Geography of Canada

Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Terrain: Canada has a varied terrain. The west of the country is extremely mountainous with the Canadian Rockies being the largest range. The center area of the country is a vast sedimentary plain that makes up most of the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The northern parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec are located on a vast rock base known as the Canadian Shield. The Shield cannot support agriculture, but does have extensive mineral reserves. The plains of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are known as the Breadbasket, due to the massive tracts of (largely flat) arable agricultural land. The southern sections of Ontario and Quebec are also home to rich agricultural land that comprises the centre of Canada's produce and dairy farming operations. It is also the most heavily populated part of the country. The maritime provinces have the Adirondack Mountains, which are more like large hills than mountains proper.

Elevation extremes:

• lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
• highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m
  • List of highest points of Canadian provinces and territories

Latitude and longitude extremes:

• northernmost town: Grise Fiord, Nunavut (including weather stations: Alert, Nunavut)
• southernmost town: St. John's, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador
• westernmost town: Beaver Creek, Yukon

• see also extreme points of Canada

Natural resources: iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower

Land use:

• arable land: 5%
• permanent crops: 0%
• permanent pastures: 3%
• forests and woodland: 54%
• other: 38% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 7,100 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow

Environment - current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities

Environment - international agreements:

• party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
• signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: During the Cold War Canada had a strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route.

See also: Canada