a fertile area of ​​dairy farms, fruit orchards, and tobacco plantations, rich in industry, which is made possible by extensive and inexpensive hydroelectric power.
The Canadian Shield is the country `s largest geographic unit - Covering almost half of Canada. This horseshoe shaped area of ​​ancient terrain is a mass of rocks, of many lakes and of endless swamplands. It is sparsely populated but exceedingly rich not only in timber but in nickel, gold, platinum, cobalt, uranium, silver, copper, and iron ore.
Still other riches come from the Interior Plains, which sweep across Prairie provinces north through the Mackenzie River Valley, to the Arctic Coast. The southern part of the Plains is as flat as a pancake, but fertile and constitutes Canada `s magnificent wheat lands. In recent decades they have yielded, besides the golden wheat, liquid gold - oil from beneath the surface, and natural gas as well.They are bordered on the north by thick forest lands.
To the West of the Plains lies the Canadian Cordillera. This is the region of Western Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon, which comprise the glorious Canadian Rockies as well as the Mackenzie and the Stikine Mountains and the peaks of St. Elias and the Coast Ranges. It is in this area that one finds Mount Logan, in the Yukon - Canada `s highest peak climbing some 19,850 feet skywards. Not the entire region is mountainous, though. The interior of British Columbia is a land of plateaus and valleys prosperous with orchards and cattle ranches.
The Pacific Coast bathed by warm, moist Pacific air currents, the British Columbia coast, indented by deep fjords and shielded from Pacific storms by Vancouver Island, has the most moderate climate of Canada `s regions. Vancouver Island `s West Coast receives an exceptional amount of rain, giving it a temperate rain forest climate. Although it does not contain the diversity of species of a tropical rain forest, the island `s west coast does have the oldest and tallest trees in Canada: western red cedars 1.300 years old and Douglas firs 90 metres high.
The Arctic North of the tree-line is a land of harsh beauty. During the short summer, when daylight is nearly continuous and a profusion of flowers blooms in the tundra, the temperature can reach 30 C. Yet the winters are long, bitterly cold and dark. North of the mainland is a maze of islands separated by convoluted straits and sounds, the most famous of which link together to form the fabled Northwest Passage, the route to the Orient sought by so many early explorers.
Climate and Weather
There are many climatic variations in this huge country, ranging from the permanently frozen icecaps north of the 70 th parallel to the luxuriant vegetation of the British Columbia `s West Coast. Canada `s most populous regions, which lie in the country` s south along the US border, enjoy four distinct seasons. Here daytime summer temperatures can rise to 35C and higher, while lows of - 25 C are not uncommon in winter. More moderate temperatures are norm in spring and fall. p> The seasons dictate the look of the land: according to whether the natural environment is in a state of dormancy or growth, Canadians may go alpine skiing or water skiing. While seasonal change signals fluctuations in temperature and the number of hours of sunshine, the shifting position of air masses also plays a part. The usual air flow from west to east is disrupted in winter when cold, dry air moves down from the Arctic and in summer when warm, tropical air moves up from the south-east. Added to these factors are the effect of mountain ranges, plains and large bodies of water.
Forests
Stretching over nearly half of Canada `s land area are dense forests of spruce and hemlock, pine, cedar, birch, maple, ash, elm and fir. Once an obstacle to settlement, now the forests are a chief source of Canada `s wealth. The industries based on forest products employ hundreds of thousands of men and women. Thousands of sawmills are in use. The production of pulp and its conversion to newsprint is the leading single industry. Forests provide lumber for a growing country `s homes and schools and factories, railway ties, poles and fence posts for its spreading settlement. They supply the furniture factories and publishing houses. A resource both valuable and beautiful, the forests are protected and cherished by people and the state.
Wildlife
In the Arctic zone the polar bear, the musk-ox, the caribou, the Arctic fox, the lemming are still in abundance.
To the South in the area stretching from Alaska to the Gulf of St. Lawrence is the home of the woodland caribou and a few distinctive species of birds.
In the Canadian zone, corresponding in the main with the coniferous-forest belt, are found nearly all the species of mammal...
