The Evolution Of Canada :: Canadian Culture

The Evolution Of Canada Canada, independent nation in matrimony America. A country rich in mineralsand agriculture, it was settled by the French and incline and became anindependent Commonwealth country with a federal system of government, inwhich the provinces enjoy a large measure of autonomy. Land and Economy. The 2nd-largest country in the land (after the USSR),Canada occupies the N half of the North American continent, stretching Eand W from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, N from the 49th parallel to theNorth Pole, including all the islands in the Arctic Ocean from W ofGreenland to Alaska. It is divided into 10 provinces, which are (E-W)Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec,Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Twoterritories--Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory--are in the N and NW.The outstanding geological feature is the Canadian Shield, a 1,850,000-sq-mi (4,791,500-sq-km) arc of Pre-Cambrian escape f rom from Labrador around HudsonBay to the Arctic islands. The Shield, site of once great riding horse chainsworn down and covered by the sea, contains valuable minerals--gold, silver,platinum, copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, and zinc--making Canada unrivalled of themost important mining countries in the world. The Shields N portion is atreeless plain with permanently frozen subspetroleum in its S section areforests. Extending from the Shields W border to the Canadian Rockies areprairies much than 800mi (1,288km) wide that yield wheat, the dominant crop,and are centers of livestock raising. W Canada is a land of mountains withfishing, agriculture, and lumbering as important industries. With thedevelopment of major oil and natural gas deposits since the 1950s in the W,the now-dominant energy industry has resulted in dramatic frugal growththere, and made Canada a major oil-producing country. The E provincesprovide rich farm lands, forests, coal mines, and major fishing sources on the long coastline. Source of a route into the interior for earlysettlers, the St Lawrence-Great Lakes surface area is the most populous section ofCanada as well as its economic and political center. It contains over 60%of the population. Abundant minerals have made Canada the world leader inthe production of silver, nickel, potash, and zinc second in gypsum,asbestos, uranium, and sulfur third in gold, lead, and platinum fourth inmagnesium and twenty percent in copper. Timber is also valuable, and Canada is aworld leader in newsprint production. The growth of manufacturing duringthe 1950s and 1960s changed Canada from a rural association to an industrialand urban country. Farming employs 7% of the working population.