Canada

CANADA

Canada is a federal state in North America. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom). Canada since 1982 is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II bears the title of Queen of Canada. The capital is Ottawa and the maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada. Canada is a member of NATO, the G8 countries and a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Canada is also a member of the OECD, the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank. Moreover, Canada also has free trade agreements with Chile and Israel.

Canada borders to the Atlantic Ocean in the east, to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward the Arctic Ocean. Canada is a typical immigrant country in 2006 had nearly 1,180. 000 belongs to the indigenous people. Canada s population is mostly concentrated in a few centres. The largest city is Toronto. Toronto will be followed by Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. These cities have more than a million inhabitants. Also, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the cities of London, Hamilton, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are densely populated.

The official language in Canada is English and French. In Quebec is the only official language French. Canada to Russia is geographically the second largest country in the world and has about 33 million inhabitants (2007). Canada has also geographically the largest inland fresh water on earth. These are the Great Lakes from the Lake Erie, Huron, Michigan (the one, which is in the United States), Superior and the lake Ontario. One of the largest lakes in Canada includes the Great Bear Lake, the Great Slave Lake, Winnipeg Lake, and Athabasca Lake. These lakes are also the water supply from Canada. Also a part of the Niagara Falls between Erie and the Ontario see is located in Canada. The most important river of Canada is the St. Lawrence River with over 3.0000 km length. He serves as water way from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. The annual freight transport is 40 million tons. Canada s second longest river, the Mackenzie River, is about 2,000 km and is in the north-west of the country. The other major rivers in the country are: Yukon River, Columbia River, the Fraser River, the Nelson River, La Grande, the Churchill River, the Manicouagan River and the tributaries Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Peace and Ottawa.

Although it is in Canada also deserts and tundra, Canada has the largest primeval forests, wilderness areas (20% of the world) and the largest conifer forests in the world: Sugar maple, beech, birch and pine, and many others. The maple tree, the leaf is also a symbol of Canada, is here in abundance. The other trees are: Hickory, oaks, elms chestnut, walnut trees, trembling poplar, yellow pine, firs, and red cedars. Even mineral resources, there is much: nickel, sulphur, asbestos, aluminium, gold, coal, copper, iron ore, potash, uranium, zinc, oil and natural gas.

The climate in Canada is very different; from - 35 to + 35 C. There are polar climate to temperate climate, the boreal climate to maritime climate. Accordingly, there are different flora and fauna. Apart from the usual animals in Canada, there are also polar bears, polar wolves, beaver, raccoon, wolf, muskrats, seals, mink, polar foxes, moose, polar wapitis and hares. These are just a few among the many thousands of species in Canada.