Geography
Canada, a federated country in North America, made up of ten provinces
and two (soon to be three) territories. Canada is a vast nation
with a wide variety of geological formations, climates, and ecological
systems. It has rain forest, prairie grassland, deciduous forest,
tundra, and wetlands.
Canada has more lakes and inland waters than any other country.
It is renowned for its scenery, which attracts millions of tourists
each year. On a per-capita basis, its resource endowments are the
second richest in the world after Australia.
Canada is the second largest country in the world but has about
the same population as the state of California, which is one-25th
its size.
Climate
As Canada is so large, the climate varies widely. The southernmost
part of Canada, Point Pelee, is on the same latitude as northern
California, while the Canadian northland extends deep into the Arctic.
Canada's four seasons, each distinctly different, add to this country's
appeal. Basically the summer in Canada is similar to that of the
northern half of the U.S., with warm-hot weather from May to October,
while residents of Vancouver Island can play golf 12 months of the
year.
Ski season runs from December until the end of March in the east
of May in the west (later in some resorts). The spectacular colors
of the fall season are best viewed (in eastern Canada) in late September
or early October.
Spring arrives as early as February on the West Coast.
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