9.

CANADA
Location: Canada is situated in the north of the North America and in many islands like Baffin
Island, Newfoundland or Vancouver. It's between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. And in the
north, there is the Arctic Ocean. Canada's area with its 10 million square kilometres is the second
largest country in the world. It's divided into 10 provinces and three territories. Canada has borders
with the USA and with Alaska which is part of the USA and the border with the USA is the longest
border in the world. Part of the border with the USA is made by four of the Great Lakes called Lake
Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario. It's the largest area of fresh water in the world.
Geography: Canada has large mountain areas called the Rocky Mountains, the Mackenzie
Mountains and the Melville Hills. The highest mountain is Mt. Logan in the Alaska Region. It has
6050 metres. The longest river is the Mackenzie, other big rivers are the St Lawrence which
providing a seaway for ship from the Great Lakes to Atlantic Ocean. There are some 2 millions
lakes in Canada. How I mentioned the Great Lakes, but also Great Slave Lake or Great Bear Lake
which is the largest lake. Niagara Falls lies on the border with the USA and the Canadian part is
called Horseshoe Fall. There are 38 national parks in the Canada. The oldest park Banff was
founded in1885. Canada has mostly a continental climate with warm and sunny summers and long
cold winters. On the Pacific coast the climate is milder and the North, which is uninhabited, has the
Arctic climate.
Population: Canada has a population about 33 million people. The country is bilingual. The half of
the population is British, 30% French and the rest are Indians and Eskimos. The official language is
English and French. Most of the people live within 200 miles of the USA border and the rest of the
country is very thinly populated. But the Eskimo population lives in the Arctic regions in territory
Nunavut. Indians live mostly in the villages in the prairies. Most of the French Canadians live in the
province Quebec.
Political system: Canada is constitutional monarchy with the Queen Elisabeth II as the head, but
she's represented by the Governor-General. The real head of state is the Prime Minister. Today, the
Prime Minister is Stephen Harper and the Governor-general is David Johnston. It's one of the 56
members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It's also member of NATO and United Nations.
Canada has a Federal Parliament consisting of two houses: the House of Commons, whose
members are elected, and the Senate, whose members are appointed. On average, members of
Parliament are elected every four years. There are two leading parties the Liberal Party and the
Progressive Conservative Party.
Big cities: The capital is Ottawa, but the largest city is Toronto. It is the capital of the province of
Ontario. It is situated on the bank of Lake Ontario and there is a very famous City Hall. The second
biggest city in Canada is Montreal which is also the second largest French speaking city in the
world. It lies in Quebec an it is the only city in Canada with more than 1 million inhabitant.
Montreal is situated on and island in the middle of the St Lawrence River. The Summer Olympic
games took place there in 1976. Really famous city is also Vancouver which is situated in British
Columbia and it's one of the important ports in Canada. The Winter Olympic games took place the
in 2010. There are also other well-known cities like Edmonton or Calgary.
Nature: Canada is very rich in minerals and natural resources. There are large deposits of coal, iron
ore, oil and natural gas, but the greatest resource is forest. Most of Canadas northern lands are
unkind environments for living in: only the toughest can survive the cruel winters of the territories.
Because of the huge variety of landscapes in Canada, the climate is just as varied. The west and east
coasts have warmer winters and cooler. The Canadian national animal is the beaver, which is less
populous now than it used to be because of past trapping. Moose, bears (polar bears, grizzly bears,

and black bears), foxes, wolves, seals, deer, and many different species of fish are among the other
common wildlife of Canada.
Sport: Canada is a great sporting nation. Popular sports include ice-hockey, American football,
basketball and lacrosse. Six Canadian ice hockey teams compete in NHL in the USA. Another
popular sport in Canada is curling. This team sport, originally from Scotland, is played on an ice
rink. Players in pairs try to sweep a curling stone with broomsticks to a mark.