The land of superlatives
The second largest country in the world is also the largest. And if you're still not convinced of Canada's gigantism, here are some facts that will leave no doubt about it. In addition to its nearly 10 million square kilometers and the longest land border in the world, Canada also has the longest coastline on the planet, at 243,042 km spread over three oceans. The world's highest tides (16.1 metres on average) can be seen in the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. As for freshwater, its surface area covers nearly 900,000 km2, a large part of which (about 177,000 km2) is in Quebec. However, the Northwest Territories has the largest lake in the country, Great Bear Lake (31,328 km2), and the deepest, Great Slave Lake (614 metres). Then there is Canada's longest river, the inevitable Mackenzie (4,241 km), which rises in Great Slave Lake before flowing into the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean. In the Great Lakes area of Ontario, Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world (2,765 km2), while on the saltwater side, Baffin Island is the largest Canadian island (507,451 km2). Finally, for those who like to get up in the air, the highest mountain in the country is in the Yukon, the famous Mount Logan, which reaches an altitude of 5,959 metres.
An array of reliefs
A country as vast as Canada offers of course a great diversity at the geographical level.
The Western Cordillera. In Western Canada, rows of mountains separate the Pacific Ocean from the vast plains of Alberta, covering almost all of British Columbia and the Yukon as well as part of southwestern Alberta. They are composed of the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Eastern Mountains, the latter more commonly known as the Rocky Mountains, and extend from Alaska to Mexico before continuing into South America with the Andes Mountains. Two other interesting features in this part of Canada are the presence of a desert in southern British Columbia, specifically at Osoyoos (an extension of a desert that originates further south in Mexico, via the Mojave Desert in California), and the Inside Passage in western British Columbia, a coastal waterway linking the states of Alaska and Washington and avoiding the rough waters of the Pacific.
The Great Interior Plains, also known as the Canadian Prairies, cover much of the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These vast sedimentary plains stretch from the Mackenzie Delta in the north south to the United States, and are one of the world's major agricultural regions, especially for wheat and cattle.
The Canadian Shield. This immense rocky plateau occupies almost half of the country's area: northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, and most of Labrador. It is home to some of the oldest rocks in the world, no less. The boreal forest reigns supreme, and major rivers are used for hydroelectric power generation, especially in Ontario and Quebec. The Canadian Shield also includes a swampy region, the Hudson Lowlands, and mountain ranges such as the Laurentian and Torngat Mountains.
The St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Lowlands. The St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Lowlands extend around the Great Lakes in Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. This region is one of the world's largest freshwater reserves and has fertile soil for farming and ranching, as evidenced by its many farmlands and agri-tourism sites.
The Appalachians. The Appalachian mountain range stretches for nearly 2,000 km across eastern North America, cutting a path from central Alabama in the southern United States to Newfoundland in Canada. It separates the Atlantic coastal plain in the east from the Mississippi River basin and the Great Lakes in the west.
The Canadian North. This is the kingdom of the Arctic regions and certainly the most exotic place in Canada. This immense territory covers 40% of the country's surface area on some 3.4 million km2. With the announced melting of the ice pack and the ice sheet, the Canadian North is now a major geostrategic issue in terms of the Northwest Passage - coveted by the United States and Europe who see it as a shortcut to East Asia - and the immense hydrocarbon reserves.
Natural wonders
From coast to coast, to the far reaches of the Arctic, they offer striking landscapes and experiences that are anything but ordinary. While some are renowned beyond the country's borders, others are known only to insiders. Here are just a few to add to your travel diary.
In the Kootenay Rockies, there are dozens of hot springs, from the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in British Columbia, to Banff Upper Hot Springs and Miette Hot Springs in Alberta, to Takhini Hot Pools in the Yukon. Perfect for relaxing in a magnificent natural setting, these hot springs are a must-see on any trip to Western Canada. Water remains at the heart of the matter, with a number of grandiose waterfalls across the country, starting with the best-known of them all, Niagara Falls in Ontario. But there's also Della at Strathcona Provincial Park and Takakkaw at Yoho National Park in British Columbia, Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park in Ontario and Chute-Montmorency Park in Quebec, not to mention Pissing Mare Falls at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland and Victoria Falls at Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories.
Canada also boasts a number of sand dunes, the most impressive being the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park in northern Saskatchewan, considered to be among the most northerly active dunes in the world. Other sites worth a visit include the Great Sandhills in Saskatchewan, the dunes of Tadoussac and the Magdalen Islands in Quebec, and Sable Island National Park in Nova Scotia.
Then there are the geomorphological phenomena, such as the erosion monoliths found in Fathom Five National Marine Park (Ontario), Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (Quebec) and Fundy National Park (New Brunswick), or the canyons lining the steep walls of Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park, Horseshoe Canyon in Drumheller and Miles Canyon near Whitehorse. If you're more the fjord type, you'll be well served here, as British Columbia and Nunavut each boast dozens of them (mention should be made of the sublime fjords of Auyuittuq National Park in the Far North). To admire them in Eastern Canada, take a trip to Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay, which protects North America's only navigable fjord, and Gros Morne National Park, especially around Western Brook Pond.
Finally, don't miss the springtime ballet of icebergs, which you can observe up close in Newfoundland with Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours, or the country's imposing glaciers, including the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park (Alberta), the Plain of Six Glaciers in Lake Louise (Alberta), and the Donjek and Lowell glaciers in Kluane National Park (Yukon).
The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway
Considered one of the world's largest freshwater reserves, the Great Lakes cover an area of approximately 246,050 km2, an area almost half the size of France. Running along the southern edge of the Canadian Shield in Ontario, the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario) are located on the U.S.-Canadian border, with the exception of Lake Michigan, which is located entirely on the U.S. side.
Surrounded by thousands of smaller lakes and an intricate network of channels, canals and locks, and connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River, this complex is considered the historical and economic cradle of the country. Advances in navigation over the past two centuries have resulted in numerous improvements to this immense deep waterway, which was officially opened in 1959. It has become a real industrial and agricultural lung, and is considered one of the greatest technical achievements of the 20th century. It facilitates trade to the east through the St. Lawrence River Seaway, and to the southern United States through the tributary rivers of the Great Lakes.
Canadian Sovereignty in the Arctic
Having become a major geostrategic issue that attracts the covetousness of several countries, Arctic sovereignty is one of the hot topics of the 21st century. The interest in this region is due to its great potential for the development of natural resources, but above all for the control of the Northwest Passage in the north of Canada, which extends from Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in the east to the Beaufort Sea in the west. While Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic is a recognized historical fact, the territory is not fully policed and the international consensus on the region is only on land. The access routes and straits, such as the famous Northwest Passage, are therefore not recognized as a possession of Canada, much to the chagrin of Canada but to the delight of the United States, which has increased its presence in the area under the Trump administration, which has hurt Canada-U.S. relations.
In addition to Canada, the seven other Arctic states are the United States (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia (note that Iceland, Sweden and Finland are not part of the Arctic Ocean coastal states, also known as the A5). All are signatories to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum that also includes the indigenous peoples of the region, including six Canadian indigenous organizations with permanent participant status on the Council.
