Canadian Geography
Canada, the world’s second-largest country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. This vast country covers a variety of landscapes, ranging from the icy expanses of the Arctic, through the dense Boreal forests and the vast Canadian Prairies, to the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Let’s explore some fascinating aspects of Canada’s geography!
Canada has the longest coastline in the world and shares the world’s longest border
Canada has more kilometers of coastline than any other country in the world with three oceans bordering the country and plenty of irregularly shaped islands and bays. It is difficult to get exact measurements but approximately 243,011 kilometers (151,000 miles) of Canadian land is touching the sea.
Additionally, Canada has the world’s longest land border with the United States. It stretches 8,891 kilometers and it’s been declared the longest international border in the world. Canada has an advantage in having just one direct neighbor, so its entire land border is shared with a single country, and it borders the US not only along its southern edge but along the Alaskan part too.
Canada has record-setting lakes
Canada also has the largest area of freshwater lakes than any other place on Earth. The country is home to some of the world’s largest lakes. Among the top ten largest lakes globally, five are located either entirely or partly within Canadian territory. The country is also dotted with almost 900 thousand smaller lakes, creating a vast network of water bodies from one coast to the other.
Canada has a lot of trees
Canada is famous for its massive areas of woodland, with an impressive 40% of its land area covered in trees. Canada consists of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield. Forests cover 42% of Canada’s land surface, which represents about 8% of the world’s total forested areas, predominantly composed of spruce, poplar, and pine species.
Canada is home to a desert
It’s not all ice and snow in Canada. Not too many people know that there is a desert in the southern part of British Columbia. The area around the town of Osoyoos is dry and full of antelope brush, which makes it look more like Arizona than any classic Canadian landscape. The area is also much warmer than most of Canada, which has made it one of the country’s top wine-growing regions.
The coldest temperatures in Canada rival those on Mars
Everyone knows that Canadian winters can be very cold. Temperatures in the north reach as low as -63ºC (-81ºF) and even the southern provinces have temperatures well below zero in the winter months. To put that into perspective, the average surface temperature on Mars is -62ºC (-80ºF), meaning that on rare and particularly inhospitable days Canada is colder than the Red Planet.
Canada has slightly less gravity
The area around Hudson Bay has less gravitational pull than the rest of our globe. It is an outcome of glacial ice that pushed the land down during the last Ice Age, which has not managed to rise back up. According to scientists, because of that people weigh 2.8 grams less than anywhere else.
