Math Is Fun Forum

2464) Canada - The Country With The Longest Coastline In The World

Gist

While the common name is simply Canada, its historical full name, used at Confederation in 1867, was the Dominion of Canada, a term dropped from official use with the Canada Act in 1982, though it's still sometimes referenced. Today, "Canada" is the legal name, reflecting its status as a sovereign nation, constitutional monarchy, and parliamentary democracy. 

Is Canada a good place to live?

Yes, Canada is widely considered a very good place to live due to its high quality of life, safety, strong social programs (like universal healthcare and education), multiculturalism, and abundant natural beauty, but it comes with challenges like high living costs in major cities, long winter seasons, and potential integration difficulties for newcomers.

Summary

Canada, is the second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America.

Despite Canada’s great size, it is one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries. This fact, coupled with the grandeur of the landscape, has been central to the sense of Canadian national identity, as expressed by the Dublin-born writer Anna Brownell Jameson, who explored central Ontario in 1837 and remarked exultantly on “the seemingly interminable line of trees before you; the boundless wilderness around you; the mysterious depths amid the multitudinous foliage, where foot of man hath never penetrated…the solitude in which we proceeded mile after mile, no human being, no human dwelling within sight.” Although Canadians are comparatively few in number, they have crafted what many observers consider to be a model multicultural society, welcoming immigrant populations from every other continent. In addition, Canada harbours and exports a wealth of natural resources and intellectual capital equaled by few other countries.

Canada is officially bilingual in English and French, reflecting the country’s history as ground once contested by two of Europe’s great powers. The word Canada is derived from the Huron-Iroquois kanata, meaning a village or settlement. In the 16th century, French explorer Jacques Cartier used the name Canada to refer to the area around the settlement that is now Quebec city. Later, Canada was used as a synonym for New France, which, from 1534 to 1763, included all the French possessions along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. After the British conquest of New France, the name Quebec was sometimes used instead of Canada. The name Canada was fully restored after 1791, when Britain divided old Quebec into the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (renamed in 1841 Canada West and Canada East, respectively, and collectively called Canada). In 1867 the British North America Act created a confederation from three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada) called the Dominion of Canada. The act also divided the old colony of Canada into the separate provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Dominion status allowed Canada a large measure of self-rule, but matters pertaining to international diplomacy and military alliances were reserved to the British crown. Canada became entirely self-governing within the British Empire in 1931, though full legislative independence was not achieved until 1982, when Canada obtained the right to amend its own constitution.

Canada shares a 5,525-mile- (8,890-km-) long border with the United States (including Alaska)—the longest border in the world not patrolled by military forces—and the overwhelming majority of its population lives within 185 miles (300 km) of the international boundary. Although Canada shares many similarities with its southern neighbour—and, indeed, its popular culture and that of the United States are in many regards indistinguishable—the differences between the two countries, both temperamental and material, are profound. “The central fact of Canadian history,” observed the 20th-century literary critic Northrop Frye, is “the rejection of the American Revolution.” Contemporary Canadians are inclined to favour orderly central government and a sense of community over individualism; in international affairs, they are more likely to serve the role of peacemaker instead of warrior, and, whether at home or abroad, they are likely to have a pluralistic way of viewing the world. More than that, Canadians live in a society that in most legal and official matters resembles Britain—at least in the English-speaking portion of the country. Quebec, in particular, exhibits French adaptations: more than three-fourths of its population speaks French as their primary language. The French character in Quebec is also reflected in differences in religion, architecture, and schooling. Elsewhere in Canada, French influence is less apparent, confined largely to the dual use of French and English for place names, product labels, and road signs. The French and British influences are supplemented by the cultures of the country’s Native American peoples (in Canada often collectively called the First Nations) and Inuit peoples, the former being far greater in number and the latter enjoying semiautonomous status in Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut. In addition, the growing number of immigrants from other European countries, Southeast Asia, and Latin America has made Canada even more broadly multicultural.

Canada has been an influential member of the Commonwealth and has played a leading role in the organization of French-speaking countries known as La Francophonie. It was a founding member of the United Nations and has been active in a number of major UN agencies and other worldwide operations. In 1989 Canada joined the Organization of American States and signed a free trade agreement with the United States, a pact that was superseded in 1992 by the North American Free Trade Agreement (which also includes Mexico). A founding member (1961) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada is also a member of the Group of Seven (G7), which includes the world’s seven largest industrial democracies and, as the Group of Eight (G8), had included Russia until it was indefinitely suspended from membership in 2014.

The national capital is Ottawa, Canada’s fourth largest city. It lies some 250 miles (400 km) northeast of Toronto and 125 miles (200 km) west of Montreal, respectively Canada’s first and second cities in terms of population and economic, cultural, and educational importance. The third largest city is Vancouver, a centre for trade with the Pacific Rim countries and the principal western gateway to Canada’s developing interior. Other major metropolitan areas include Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Quebec city, Quebec; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Details

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest country by total area, with the longest coastline of any country. Its border with the United States is the longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of over 41 million, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in its urban areas and large areas being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories resulting in the displacement of Indigenous populations, and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada promotes its domestically shared values through participation in multiple international organizations and forums.

Geography

By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country. By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth, due to having the world's largest area of fresh water lakes. Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, along the Arctic Ocean to the north, and to the Pacific Ocean in the west, the country encompasses 9,984,670 square kilometres (3,855,100 sq mi) of territory. Canada also has vast maritime terrain, with the world's longest coastline of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi). In addition to sharing the world's largest land border with the United States—spanning 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi)—Canada shares a land border with Greenland (and hence the Kingdom of Denmark) to the northeast, on Hans Island, and a maritime boundary with France's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to the southeast. Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole. In latitude, Canada's most northerly point of land is Cape Columbia in Nunavut at 83°6′41″N, with its southern extreme at Middle Island in Lake Erie at 41°40′53″N. In longitude, Canada's land extends from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, at 52°37'W, to Mount St. Elias, Yukon Territory, at 141°W.

Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions: the Canadian Shield, the Interior Plains, the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian region, the Western Cordillera, Hudson Bay Lowlands, and the Arctic Archipelago. Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains, and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture. The Great Lakes feed the St. Lawrence River (in the southeast) where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 of which are larger than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi)—containing much of the world's fresh water. There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, the Coast Mountains, and the Arctic Cordillera. Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes.

Climate

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills. In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).

Much of Northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost. The future of the permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada. Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by 1.7 °C (3.1 °F), with changes ranging from 1.1 to 2.3 °C (2.0 to 4.1 °F) in various regions, since 1948. The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies. In the southern regions of Canada, air pollution from both Canada and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in acid rain, which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity. Canada is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters globally, with emissions increased by 16.5 percent between 1990 and 2022.

Additional Information

Canada is a vast and rugged land. From north to south it spans more than half the Northern Hemisphere. From east to west it stretches almost 4,700 miles (7,560 kilometers) across six time zones. It is the second largest country in the world, but it has only one-half of one percent of the world's population.

Canada features black-blue lakes, numerous rivers, majestic western mountains, rolling central plains, and forested eastern valleys. The Canadian Shield, a hilly region of lakes and swamps, stretches across northern Canada and has some of the oldest rocks on Earth.

Canada's far north lies in the frozen grip of the Arctic, where ice, snow, and glaciers dominate the landscape. Few trees grow here, and farming is not practical. Native Canadians, called First Nations people, live in this region by hunting and fishing.

Canada's remote north and extensive forests are home to wildlife, from bears, wolves, beavers, deer, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep to smaller animals like raccoons, otters, and rabbits. The country's lakes and rivers, which contain about 20 percent of all fresh water on Earth, are full of fish such as trout and salmon.

Canada's prairies in the south are home to bison and pronghorn antelope. Farther north are Canada's sprawling evergreen forests, which have lots of wildlife, including moose and black bears. Even farther north is the cold, bare tundra, where herds of caribou and musk ox live.

Canadians work hard to protect the native wildlife. Canada has 41 national parks and three marine conservation areas. Nevertheless, species like wolves, lynx, and Atlantic fish have been overhunted and overfished.

Hi,

#6318.

Hi,

#2541. What does the medical term Glycemic load mean?

Hi,

#6317.

2462) Trans Siberian Railway

Gist

The classic Trans-Siberian Railway runs from Moscow in European Russia to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast, crossing nearly 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles) and eight time zones, making it the world's longest railway line, with branches extending to destinations like Beijing (Trans-Mongolian) and China (Trans-Manchurian). 

The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles), it is the longest railway line in the world.

Summary

The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles), it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the east.

During the period of the Russian Empire, government ministers—personally appointed by Alexander III and his son Nicholas II—supervised the building of the railway network between 1891 and 1916. Even before its completion, the line attracted travelers who documented their experiences. Since 1916, the Trans-Siberian Railway has directly connected Moscow with Vladivostok. As of 2021, expansion projects remain underway, with connections being built to Russia's neighbors Mongolia, China, and North Korea. Additionally, there have been proposals and talks to expand the network to Tokyo, Japan, with new bridges or tunnels that would connect the mainland railway via the Russian island of Sakhalin and the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Route

The railway is often associated with the main transcontinental Russian line that connects many large and small cities of the European and Asian parts of Russia. At a Moscow–Vladivostok track length of 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles), it spans a record eight time zones. Taking eight days to complete the journey, it was the third-longest single continuous service in the world, after the Moscow–Pyongyang service 10,267 kilometers (6,380 mi) and the former Kiev–Vladivostok service 11,085 kilometers (6,888 mi), both of which also follow the Trans-Siberian for much of their routes.

The main route begins in Moscow at Yaroslavsky Vokzal, runs through Yaroslavl or Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, and Khabarovsk to Vladivostok via southern Siberia. A second primary route is the Trans-Manchurian, which coincides with the Trans-Siberian east of Chita as far as Tarskaya (a stop 12 km (7 mi) east of Karymskoye, in Chita Oblast), about 1,000 km (621 mi) east of Lake Baikal. From Tarskaya the Trans-Manchurian heads southeast, via Harbin Harbin–Manzhouli railway and Mudanjiang Harbin–Suifenhe railway in China's Northeastern provinces (from where a connection to Beijing is used by one of the Moscow–Beijing trains), joining the main route in Ussuriysk just north of Vladivostok.

The third primary route is the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which coincides with the Trans-Siberian as far as Ulan-Ude on Lake Baikal's eastern shore. From Ulan-Ude the Trans-Mongolian heads south to Ulaanbaatar before making its way southeast to Beijing. In 1991, a fourth route running further to the north was finally completed, after more than five decades of sporadic work. Known as the Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM), this recent extension departs from the Trans-Siberian line at Taishet several hundred miles west of Lake Baikal and passes the lake at its northernmost extremity. It crosses the Amur River at Komsomolsk-na-Amure (north of Khabarovsk), and reaches the Tatar Strait at Sovetskaya Gavan.

Details

Trans-Siberian Railroad, the longest single rail system in the world, stretching 5,771 miles (9,288 km) across Russia between Moscow and Vladivostok. If its connection to the port station of Nakhodka is also included, the system reaches a total of 5,867 miles (9,441 km). The Trans-Siberian Railroad has had a profound effect on the region of Siberia as well as great importance in the economic and military history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.

The main track length of the Trans-Siberian Railroad between Moscow and Vladivostok spans eight time zones and involves a journey time of seven days. Its western terminus is the Yaroslavsky station in Moscow, although a connecting service can be used to go farther west to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. Moving eastward from Moscow, the railroad’s main route passes through Yekaterinburg and crosses the Ural Mountains before reaching Novosibirsk on the Ob River and then Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisey River. The route extends through Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, following the southern shore of Lake Baikal between those cities, and then moves roughly in parallel to Russia’s border with Mongolia and then China before arriving at Khabarovsk on the Amur River and, finally, at Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

A secondary route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad branches out at Ulan-Ude. For trains traveling eastward, it heads south to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, and onward to Beijing, China. This route is known as the Trans-Mongolian Railroad. A third route, the Trans-Manchurian Railroad, turns southeast after Lake Baikal and goes to the Chinese cities of Harbin and Mudanjiang before rejoining the main track just before Vladivostok. The Trans-Manchurian Railroad also provides service to P’yŏngyang, North Korea.

Throughout its history, Siberia has been subject to particularly harsh winter weather, and efforts to develop the region, beginning with Russian occupation of it during the 16th century, made little progress until well into the 19th century because of the absence of good roads. Horse-drawn sledges were the common mode of transport in winter, and in the summer months river navigation was used. Early attempts to set up a railway in the region were a response to the Russian Empire’s colonization of Siberia. Colonizing forces had to either transport essentials from Russian lands in the west or import them from China and Korea. However, progress on building a railway was slow because of the Russian bureaucracy and because Siberia was not, at the time, considered commercially important enough to invest in new infrastructure.

Russia’s focus during the later 19th century was on Central Asia, which was seen as a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British-ruled Indian subcontinent. Both powers engaged in the “Great Game” to consolidate their presence in Central Asia and to influence the many khanates of the region. The British advanced to Afghanistan, while the Russians eventually annexed the khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. Russia built the Trans-Caspian Railroad, which in 1888 reached Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, putting Afghanistan at risk of Russian invasion.

Russia’s focus shifted east under the vision of Sergei Witte, who, while working within the Russian ministry of finance, convinced Alexander III in 1891 to begin construction of what would become the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The intent was to extend Russian influence into East Asia and to capture global trade from British hands. The railway would allow merchandise and raw materials to be transported from Europe to the Pacific in half the time it took by sea. It would thus be attractive to traffic by other countries as well, threatening British domination on their traditional sea routes. So, too, the railway would allow the extraction of hitherto untapped resources in Siberia.

Work on the Trans-Siberian Railroad proceeded simultaneously in several sections. It was built concurrently in three stretches. The first stretch was the West Siberian Railroad from Chelyabinsk to the Ob River, completed in 1896. The second stretch, the Central Siberian Railroad, was from the Ob River to Irkutsk on the western shore of Lake Baikal; it was completed in 1899. The third stretch was the East Siberian Railroad from Ulan-Ude on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal to Vladivostok.

By early 1901 only about 1,240 miles (2,000 km) of the line remained to be built before a direct connection between Europe and the Pacific Ocean could be completed. But, due to Siberia’s harsh climate and geological conditions, the line was continued via a southerly section through Manchuria in China. In 1903 this Russian-built Chinese Eastern Railway was put into operation. Lake Baikal, however, was still a barrier: cargo and passengers had to cross the lake by ferry until a rail line around Lake Baikal was put into operation in 1905.

But the segment of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Manchuria was to have consequences for Russia. In 1900 the Boxer Rebellion took place in China, targeting “foreign devils” and seeking to drive them out. Rebels in Manchuria had a specific grievance against the railroad, which they believed was responsible for upsetting the harmony of the region and causing droughts and flooding. The Russians moved 170,000 troops into Manchuria to protect their investment there, raising alarm in Japan over Russian intentions. Tensions were not eased by a new group of ministers in Moscow who had edged Witte out; they favoured a more aggressive foreign policy and refused to withdraw troops from Manchuria.

The Japanese attacked the Russian naval base at Port Arthur on the night of February 8–9, 1904, which was the start of the Russo-Japanese War. The war showcased the limitations of the railway, with its single-line route causing bottlenecks in the movement of troops and supplies. If one train with wounded troops was moving west, for instance, another train headed east with critical supplies had to wait at a station until the first had passed. After heavy losses in the 18-month war, Russia built a longer route, the Amur Railroad, to Vladivostok through its own territory so as to guard against the risk of Manchuria being taken over by the Japanese. In 1916 there was finally a Trans-Siberian Railroad wholly within Russian territory. Its completion marked a turning point in the history of Siberia, opening up vast areas to exploitation, settlement, and industrialization.

During the Russian Civil War that took place after the revolution in 1917, the Trans-Siberian Railroad was used by anticommunist forces to move troops, including Canadian reinforcements, westward from Vladivostok. Communist forces had to resort to blowing up bridges and sections of track to defeat them.

During World War II the nonaggression pact between the Germans and the Soviets enabled Nazi Germany to use the Trans-Siberian Railroad for the movement of goods to and from Japan. The railway also provided thousands of Jews a means of escaping Europe, using an eastward route to Vladivostok before sailing to the United States. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union and drove the Soviet Union to join the Allies, the railway allowed the U.S. to move much-needed supplies to the European front via the Pacific. The trans-Manchurian line came under full Chinese control only after World War II; it was renamed the Chinese Changchun Railway. During the Soviet era, a number of spur lines were built that radiated from the main trans-Siberian line. From 1974 to 1989 construction was completed on a large alternative route, the Baikal-Amur line; its route across the challenging environment of taiga, permafrost, and swamps made upkeep difficult. The Trans-Siberian Railroad was underused in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union but then saw a resurgence, due to improving economic conditions in Russia and tourism, at the turn of the millennium. Thawing permafrost due to climate change is, however, putting parts of the line at risk and leading to an increase in maintenance costs.

More than 85,000 people are estimated to have been involved in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It remains the backbone of the Russian railway network, and today it is a double-track electrified line that has enabled millions of people to travel across Russia.

Additional Information

As soon as it was built at the beginning of the 19th century, the Trans-Siberian Railway was proclaimed the finest of the diamonds on the crown of the Russian Empire and became famous to the whole world. Since then, it is attracting many travelers striving to see the miracle of engineering and to experience the peculiar way of journey. At the same time, the Trans-Siberian regular trains are mostly used by locals for their commuting needs, so it is an excellent way to meet the real people and feel the pure soul of the country. The Trans-Siberian Railway uniquely combines romantic ideas about traveling with absolutely incomparable landscapes and unique impressions; all this makes the trip once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Trans-Siberian routes

The original Trans-Siberian Railway connects Moscow and Vladivostok, covers 9829 km and crosses eight time zones, being the longest railway in the world. It will take seven days to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok without stops. In Ulan-Ude, the mainline branches in three directions. The Trans-Siberian section extends to Vladivostok, the Trans-Manchurian line goes through Northern China to Beijing, and the Trans-Mongolian line also ends in the capital of China but passes through Ulan Bator. Take a look at the Trans-Siberian route map and imagine all the possibilities the Trans-Siberian Railway can offer to tourists.

Transsiberian nonstop by direct regular trains

If the purpose of the journey is to cross the maximum distance by rail in the shortest time, if enjoying the scenery from the window and communicating with fellow will give you enough impressions, then all you need is to buy a ticket for a direct train along the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian or Trans-Manchurian route nonstop. The original Tran-Siberian trip will take 7 days, the Trans-Manchurian trip - 6 days, and a train ride to Ulan-Bator - about 5 days. You can visit the pages of these routes on our website and see the train schedule from Moscow to Vladivostok, Beijing, or Ulan Bator.

Hi,

#9822.

Hi,

2671.