#Countries: Canada
By João Pinheiro + Sources
How are you dude? We’re back with the #Countries posts. We will talk about the second largest country in the world after Russia. It’s Canada, the country from Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes, the CN Tower, the extreme cold and the famous that many people think they are Americans. See a little more of that country.
Learn a little…
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Canada is the world’s second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the world’s longest land border shared by the same two countries.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, the region’s Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America to the United Kingdom in 1763 after the French and Indian War, which was essentially the North American theatre of the Seven Years’ War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy, culminating in the Canada Act 1982.
Canada is a federal state governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. The country is officially bilingual and multicultural at the federal level, with a population of approximately 35 million as of 2013. Canada’s advanced economy is one of the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed trade networks, especially with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship.
Canada is a developed country, with the ninth highest per capita income globally, and the 11th highest Human Development Index ranking. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of education, government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, and economic freedom. Canada is a recognized middle power and a member of many international institutions, including the G7, G8, G20, ICCPR, NATO, NAFTA, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth of Nations, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and the United Nations.
Full of water
Canada is the second largest country by area in the world, behind only Russia. Much of Canada located in the Arctic regions, thus only has the fourth largest amount of arable land in the world, losing to Russia, China and the United States.
While Canada occupies a larger area of the U.S., has only one-ninth of its population. About half of the country is covered by boreal forests.
However, Canada has vast reserves of water: its rivers carry about 9% of the renewable water supply in the world, it contains a quarter of the world’s wetlands and has the third largest number of glaciers [after Antarctica and Greenland].
Because of the extensive glaciation, Canada has more than two million lakes: the entirely Canadian, over 31,000 have between 3 and 100 km², while 563 are larger than 100 km².
The hydrography of Canada is based on the watershed of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, which is the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world. Over 40% of the Canadian population is close to the Great Lakes basin, they are a great source of income for the region both in the United States, as in Canada.
The Mackenzie River, a river that rises in northwestern Canada and empties into the Pacific Ocean, is the basis of the largest watershed in the country. But not much utilized by the local population because it can not navigate through it for seven months.
The Saint Lawrence River has about 1,197 km long and is the link between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The river is fully navigable, and forms the boundary between the United States and Canada, throughout his journey he crosses major city like Ontario and Quebec.
The Great Lakes, together, have more than 246,000 km ² and are connected by narrow rivers or canals. They were formed about 12,000 years, during the Ice Age. The Great Lakes are a group of five lakes that lie between the eastern U.S. and Canada. Are formed by Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
Although five separate basins are lakes, they are interconnected to form a single large body of fresh water. The lakes form a chain connecting the center of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. The interior to the exit in the St. Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Michigan-Huron (in this case, the two lakes together form a single large lake), flows south to the Erie and then to north to Ontario.
The lakes are connected with several rivers, and have about 35 thousand islands. The Great Lakes region contains not only the big six major lakes, but also hundreds of smaller lakes, called inland lakes. Of the five lakes, Lake Michigan is the only one that is totally within the United States, while others form the border between aquatic United States and Canada.
Down the Niagara Falls in a barrel…
The Niagara Falls are a grouping of large waterfalls located on the Niagara River in eastern North America, between lakes Erie and Ontario, on the border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York.
The Niagara Falls are composed of three distinct groups of waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.
While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide, easily the most voluminous waterfall located in North America.
When the water flow is high, about 168 000 m³ of water falls Falls every minute, while the average is 168,000 m³.
The Niagara Falls are famous for their beauty and are a valuable source of hydroelectric power and a challenging project for environmental preservation. Having been a very popular tourist destination on the continent for more than a century, the Niagara Falls are divided by the City of Niagara Falls (Ontario, Canada) and its nearby namesake Niagara Falls (New York, USA).
They say that Niagara Falls has a hypnotic attraction that makes some people have an uncontrollable compulsion to jump in and join those powerful and turbulent waters. The police say they rescued an average of 20 people a year who choose to Niagara Falls as the place to end their lives. But there are those who decide to go down the falls in the name of adventure and not suicide.
I have ABSOLUTELY SURE that with this paragraph, with the title of this block and the animation above the picture, many of you remembered the episode of Woody Woodpecker, in which the bird decides to go crazy in a barrel to down the falls, while the guard tries to stop him. Will anyone survive that fall?
What is needed to get down the Niagara Falls and stay alive to tell then? A complete knowledge of physics? Lucky? Total lack of fear? Since 1901 [and probably even before that], 16 people got off the Falls in the name of adventure. One was in October 2003. The desire of the group to experience fear led him to the brink of the Falls and 52 meters down towards the turbulent waters and icy. Of these 16 people, 11 survived, and two of them fell twice Niagara Falls. Some of these brave people spend hundreds of dollars [the economies of their lives, most of the time] building barrels and other vessels to protect themselves during the terrible dip in the rocks and rapids of the river. Further down without any protection.
Imagine the speed you reach after crossing the rapids of the Niagara River and then dive into the falls. Now imagine the force of 2,271,247 liters of water per second falling on top of you, not to mention the rocks against which you debate under all that water. The descriptions of the people who have gone through this experience gives a sense of absolute terror that is this: “is like jumping into free fall without a parachute.” But it is clear that the problem is not the fall but the “landing”.
Firstly, has the danger you face inside the barrel [if you use a]. When you exceed the 50 meters from the Horseshoe Falls, there are still another 55 meters to the lake Maid of the Mist. Forces that can make you debate inside the barrel are very strong and the risk of injury due to acceleration and deceleration of the stream is extremely high.
There is also the danger of hitting the rocks and have a barrel destroyed. If this happens, you have no protection and may drown or discuss the stones to death, and the danger of being “sucked” behind the curtain of water and running out of air before being rescued.
Of course there are many other hazards and depend on the type of boat you are using.
A “South Africa of water”
Also in Canadian territory located Hudson Bay. She is a bay located in northeastern Canada, incorporated in the Arctic Ocean. This bay receives drainage from a huge area, including Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana and even the Southeast region of Nunavut. The Hudson Bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by Hudson Strait and the Arctic Ocean by Foxe Basin.
To get an idea of the size of this huge bay, she has the approximate size of Pará and Amazonas, the two largest states of Brazil. Also has approximate size of Angola, Niger, Peru and South Africa. Is more than twice that of France. Already given to get an idea of how “wet” is Canada.
The country’s largest city
Toronto is the largest city in Canada, the fourth largest city in North America, and the provincial capital of Ontario. It lies on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The city of Toronto itself has approximately 2.8 million inhabitants, with 6.1 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area. Approximately one-third of the Canadian population lives within a 160 km radius of the city. Toronto is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world, a metropolis that attracts tens of thousands of immigrants annually. Its inhabitants are called Torontonians.
Toronto is the financial capital of Canada, and is considered an alpha world city, exerting significant influence on regional, national and internacional.4 and is considered one of the main financial centers of the world. Toronto is Canada’s financial center, as well as a major cultural and scientific centers. Toronto is the largest industrial, financial and telecommunications in Canada. The city has one of the most diversified economies in North America, with the largest concentration of corporate headquarters, cultural institutions and the largest art community in the country.
In January 2005, Toronto was chosen by the Canadian Government as one of the cultural capitals of Canada. It is one of the safest cities in the Americas — its crime rate is lower than any large American city, and one of the lowest in Canada.
It is there that lies the huge CN Tower. The CN Tower is the main postcard of Toronto and the city’s symbol. With 553.33 meters tall, the tower is celebrating this year its 35th anniversary and was considered the tallest structure in the world. The OiToronto climbed the CN Tower to its highest observatory, the skypod, going through all the attractions that the tower offers, such as the glass floor, the restaurant and EdgeWalk 360, the tallest ride in a circle with hands free world.
The Canada’s National Tower [or CN Tower, as it is known] was once considered the tallest structure in the world, until he lost his post in 2007 to the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The tower has a staircase with 1,776 steps. It is considered the world’s longest staircase, taking about 40 minutes to get to the top, and is open to the public twice a year for charity events. One is the CN Tower Climb, which raises funds to fight climate change on the planet.
It continues to be used as a communications tower, providing service for different media, such as TV channels, radio and cellular networks. The American Society of Civil Engineers considers the CN Tower, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Also part of this list the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant, located between Brazil and Paraguay.
The entire tower is lit at night, thanks to a computerized system that has the ability to produce thousands of color and light effects. To learn programming lights CN Tower, just visit this page.
Besides the restaurant 360 depicted in the video, the CN Tower also features the Coast Far Horizons Restaurant and Cafe. It is open to visitors every day from 9am until 23h, closing only on Christmas Day.
We No Speak Canadian
This is not a new version of the song you must have remembered. There are several variations of the English language. Different words in the USA, Canada, England, Australia, may mean the same thing, even if it does not make sense sometimes. An example is:
Subway = Underground = Tube
You may speak English fluently, but after arriving in Canada, will likely hear words that you never heard before. Sometimes it may seem that Canadians have a special interpretation of the English language that neither American neighbors understand. This special language is called “Can-Speak” (short for “Canadian-Speak”) or Canadianisms and is the way of Canadians distinguish themselves from the rest of the English speaking world. See some of the Can-Speak words:
- Loonie: Refers to the one dollar coin. The golden coin gained its name because the bird printed on the surface, the “Loon”.
- Toonie: Refers to the two-dollar coin.
- Timmy’s or Tim’s: Refers to Tim Hortons. This Canadian network coffeehouse was named in honor of the famous Canadian hockey player Tim Horton.
- Double-Double: If you are in the Tim Hortons and want a coffee with two creams and two sugars, ask for a “double-double”.
- Timbit: A marble donut measuring approximately the size of the donut hole of that round stuck in the middle, sold at Tim Hortons. Other chains donuts copied the timbit, calling them “donut holes”.
- Serviette: A paper napkin. If you order a “napkin”, Canadians will assume that you are referring to the variety of cloth.
- Eh: Canadians often add “eh” at the end of sentences to ask for a response of agreement or disagreement. “Looks like it’s going to rain, eh?”.
- Two-Four: If you are in the “Beer Store” and you want a box of 24 beers, ask for a “two-four”.
- Tuque: You’re likely to hear this word a lot in winter. A tuque is a hat worn in winter.
- Toboggan: Canadians enjoy winter sports, especially tobogganing. A toboggan is a long sled wood or plastic used to carry one or more people to move down a snow-covered hill. Do not forget to wear your tuque when enjoying outdoor sports.
- Klick: If you drove 100 km, you can tell who directed 100 klicks.
- Hydro: Many Canadian eletric companies generate energy from hydroelectricity. Canadians refer to the account of hydro, hydro poles, wires or a field of hydro. “The hydro is out” means that there is no electricity.
- Knapsack: School children use these on their backs.
- Pop: Refers to any soda, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi or 7-Up. The term used in the U.S. is soda; in Canada is pop.
- Washroom: It’s like the Canadians call the bathroom. But, if you ask where the restroom, the toilet or the loo, they will understand what you meant is washroom.
- Eaves troughs: Called gutters in the U.S. and Britain, eaves troughs are channels that connect the underside of the roof of a house to collect rainwater.
- Poutine: This “heart attack” in a bowl is a French-Canadian dish of fries with curds and bathed in gravy.
- Beaver Tail: Originated in Ottawa, this pastel is fried in the shape of a beaver tail and served with a variety of toppings, including ice cream, maple syrup, powdered sugar and fruit.
Brazilian little touch in Canada
The coffee shops began to take over Toronto in the twentieth century, thanks to European immigrants who opened stores where they served made in cast machines imported from Italy and other countries. In the ‘80s, the cappuccino was responsible for attracting customers and increasing the number of coffee shops in the city. Since then this market continues to grow.
The secret to attracting so many people may not be only in flavor, but mostly in the comfort offered by these coffee shops. Chairs and cozy sofas, free internet and a variety of newspapers and magazines available to customers are just some of the attractions. A strategy that seems to really work, and that made cafes like Starbucks became an empire billionaire in the food industry, including threatening the space formerly occupied by McDonald’s as a symbol of American capitalism.
Several coffee shops with a lot of franchises are successful in North America, as the Second Cup, Coffee Time, Country Style and Timothy’s. But in Canada, none is stronger than a brand cafeteria Canadian who conquered the country and became one of the most successful businesses in the food industry. The Tim Hortons coffee shop photo, had his first shop founded in the 60s, in Hamilton (Ontario) and is so popular that it is now part of Canadian culture.
As already stated, the cafeteria was named after the creator’s own, the hockey player Tim Horton, who along with partner Jim Charade, started the franchise. More than 3000 stores throughout Canada, and only 249 of them in Toronto. No food establishment in the country has more units than the Tim Hortons (including McDonald’s).
The menu goes beyond coffee and donuts. You can find a variety of muffins, croissants, sandwiches, cookies, soups and even lasagna. All with a very affordable price, which is responsible for making the popularity of cafeteria grow even faster.
Do you know where it comes from the coffee beans that are used in Tim Hortons? If you by chance thought about Canada or USA is totally wrong. But if, by chance, he thought in Brazil, play the lottery. According to the official website of the network, the Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership has projects related to coffee in the cities of Perdões, Cana Verde, Ribeirão Vermelho and Santo Antônio do Amparo, all in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Besides Brazil, the site also tells of the same project in Colombia and Central America.
Good to live
Something no one can doubt is that Canada is a great country to live. I’m sure you know what is HDI. The Human Development Index “measures” the quality of life in a country and compares it with the other, ranking the developed countries, more or less developed or underdeveloped as life expectancy, education and GDP per capita.
This table is one of the newest and shows Canada in 11th place, just behind Japan and Switzerland. The three are distant by one thousandth. Although he was not even in the top 10, Canada is the record of firsts. It has 8 in total, while Norway, the current first has 7, Japan has 3 and Iceland has 2.
Furthermore, the distance from Canada to the first position is only 0.044. Meanwhile, Brazil is in 85th position, with an HDI of 0.730, behind countries such as Argentina, Oman, Venezuela, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Iran.
Well, that was a little bit of Canada. I hope you enjoyed. Most of the #Countries posts you find in #CuriosoInEnglish tagged as Série Países [in English #Countries].
Sources: Wikipedia; Wikivoyage; Instituto Federal Catarinense; HowStuffWorks; OiToronto
