6. Canada – history, geography, places of interest-
Maturitní okruh Anglický jazyk č. 6 Markéta Vachulová,oktáva
Canada - geographical data The flag of Canada
- some facts from the history
- population and language situation
- political system
- big cities
- nature, natural beauties
- typical products, agriculture, raw materials
- national sports and games
- education
Motto of Canada is A Mari Usque Ad Mare in English "From Sea to Sea"
1. geographical data
Canada, which is situated among the Atlantic, the Arctic and The Pacific Oceans, occupies the whole of the northern part of North America (except Alaska) and many islands (for example Baffin Island, Newfoundland, Vancouver, Prince Edward Island etc.). Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia) – its area is about 10 million square km. Canada neighbours with the USA, with Alaska.
2. some facts from the history
The original inhabitants came to Canada 10 or 25 thousand years ago from Asia. The first Europeans here were the Vikings who discovered Canada more than a thousand years ago. During the Age of Discoveries (the 15th and 16th centuries) some navigators (e.g. Jacques Cartier) landed on the Canadian coast. Since the 16th century large territories were occupied by the French, originally it was called New France because it was a French colony. In 1773 the French were defeated by British. During the War of Independence Canada remained the loyal to Britain because the people were afraid to becoming a part of the USA. France lost this country and Canada became a British dominion.
3. population and language situation
Population of Canada reaches more than 27 million people and the density is one of the lowest in the world. About 80% Canadians live in large urban centres located near the border to USA.
Canada is bilingual country. 45% of the Canadians are British origin, 29% French origin (most of the French – speaking population live in the province of Quebec, it’s the only province where the main administrative language is French) and 23% have their origins in the other European countries. The original inhabitants – Indians and Eskimos (Eskimos are sometimes called the Inuits) also live there. Indians probably gave the country its name: one of their tribes used the word “kanatta” for village.
The society is quite varied and very tolerant.
The majority of the population are Christian, but they are divided into Protestants 3O% and Roman Catholics 45%.
4. political system
Canada became a British dominion in 1867. Now it’s an independent federal state and a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, but the head of the state is still the British monarch (Queen Elizabeth II), but the leading figure in political life is the Prime Minister. Canada has its own federal parliament, which consists of two houses: The House of Commons, whose members are elected, and The Senate, whose members are appointed.
Since 1965 it has its own national flag. It is red and in the centre there is a white square with simple red maple leaf. Red colour symbolizes the blood of the Canadians who died in World War I., white represents the snow of the Canadian North.
Canada is divided into 10 provinces ant 3 territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon)
· Quebec (the biggest one)
· Newfoundland
· Prince Edward Island
· Nova Scotia
· New Brunswick
· Manitoba
· Ontario
· Saskatchewan
· Alberta
· British Columbia
5. big cities
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, it’s the seat of the Canadian Parliament and government. It is a green city with lots of parks, walking and cycling paths, picnic areas and birds. You can find here the Rideau Canal which links the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario.
The biggest city is Montreal. Montreal got its name from words “Mont Royal”, which means Royal mountain. The tourists visiting the city like hiking to the top of this mountain. It’s the second largest French speaking city in the world (after Paris) and it has about 3 millions inhabitants.
Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is very large city as well. It’s situated next to the Lake Ontario, which is used for all kinds of water sports.
The capital of Quebec is Quebec City. There are many historical places and it is called the most beautiful city in North America.
Other large cities are Vancouver, Edmonton, Hammilton.
6. nature, natural beauties
There is the largest area of fresh water in the world – Great Lakes Region. And, of course, everyone knows famous Niagara Falls between Lake Erie and Ontario. We can find also other big and beautiful lakes in Canada, for example Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Lake Winnipeg etc.
Canada has also large mountain areas – the Rocky Mountains, the Mackenzie Mountains and the Melville Hills. The highest mountain is Mt. Logan (5961 m) in the Alaska Region. The longest river is the Mackenzie (flows from the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean) and other big rivers are the Yukon, the Fraser, the Columbia and the River St. Lawrence, with its beautiful waterfalls.
There are also about 30 national parks, for example Jasper National Park where tourists can admire the scenery or enjoy walking, climbing or skiing
The climate varies from Arctic climate in the North (with winter temperatures as low as minus 50 °C), to moderate climate in the east and west with warm summers and cold winters. The north of the country near the Arctic is cold tundra with large and beautiful forests to the south. The central plains form the prairie.
The typical species of canadian´s animals are:
Seal – lachtan, tuleň, Polar bear – lední medvěd, Wolf – vlk, Sea-lion – lvoun, Artic fox – polární liška, Walrus – mrož, Whales – velryby, Moose – los, Musk – pižmoň, Brennt-goose – bernežka, Beaver – bobr, Black bear – medvěd, Cod – treska, Grizzly bear – medvěd.
7. typical products, agriculture, raw materials
Canada has mainly coal, metal, oil and gas, machine-building and chemical industries. The main mining province is Alberta. Motorcar industry has its works in Chatham and Oshawa, ship are built on the banks of Great Lakes, in Montreal and Toronto. Hydroelectric industry is highly developed in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Canada belongs to the G-8 countries.
Natural resources are gold, uranium (Canada occupies the first place in the world in the mining of uranium), other metal ores, oil and gas.
Almost half the land area of Canada is covered by forests. Only about 7% of land is suitable for farming (wheat). Other important agriculture items are e.g. livestock production, oats, vegetables, fruits and leather.
Most people work in services, the rest work in manufacturing, agriculture, finance, fishing etc.
8. national sports and games
Canada’s most popular sports are ice hockey, swimming, skiing, baseball, tennis. Ice hockey and lacross are the national sports.
9. education
The education system varies from province to province and includes six to eight years of elementary school, four of five years of secondary school and three of four years at the university.
Seal – lachtan, tuleň, Polar bear – lední medvěd, Wolf – vlk, Sea-lion – lvoun, Artic fox – polární liška, Walrus – mrož, Whales – velryby, Moose – los, Musk – pižmoň, Brennt-goose – bernežka, Beaver – bobr, Black bear – medvěd, Cod – treska, Grizzly bear – medvěd.
PIŽMOŇ!
(Dom, 16. 1. 2008 19:53)