Реферат: English speaking countries
The St. Lawrence Lowlands, between the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, is a fertile area of dairy farms, fruit orchards, and tobacco plantations, rich in industry, which is made possible by extensive and inexpensive hydroelectric power.
The Canadian Shield is the country`s largest geographic unit – covering almost half of Canada. This horseshoe shaped area of ancient terrain is a mass of rocks, of many lakes and of endless swamplands. It is sparsely populated but exceedingly rich not only in timber but in nickel, gold, platinum, cobalt, uranium, silver, copper, and iron ore.
Still other riches come from the Interior Plains, which sweep across Prairie provinces north through the Mackenzie River Valley, to the Arctic Coast. The southern part of the Plains is as flat as a pancake, but fertile and constitutes Canada`s magnificent wheat lands. In recent decades they have yielded, besides the golden wheat, liquid gold – oil from beneath the surface, and natural gas as well.They are bordered on the north by thick forest lands.
To the West of the Plains lies the Canadian Cordillera. This is the region of Western Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon, which comprise the glorious Canadian Rockies as well as the Mackenzie and the Stikine Mountains and the peaks of St. Elias and the Coast Ranges. It is in this area that one finds Mount Logan, in the Yukon – Canada`s highest peak climbing some 19,850 feet skywards. Not the entire region is mountainous, though. The interior of British Columbia is a land of plateaus and valleys prosperous with orchards and cattle ranches.
The Pacific Coast bathed by warm, moist Pacific air currents, the British Columbia coast, indented by deep fjords and shielded from Pacific storms by Vancouver Island, has the most moderate climate of Canada`s regions. Vancouver Island`s West Coast receives an exceptional amount of rain, giving it a temperate rain forest climate. Although it does not contain the diversity of species of a tropical rain forest, the island`s west coast does have the oldest and tallest trees in Canada: western red cedars 1.300 years old and Douglas firs 90 metres high.
The Arctic North of the tree-line is a land of harsh beauty. During the short summer, when daylight is nearly continuous and a profusion of flowers blooms in the tundra, the temperature can reach 30 C. Yet the winters are long, bitterly cold and dark. North of the mainland is a maze of islands separated by convoluted straits and sounds, the most famous of which link together to form the fabled Northwest Passage, the route to the Orient sought by so many early explorers.
Climate and Weather
There are many climatic variations in this huge country, ranging from the permanently frozen icecaps north of the 70th parallel to the luxuriant vegetation of the British Columbia`s West Coast. Canada`s most populous regions, which lie in the country`s south along the U.S. border, enjoy four distinct seasons. Here daytime summer temperatures can rise to 35C and higher, while lows of – 25 C are not uncommon in winter. More moderate temperatures are norm in spring and fall.
The seasons dictate the look of the land: according to whether the natural environment is in a state of dormancy or growth, Canadians may go alpine skiing or water skiing. While seasonal change signals fluctuations in temperature and the number of hours of sunshine, the shifting position of air masses also plays a part. The usual air flow from west to east is disrupted in winter when cold, dry air moves down from the Arctic and in summer when warm, tropical air moves up from the south-east. Added to these factors are the effect of mountain ranges, plains and large bodies of water.
Forests
Stretching over nearly half of Canada`s land area are dense forests of spruce and hemlock, pine, cedar, birch, maple, ash, elm and fir. Once an obstacle to settlement, now the forests are a chief source of Canada`s wealth. The industries based on forest products employ hundreds of thousands of men and women. Thousands of sawmills are in use. The production of pulp and its conversion to newsprint is the leading single industry. Forests provide lumber for a growing country`s homes and schools and factories, railway ties, poles and fence posts for its spreading settlement. They supply the furniture factories and publishing houses. A resource both valuable and beautiful, the forests are protected and cherished by people and the state.
Wildlife
In the Arctic zone the polar bear, the musk-ox, the caribou, the Arctic fox, the lemming are still in abundance.
To the South in the area stretching from Alaska to the Gulf of St. Lawrence is the home of the woodland caribou and a few distinctive species of birds.
In the Canadian zone, corresponding in the main with the coniferous-forest belt, are found nearly all the species of mammals and birds that are recognized as distinctively Canadian. These include the moose, the Canada lynx, the beaver and the Canada jay.
In the agricultural areas of the Prairie Provinces and most of the southern Ontario varieties of birds overlap. Typical summer birds are the bluebird, the Baltimore oriole and the catbird, the prairie chicken and the sharp-tailed grouse. Typical mammals are the grey and red squirrels, the mink and the skunk. Certain mammals are peculiar to the prairies: the pronghorn antelope, the jack rabbit and the ground squirrels or gophers. In a small area along the north side of Lake Erie are found the opossum, birds – the mocking-bird and the cardinal.
Central Provinces Quebec
Quebec is the largest Canadian province. It occupies one-sixth of the total area of Canada and is greater that the combined areas of France, Germany and Spain.
From north to south, Quebec takes in three main geographical regions; the Canadian Shield, the St Lawrence Lowlands and the Appalachian Mountains. The Canadian Shield covers about 60 per cent of the land mass and is the world`s oldest mountain range. Permafrost reigns is the northern part of the Shield: only dwarf birches and lichen are able to grow there. The St. Lawrence River, the province`s dominant geographical feature, links the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. The St. Lawrence Lowlands are dotted with more than a million lakes and rivers. Quebec`s forests are equal in area to those of Sweden and Norway combined. To the south, the foothills of the Appalachians separate Quebec from the United States. Almost 80 per cent of Quebeckers live in urban centres located along the St. Lawrence. Montreal and its suburbs have a population of over thee million; Quebec City is the province`s capital.
The European history of Quebec began with the arrival of the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534. The succeeding years saw the establishment of a thriving fur trade, relatively friendly relations with the Aboriginal people and a continuous rivalry between French and British colonists which culminated in the Seven Year`s War. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763 New France became a colony of Britain. But Britain granted official recognition to French Civil Law, guaranteed religious freedom and authorized the use of the French language. In 1867 Quebec became a founding member of the new Dominion of Canada. In this province, where four-fifth of the population speak French as their first language and which maintains its own cultural identity, the question of political self-determination has always been a sensitive issue.
The province has abundant natural resources and energy, along with well-developed agriculture , manufacturing and service sectors.
Montreal is the province`s commercial capital.
Quebec exports 40 per cent of its total production, mainly from the forest industry (printing, lumber and paper) , mining (aluminium and iron ore) and transportation equipment.
Central Provinces Ontario
Three main geological regions make up Ontario: the Great Lakes – the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Canadian Shield and the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Although the soil is poor and not well suited to large-scale farming, there is a wealth of minerals, forests and waterpower. The Canadian Shield and the Hudson Bay Lowlands cover 90 per cent of the province`s territory, but are home to only 10 per cent of the population. The extremes of the northern climate are a fact of life there. Mean daily temperatures reach only from 12 to 15 C in July, dropping to – 25 C in January. Ontario`s biggest Lake Superior is the world`s largest body of fresh water.
The Great Lakes – the St. Lawrence Lowlands make up the rest of southern Ontario and contain most of the population, industry, commerce and agricultural land.
Toronto is Ontario`s capital and Canada`s largest city with a regional population of more than four million. Ottawa, the bilingual, bicultural national capital, sits at the junction of the three rivers.
The first European, Henry Hudson, touched the shores of the present-day Ontario in 1610. It was part of the British colony of Quebec in the 18th century. When the Dominion of Canada was created in 1867, Ontario and Quebec became two separate provinces.
With approximately 11 million people, Ontario is the country`s most heavily populated province. While English is the official language Ontario`s Francophones play an essential part in the province`s cultural life and are the largest language minority.