, wheat, beef, fish and minerals. 

PLACE OF INTEREST:
Canada is famous for its varied and beautiful countryside, especially near the Greak Lakes in the south-east and the Slave and Bear Lakes in the north-west. Visitors to Canada are eager to see Niagara Falls which are to be found between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.The Canadian fall is called the  the Horseshoe Fall and is 49 m hight and almost 1 km wide. Canada also has high mountain rangers, such as the Rocky Mountains and the Mackenzie Mountains.
There are about thirty national parks in Canada, one of them being Jasper National Park in Alberta.Thousands of tourists visit Canada’s national parks all the year round to admire the scenery or to enjoy walking ,climbing, sightseeing, fishing or skiing there.                                                  TOWERS: Canada’s capital is Ottawa, Ontario. Other chief cities include Montreal, Canada’s larges city and the second largest French-speaking city in the world, and Toronto, the capital city of Ontario, where the world’s tallest structure, Canadian Tower was build.