Geography of Canada

Geography of Canada
ContinentNorth America
RegionNorthern America
Coordinates60°00′N 95°00′W / 60.000°N 95.000°W / 60.000; -95.000
AreaRanked 2nd
 • Total9,984,671 km2 (3,855,103 sq mi)
 • Land91.08%
 • Water8.92%
Coastline243,042 km (151,019 mi)
Borders8,893 km
Highest pointMount Logan,
5,959 m (19,551 ft)
Lowest pointAtlantic Ocean, Sea Level
Longest riverMackenzie River,
4,241 km (2,635 mi)
Largest lakeGreat Bear Lake
31,153 km2 (12,028 sq mi)
Climatetemperate, or humid continental to subarctic or arctic in north, and tundra in mountainous areas, and the far north
Terrainmostly plains and mountains in west, to highlands (low mountains) in the south east, and east, to flatlands in the Great lakes
Natural resourcesiron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Natural hazardspermafrost, cyclonic storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires
Environmental issuesair and water pollution, acid rains
Exclusive economic zone5,599,077 km2 (2,161,816 sq mi)

Canada has a vast geography that occupies much of the continent of North America, sharing a land border with the contiguous United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest. Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.[1] Greenland is to the northeast with a shared border on Hans Island. To the southeast Canada shares a maritime boundary with France's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the last vestige of New France.[2] By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area alone, however, Canada ranks fourth, the difference being due to it having the world's largest proportion of fresh water lakes.[3] Of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories, only two are landlocked (Alberta and Saskatchewan) while the other eleven all directly border one of three oceans.

Canada is home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole.[4] Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost.[5] Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi);[6] additionally, its border with the United States is the world's longest land border, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi).[7] Three of Canada's Arctic islands, Baffin Island, Victoria Island and Ellesmere Island, are among the ten largest in the world.[8]

Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions: the Canadian Shield, the interior plains, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian region, the Western Cordillera, Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Arctic Archipelago.[9] Canada is also divided into fifteen terrestrial and five marine ecozones,[10] encompassing over 80,000 classified species of life.[11] Since the end of the last glacial period, Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield;[12] 42 percent of the land acreage of Canada is covered by forests (approximately 8 percent of the world's forested land), made up mostly of spruce, poplar and pine.[13] Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 greater than 100 km2 (39 sq mi)—which is more than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water.[14][15] There are also freshwater glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, the Coast Mountains and the Arctic Cordillera.[16] A recent global remote sensing analysis also suggested that there were 6,477 km2 of tidal flats in Canada, making it the 5th ranked country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.[17] Protected areas of Canada and National Wildlife Areas have been established to preserve ecosystems.[18]

Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably the Mount Meager massif, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.[19] Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada range from Arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

  1. ^ "Canada". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 23 May 2011. (Archived 2011 edition.)
  2. ^ Gallay, Alan (2015). Colonial Wars of North America, 1512–1763: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 429–. ISBN 978-1-317-48718-0. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018.
  3. ^ Battram, Robert A. (2010). Canada in Crisis: An Agenda for Survival of the Nation. Trafford Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4269-3393-6. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016.
  4. ^ Canadian Geographic. Royal Canadian Geographical Society. 2008. p. 20.
  5. ^ "Scientists shocked by Arctic permafrost thawing 70 years sooner than predicted". The Guardian. Reuters. 1 June 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Geography". statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  7. ^ "The Boundary". International Boundary Commission. 1985. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Canada Facts: 25 Interesting and Fun Facts – not only for Kids". Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  9. ^ Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada (12 September 2016). "Natural Resources Canada. The Atlas of Canada. Physiographic Regions of Canada". atlas.gc.ca.
  10. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (10 January 2018). "Introduction to the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) 2017". www.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  11. ^ "COSEWIC Annual Report". Species at Risk Public Registry. 2019.
  12. ^ National Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. 2005. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7705-1198-2.
  13. ^ Luckert, Martin K.; Haley, David; Hoberg, George (2012). Policies for Sustainably Managing Canada's Forests: Tenure, Stumpage Fees, and Forest Practices. UBC Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7748-2069-1.
  14. ^ Bailey, William G; Oke, TR; Rouse, Wayne R (1997). The surface climates of Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7735-1672-4. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016.
  15. ^ "The Atlas of Canada – Physical Components of Watersheds". 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  16. ^ Sandford, Robert William (2012). Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada's Fresh Water. Biogeoscience Institute at the University of Calgary. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-927330-20-3. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017.
  17. ^ Murray, N.J.; Phinn, S.R.; DeWitt, M.; Ferrari, R.; Johnston, R.; Lyons, M.B.; Clinton, N.; Thau, D.; Fuller, R.A. (2019). "The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats". Nature. 565 (7738): 222–225. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8. PMID 30568300. S2CID 56481043.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference conserved was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Etkin, David; Haque, CE; Brooks, Gregory R (30 April 2003). An Assessment of Natural Hazards and Disasters in Canada. Springer. pp. 569, 582, 583. ISBN 978-1-4020-1179-5.