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Create AccountDubawnt River, 842 km long, rises from a web of lakes in the Northwest Territories, 120 km northeast of Lake Athabasca, flows northeast, gathering the waters of Wholdaia, Boyd, Barlow, Nicholson, Dubawnt, Wharton and Marjorie lakes, and turns abruptly northwest to join the Thelon River at Beverly Lake.
Nettilling Lake, 5,542 km2, elevation 30 m, max length 123 km, is located toward the south end of Baffin Island. The lake is in the Great Plain of the Koukdjuak, about 110 km southwest of Auyuittuq National Parkand 280 km northwest of Iqaluit. The name is of Inuktitut origin but its meaning is unclear. (See also Largest Lakes in Canada.)
Okanagan Lake is located in the southern interior of British Columbia and is the largest lake in the Okanagan Valley. Approximately 6,188 km2 of land drain into the lake, which has a total surface area of 351 km2. The lake is long and thin, measuring 120 km in length and ranging between 3 and 5 km in width. The depth of the lake is highly variable, with a mean depth of 76 m and a maximum depth of 230 m. Okanagan Lake is heavily used for recreation and is believed by some to be the home of the mythical Ogopogo creature.
Husky Lakes, 880 km2, lie along the southern edge of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, NWT, and drain into Liverpool Bay on the Beaufort Sea. Though commonly known as Husky Lakes, the name “Eskimo Lakes” still appears in certain maps and literature. (See also Eskimo.)
Clayoquot Sound is a dramatically varied inlet of the Pacific Ocean nearly 100 km wide on the west coast of Vancouver Island (estimated area, water 784.25 km2; land including freshwater 2715.75 km2 ). Clayoquot ("clah quat") Sound takes in the highly scenic islands and mainland drainages from Quisitis Point northwest to Escalante Point. Population is concentrated at Tofino, a fishing, tourism and wilderness recreation centre at the terminus of Highway 4. Most native communities are accessible only by air or water.
Red Lake, Ontario, incorporated as a municipality in 1998, population 4,094 (2021 census), 4,107 (2016 census). The municipality of Red Lake is located in northwestern Ontario on the shore of Red Lake, 555 km northwest of Thunder Bay. The municipality is the result of the amalgamation of the former townships of Red Lake (incorporated in 1960) and Golden (established in 1985), and the unorganized territory governed by the Madsen local services board. Red Lake consists of six communities (Madsen, Red Lake, Balmertown, Cochenour, McKenzie Island and Starratt-Olsen) that sprang up around the area's gold mines.
Main Forest TypesWorldwide there are 3 main forest types related directly to climatic zones: equatorial- and tropical-region forests, temperate-zone forests, and forests associated with colder climates.
The names of many rivers and lakes in Canada have Indigenous origins. These bodies of water are named for Indigenous people, places, and aspects of Indigenous culture. Some of these lakes and rivers still bear the original name given to them by Indigenous people. Others have been renamed using an Indigenous word as a means of recognizing Indigenous history and working toward reconciliation. This list article explores the Indigenous names of five rivers and five lakes in Canada. (See also Longest Rivers in Canada and Largest Lakes in Canada.)
Canada may be divided into seven physiographic regions. The Canadian Shield is the largest and oldest of these regions. The other six physiographic regions are younger and form two concentric rings around the Canadian Shield. The outer, older ring contains the Western Cordillera, Canadian Arctic and Appalachian Region. The second, younger ring contains the Interior Plains, Hudson Bay Lowlands and the St. Lawrence Lowlands. These regions may be further sub-divided based on their structure, relief and the presence or absence of permafrost and forest cover (see Natural Regions).
Areas quoted for these regions are the land areas and do not include adjacent continental shelves or bodies of ocean water within Canada's territorial limits. Readers should also note that the abbreviation “masl” stands for “metres above sea level.”
Vegetation regions are geographical areas characterized by distinct plant communities.
Rupert’s Land was a vast territory of northern wilderness. It represented a third of what is now Canada. From 1670 to 1870, it was the exclusive commercial domain of the Hudson’s Bay Company(HBC) and the primary trapping grounds of the fur trade. The territory was named after Prince Rupert, the HBC’s first governor. Three years after Confederation, the Government of Canada acquired Rupert’s Land from the HBC for CAD$1.5-million (£300,000). It is the largest real estate transaction (by land area) in the country’s history. The purchase of Rupert’s Land transformed Canada geographically. It changed from a modest country in the northeast of the continent into an expansive one that reached across North America. Rupert’s Land was eventually divided among Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
The Rocky Mountain Trench is a long and deep valley extending approximately 1,500 km from the Bitterroot Valley in northwest Montana through British Columbia to the Liard Plain just south of the Yukon Territory. Its predominantly flat floor is 3–20 km wide and ranges in elevation between 600 m and 1,000 m above sea level. With walls made of sedimentary, volcanic and igneous rock, the Trench is sometimes referred to as the “Valley of a Thousand Peaks” because of the towering mountain ranges on either side: the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Columbia, Omineca and Cassiar mountains to the west. Humans have relied on the rich resources provided by this distinctive landscape from pre-colonial times to the present.
At 3,185 km (1,149 km of which lie in Canada), the Yukon River is the fifth-longest river in North America.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
The St. Lawrence River is a grand river and estuary, which together with the Great Lakes forms a hydrographic system that penetrates 3,058 km into North America. The river proper, about 1,197 km long, issues from Lake Ontario, flows northeast past Montreal and Quebec City to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The route of early explorers and the main axis of New France, the St. Lawrence River figured prominently in Canada's early history, and it remains the focus of settlement for much of the province of Quebec. It is still the most important commercial waterway in Canada, as well as a source of electric power and natural beauty. (See also St Lawrence Lowland.)
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
When the first sod was turned near Cornwall, Ont., August 10, 1954, it was not so much the beginning of the great St Lawrence Seaway as a continuation of centuries of dreams.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
