Canada [antikvár]

Introduction Canada is vast-far larger than any other member of the Commonwealth - and the second largest country in the world. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and from the United States border to the North Pole. Halifax on the east coast is farther from Vancouver on the west coast than it is from London. Such staggering vastness is a dominating feature because it creates a diversity of climate and vegetation that has greatly influenced the human environment and also because much is a huge area that is still undeveloped and, indeed, at present is still undevelopable. Archaeologists have established the existence of an Indian culture in Newfoundland more than 4,000 years ago. Excavation has disclosed that adventurous Vikings visited and lived there around 1000 A.D. Recorded history credits John Cabot, sailing from Bristol in 1497, as being the first European to reach Newfoundland. Further voyages in the 16th and 17th centuries were attempts to find a North-West Passage through to Asia. Land expeditions were even more difficult in such unhospitable terrain. Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence river and claimed the land for the King of France in 1534. French interest continued and Champlain founded settlements in Nova Scotia and Quebec. In spite of hostile Indians and severe climate New France became a reality when trading posts were established. Other countries became interested and the Hudson's Bay Company was founded by the English in 1670 and speedily rivalled the French with their settlements and fur trading. The climax came in 1759 when General Wolfe stormed Quebec and General Montcalm capitulated. Canada came under British rule, but the French were allowed to keep their lands, language, religion and laws. After the American War of Independence many colonists preferred to remain under British rule and moved north into Canada. British emigrants arrived in increasing numbers and it was decided to divide the country into Upper, or British, Canada and Lower, or French, Canada. In 1840 the Act of Union made Canada one nation and in 1867 the Canadians formed a Confederation with a central government in control of their own affairs. Land exploration had reached Winnipeg in 1812 by wagon and canoe, but by 1870 there were scarcely 10,000 pioneers in the prairie lands. Then with the arrival of steam-jjoats on rivers and lakes the land was rapidly opened up. By 1885, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, the prairie was becoming productive and the real pioneering was over - unification was complete. Canada has spectacular scenery of great contrast and grandeur; there are huge mountain ranges, dense forests, wide expanses of prairie, tremendous rivers, cataracts and lakes twice the size of England. One thirteenth of Canada is fresh water. There are four of the Great Lalces, Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario, partly in Canadian territory and many others completely in Canada. The Mackenzie river flows 2,500 mUes to the Arctic while the most important waterway in the world, the St. Lawrence, drains the Great Lakes and is the main route from the Atlantic to the interior. The far northern coast is a network of peninsulas and inlets with Hudson Bay thrusting south like an enormous inland sea. The coastline is rugged both east and west and is one of the longest in the world and there is an abundance of fish. Geographically Canada falls into natural divisions, each with a distinctive character. The whole area is covered by a dense air network considerably cheaper than Europe. Transcontinental rail travel is still popular and long distance buses operate to far-removed points. Starting on the Pacific coast there is British Columbia with Vancouver, third largest city of Canada and a great port and commercial centre. The climate is the country's Idndest, so warm and moist that there are luxuriant forests and gardens making it the 'Suncoast' for vacations. Away inland are the Roclcy Mountains, a magnificent range of snowcapped peaks and waterfalls. There is Banff National Park, the oldest of the conservation areas. Spreading eastward is the Great Central Plain of the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This is big-slcy country, the "breadbasket" of Canada. The black loam soil produces more wheat than